Detoxing from pornography

Here is a fantastic article, at the following Jerusalem Post link.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1242212387707&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull


And just a quick word about the dire danger of pornography. It is not an issue of being a "prude." Pornography, as it exists today, works to erode a human's sanity and their survival ability. Pornography, as it exists today (not as it used to be, which was difficult to get, much softer in its presentation, and an almost rare "treat" event, rather than an addiction) erodes one's very health, one's very soul, one's coping mechanisms for life in general and, ultimately, destroys all chance of genuine love and intimacy, either with another human being or, in a spiritual sense, with God. Porn addiction can be thought of as being like someone so addicted to drugs that they stop drinking water or eating food, and they starve to death, but in this case, pornography blocks normal life, normal brain processes, normal intimate relationships and, ultimately, the normal state of the soul.

Do everything that you can to break your own addiction, or to do an intervention for family members, friends or work colleagues to help them understand the above dangers, and that it is not a question of being "liberated" or that those who warn of the danger of pornography are "just prudes." Pornography will place a person in an earthly hell first, because it estranges them from real normal life and the comfort of sane real intimacy, and secondly, in the actual hell after death, because it becomes as powerful an idol as if one was worshiping Beelzebub, and when one is estranged from God by continually selecting a corrupting alternative as one's priority, one ends up in hell when one is judged by God at one's death.

I cannot over-emphasize how much porn has ruined mental and spiritual health and has been a prime reason in many-including self proclaimed "saved" Christians-from NOT, I repeat, not achieving salvation in heaven.

Readings from the Bible

Zacharia 1:11

And they answered the angel of the Lord who was standing among the myrtle trees, and said "We have patrolled the earth, see, the whole earth is tranquil and at rest!"

[When will this be fulfilled? Angels would be hard pressed to find any genuinely tranquil area in the world right now, due to the sins and failures of humans...]


Psalms 33 (34):1-11

I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall be ever in my mouth. Let my soul glory in the Lord; the lowly will hear me and be glad. Glorify the Lord with me, let us together extol his name.

I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Look to him that you may be radiant with joy, and your faces may not blush with shame. When the afflicted man called out, the Lord heard, and from all his distress he saved him. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him and delivers them. Taste and see how good the Lord is; happy is the man who takes refuge in him. Fear the Lord, you his holy ones, for nought is lacking in those who fear him. The great grow poor and hungry; but hose who seek the Lord want for no good thing.


Psalms: 47 (48): 10

O God, we ponder your kindness within your temple.


1 Machabees 14: 21, 24

The ambassadors that were sent to our people have told us of your glory, and honor, and joy, and we rejoiced at their coming.

And after this Simon sent Numenius to Rome, with a great shield of gold of the weight of a thousand pounds, to confirm the league with them.


Luke 8:25

And he [Jesus] said to them, "Where is your faith?" But they were afraid, and marvelled, saying to one another, "Who, then, is this, that he commands even the winds and the sea, and they obey him?"


1 Corinthians 1:26

For consider your own call, brethren; that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble.


8:3

But if anyone loves God, the same is known by him.


Read 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 as St. Paul lists those who had seen the Resurrected Christ, with Paul being the last, since he was still the persecutor of the Church, but how grace of God filled him so that he labored more than any of the rest on behalf of God and Jesus Christ. The reason I want you to read that section is it is a wonderful faith strengthening passage, as Paul mentions so matter of factly how Jesus appeared to more than five hundred brethren at once, many of whom were still alive as Paul wrote that letter. The Gospel is historical, not mythical. This passage is very important to help those of weakness of faith to understand that Paul was writing about people who were still alive at the time, who had seen the resurrected Christ among them.

Readings from the Qur'an

114:1-4

Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of men, The King of men, The God of men, From the evil of the whisperings of the slinking.


51:15-18

Surely those who guard (against evil) shall be in gardens and fountains. Taking what their Lord gives them; surely they were before that, the doers of good. They used to sleep but little in the night. And in the morning they asked forgiveness.


48:4-5

He it is Who sent down tranquility into the hearts of the believers that they might have more of faith added to their faith-and Allah's are the hosts of the heavens and the earth, and Allah is Knowing, Wise-

That He may cause the believing men and the believing women to enter gardens beneath which rivers flow to abide therein and remove from them their evil, and that is a grand achievement with Allah.

More regarding the Pope's visit

I was very happy at the warm reception given to the Holy Father at the Aida Palestinian refugee camp yesterday. Unlike cynics, I do not feel that Palestinians "exploited" the Pope's visit at all. Rather, as I know all too well, when a group is marginalized, and then has a chance to have some moments to speak on the world stage, it is wise, not exploitative, to seize the opportunity, especially when they are speaking their truths from their hearts.

Today was also a good day, I believe, with such a warm welcome given to the Pope in Nazareth. The Church of the Annunciation, by the way, is one of my favorites. The meaning of what happened there is unmistakable and supported, not suppressed, by the architecture.

I was also glad at the tone of the meeting with the Prime Minister. At last, a meeting that does not include nagging about the Pope's choice of words regarding the history of Israel. Maybe with a few more meetings like that, people can look to solving the problems of the present and the future, yes? I am not saying this without sympathy. As I've blogged before, people need to understand the indelible scar on the Jewish psyche caused by the Shoah, and I know it well.

But sometimes the Jews act like this with the Pope. They keep trying to press into his hands a list of groceries to buy, thinking he is a greengrocer, while he is actually a carpenter. Being mad when he does not accept the grocery list, but constructs a structure of mutual dialogue and support, is illogical and a problem of being stuck in an inaccurate, but understandable, mindset. Stop nagging the carpenter to be a greengrocer who is given a list of "essentials" to fill. Accept, instead, the greater essential that he offers.

Why sinners should not despair

I want to reiterate that one of the most hurtful and disrespectful mindsets toward God is that there are some things that God cannot forgive.

I've written before, and generations of preachers have given sermons on this subject, how the saddest and greatest sin of Judas was not the betrayal of Jesus, but his committing suicide in despair. Imagine if he had turned to God for forgiveness and then found, to his astonishment, that Christ resurrects and appears to the disciples three days after his crucifixion! Judas could have been one of the great witnesses of Jesus and his authenticity, his authority.

So this is the point that I want to make today. I know that many people have committed dreadful sins, and I'm not talking about stealing or hanky panky with someone else's spouse. I'm speaking of blasphemy, the spreading of heresy, sacrilege, murder, witchcraft and sorcery, and the abuse of the young and helpless.

It is a selfish affectation to think, "Well, I've been so horribly bad that who cares if I go to hell anyway, because I 'deserve' it."

Well, this is what you do not realize. As part of your judgment and punishment, God will reveal to you all the people who depended on you in the future, and who would have been the recipients of your protection and help had you stayed alive and repented.

So, for example, when God judged Judas, God would have shown Judas how different Christianity, and the entire world, would have been if Judas had stayed alive, repented, and became an outspoken witness for Christ. All of human history would be different today if Judas had not, in his despair, figured he "deserved hell" and thus took from God God's right to dispense mercy to those who repent. I cannot describe for you the agony that Judas would have experienced in such judgment by God, where God lays bare all that would have happened if Judas had stayed alive, seen the resurrected Christ, believed, repented, and thrown himself full heartedly in spreading the Good News.

Likewise, those of you who are the most dreadful of sinners today, if you think you "deserve hell" and that hell is somehow endurable, know that you go to hell knowing the faces of the many people you never got to know, who would have depended on you and would have had restored lives if only you had stopped feeling sorry for yourself and gotten cleanly and sincerely about God's business. That knowledge, of infants who die, of people who suffer, of souls that are lost, all of whom could have been helped if only you had repented, stayed alive and been clean and true with God, is what makes hell even worse than the torment and the burning.

The lost opportunity cost is laid out before you by God, and trust me, it is the ultimate in the horror movie.

When you deny or curtail what God can or will forgive, you are usurping his authority and that is all part of denying the reality of God himself. I write this message because I know it is pointless to argue with those who refuse to believe in God as he truly is, however, I know how "compensatory" and "pre destination" and "dispensation" logic works in sinners, and this you need to hear. When you are stuck in a ledger mindset of sin, well, then OK, wallow in it, but know that you are forgetting that God will reveal to you-when it is too late-the entire ledger, which is the lost opportunity costs of all the people in the present and the future that you let down, denied, and allowed to suffer.

Letting Jesus down was bad enough for Judas, once he was judged by God. But far worse was knowing how easily he could have joined with Jesus to "fix it" for countless other human beings in future generations, if only he had stayed alive, sought forgiveness, and provided witness with his whole heart and soul.

More about the Pope's Israel trip

I'm just curious, never having been to Israel as a tourist or anything. Do any of the Israeli rabbis actually quote scripture? Every speech I hear (criticizing the Pope, who preaches not speeches) could have been spoken by any politician. The rabbis seem to be politicians rather than religious leaders.

I've heard rabbis speak in the United States, of course, and there's no confusion that they are religious leaders who know and speak their scripture, and who look to God for guidance in all. Is that something that just doesn't happen in Israel? Just curious.

Maybe people are so disappointed with the Pope in Israel because they just don't have role models of religious leaders anymore... everyone over there seems to be a politician and a warrior.

King David would certainly be disappointed, he whose focus never left God.

This, my friends, is one reason that people are so hesitant to use the word "Israel." If you are going to be a "religious state," why do the religious leaders never cite scripture in their speeches, nor look to God for their secular and political guidance? The ancient Israelites, for all their sins and faults, constantly looked toward God. I doubt that any priest or politician during the time of King David or Solomon would "give a speech" without citing scripture and keeping the focus on God. They'd be shocked, believe you me, to read the secular speeches of the rabbis today.

The Pope's visit to Jordan and Israel

I was so pleased, but not at all surprised, at the generous hospitality of the King and Queen of Jordan, as they served as welcoming hosts to Pope Benedict XVI.

It is not at all surprising that much of the Common Word Initiative flows from Jordan, and I can only praise them and pray for even further harmonious results.

Today I was able to watch the TV coverage, thanks to EWTN, of the Pope's first day in Israel.

I have not been at all delighted with the attitudes of some (actually, of many), and the resultant media focus, in the days leading up to the Pope's visit. To call it anticipatory qvetching would be giving it a humorous tolerance that it does not merit. To say that many sought to be wet blankets, putting a damper of gloom over a visit that is potent in potential for progress and grace would also be an understatement. The griping and misplaced expectations about the Holy Father only underscores that it seems that very few people understand who or what a religious leader is anymore, whether Jew or Christian.

Um, here's a news flash. A religious leader, a proper one, as the Pope most certainly is, teaches people about God. God is his focus, not whether he uses the "correct" words to describe secular and historic events. A religious leader is a preacher, a minister, and an evangelist, wearing one or more of those hats as appropriate to the occasion.

The Pope is the Vicar of Jesus Christ, the Bishop of Rome, the Heir to Saint Peter. He points always to God, the one God that Jews, Christians and Muslims share. When a man becomes Pope his place of birth, his schooling, what his father did, etc means absolutely nothing. He now becomes entirely belonging to God.

Now, having said this, I was totally delighted at President Peres' warm hospitality, his thoughtful remarks, and most of all, how he obviously comprehends what I just wrote here about the Pope. I could see in Mr Peres' face how he appreciated the deeply scriptural statements by the Pope, as Pope Benedict continually placed the focus of his listeners upon God and God alone.

Ironically, it seems that one of the Rabbis, one I respect (don't get me wrong on this) was less appreciative of the scriptural focus of the Holy Father and instead looked for personal apologies, secular orientation and wanting the Holy Father to be more of the Vicar of Word Smithing.

Yes, let's be honest. Pope John Paul II was more of a politician on such occasions, and that, I think, while seeming to fill a hungry belly for the audience ultimately was one of the times that he was the least manifesting of his preaching and ministering responsibility. So I understand that many pine for the personal and secular words that JPII used. But in my opinion, and I loved JPII dearly, I believe that too often his temptation to be communications maven overtook his Vicar of Jesus Christ focus, and so he would use a personal tact, a political tact, to please the audience and to be loved in return. That's not the job of the Pope, my friends, and Pope Benedict will never make that mistake.

Instead, Pope Benedict consoles through God, the ultimate consoler, if only people actually listen to what he is saying. I was very moved at how I could see that Mr Peres, with some surprise, understood that the Pope was connecting the listeners to the Consoler in Chief, God, instead of trying to select personal or political verbiage to meet some criterion.

I hope that when the Prime Minister, who greeted the Pope at the airport, but who had other important tasks in Egypt, reads the text of what the Pope said, he recognizes this too.

To the critics of the Pope: My friends, how can you be disappointed by a speech by the Pope that is rooted in our shared scripture, focused on God? Think about what that is saying about your preferences. You would rather that the Pope echo words that you have selected, rather than provide thoughtful unity as we all look to God for our unity, our consolation, and our answers? That seems a poor choice, my friends. I would think that anyone expects genuine religious leaders to continually illuminate God upon human's problems, not echo scripts and verbiage expectations on a personal level. Too often religious leaders travel the world to act like chiefs of state, or the head of the "grievance department," rather than focus on their first role of faith formation with continual emphasis on God and God's scripture.