“You know the church is facing a big problem when 70% of members and attendees have actually engaged in pornography. Out of the 70%, half of these engagements happened in the past year.”
Joanna Koh-Hoe, CEO of Focus on the Family Singapore, shared this grim statistic with 520 church leaders and workers during Set Free Summit (SFS) organised by Cru Singapore.
Pornography in the Church–surely that statement could be counted as blasphemy! Yet, it’s easy to avoid problems when they are miles away but porn has now crept its way onto our shores and slipped itself into our pews.
We asked Joanna, and Shem Yao from TOUCH Cyber Wellness on the sidelines of SFS, to shine some light on the problem of pornography in Singapore.
Focus on the Family Singapore CEO Ms Joanna Koh-Hoe sharing Whole Life Survey insights at Set Free Summit SIngapore organised by Cru Singapore.
Parents need to be aware
Despite the prevalence of pornography especially amongst the young, Shem tells us that parents are still not aware of the amount of explicit content their children are being exposed to.
He stresses on the importance of having conversations about sexuality, body image and identity as a way to combat issues that lead to pornography addiction.
“If you catch your child watching pornography do not react in anger or have a judgmental attitude. Rather, find out their motivators and remember to build and develop a good understanding before broaching the topic with your child.”
TOUCH Cyber Wellness Assistant Manager Shem Yao gave latest mobile usage trends among Singaporean youths and children.
Faith without action is dead
Joanna points out the gaping divide between what we, as Christians, do and what we believe in. Though many Christians seem to have a very conservative view on sexuality and deem pornography to be wrong, it is somehow an addiction that many a follower struggle with.
Concepts like sexual purity and sexual integrity are laughed at as archaic, things that are no longer relevant to today’s liberal society. However, Joanna corrects that perspective by sharing that “God designed sex for good.”
“It was designed for us to experience pleasure and the fullness of His creation and what it means to be created in His image. It is important, as a Church, to show that we are different. We have the solution that the world is looking for, better love and sexual fulfillment.”
“However, we need to start living out what we believe.”
Steps to be set apart for His glory
For youths who struggle, do find someone whom you can trust to talk about this. It may be hard and embarrassing, but this is integral in preventing the addiction from spiraling and taking over your life.
For the rest of us who wish to be set apart, Joanna stresses that “you got to be brave”. It is hard to be different in this sexually active and sensitive world but as Christians, we stand on this truth that God is always with us, He equips us and sets us apart.
Set Free Summit is part of Cru Singapore annual conference series to equip Christian leaders in contemporary discipleship and outreach issues. Find out more at conference@cru.org.sg.
Eunice loves running and coffee, not necessarily in that order. Most of the time, however, she’s running to get coffee.
©1972-2024 Cru Singapore. All Rights Reserved.
