in its anti-porn crusades or with the sex-negative feminists like Susan Brownmiller. From both those corners we hear that for a man (or a boy) to pick up a copy of Playboy is a bestial, destructive act. Feh.
Still, I don't entirely discount the objection. Years ago I would have told you that the term 'addiction' only applied to a small class of drugs. Using terms like 'addicted to pornography' was just bad poetry and misguided metaphor. Then I got to know some guys that had really messed up with porn. One guy in particular – a UU, BTW – who'd been told by his boss, "We know you've been going to porn sites on company time and company equipment. This is a big no-no. We monitor your computer usage. You've been warned. Do this on your own time, but not on the job. Do it again and you'll be fired." And knowing that, and with plenty of net-access from his own home, he went back to the porn sites and lost the job.
I also once knew a guy who was on parole on drug charges. He was told by his parole officer "We will be testing your urine. If you do amphetamine again, we will see it and you will go to prison." He did up some speed, reported for his drug test, went back to prison.
I think it's fair to call them both addicts. And for addicts, the Cornerstone preacher's words about 'not being able to beat it on your own' – yeah, that's good ministry.
My UU church hosts an AA meeting. What if we were to appropriate some of Cornerstone's tradition by, say, hosting a support group for guys addicted to porn? I think it would fit within our tradition of compassion. That is to say, I think folks struggling with this should be able to get help without confessing a personal relationship with Jesus. And if we shun the kind of work that Cornerstone is doing, that will be the only help available.
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