The truth about what Hollywood think of Christ part one

April 07, 2006

Are Some Porn Detractors Addicted to Religion?

For years, I'm been hearing sexually repressed religious right types throwing around the dubious concept of "porn addiction," which earlier this week led me to posit (see Kudos to Kernes blog) - why don't we ever hear about religious addiction, if indeed such a thing exists?

Apparently it does. Or at least the argument can be made that it does. Some quick Internet research turned up numerous links/articles on the topic. Here's a portion of one of the more interesting ones:

Alcoholic
Mood alters up by drinking; mood alters down by not drinking or simply by thinking about the prospect of not drinking.

Religious Addict
Mood alters up by behaving religiously; mood alters down when they don’t or can’t (attend church, read the Bible daily, pray enough, etc.)

Alcoholic
Chooses to be with people who have a relationship with alcohol similar to their own; relationships with others become a casualty.

Religious Addict
Chooses to be with people who have a religious belief system similar to their own, withdrawing from friends and even family members who don’t.

Alcoholic
Gravitates toward places that cater to, are sympathetic to, or even encourage using behavior (e.g., the local bar).

Religious Addict
Attends church and activities with people who believe the same or attends activities that are sponsored by like-minded groups and organizations.

Here's a link to the entire article:

http://www.spiritualabuse.com/dox/gobad2.htm

And here's a link to another article that makes the case for religious addiction:

http://www.fairnessproject.org/Religious_Addiction.html

Finally, gotta love the title of this article that popped up in my search: "God Hates Religion." For the curious, here's that link:

http://www.christinyou.net/pages/godhatesrel.html

What's that bit about people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones?

Posted by Mr.MikeRamone at April 7, 2006 12:49 PM

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Comments

A "link" I recommend is the movie 'V for Vendetta'. It's partly about how Great Britain's rightists use religious addiction & fear to rally against sexuality, especially, homosexuality because they claim it's a "threat" to the state & gain control of parliament. Sounds familiar doesn't it?

Posted by: J.B. at April 7, 2006 03:25 PM

Luke Ford responds over on lukeisback.com: "There's nothing wrong with being addicted as long as one is addicted to good things."

I agree. Porn is good. Religion is bad...:) Actually, I don't agree: I don't know too many mental health professionals who would say that addiction to anything is good.

But Luke's statement is nothing compared to his next gem: "There's nothing wrong with violence as long as it is directed towards those worthy of violence."

That of course, raises the all-important question of who determines who is worthy? History is strewn with the bodies of millions and millions of innocents, including the six million, who died because of thinking like that. Then again, maybe this is his way of announcing that he's joined Al Queda. Luke, you want to perhaps re-think that statement?

Posted by: Mike Ramone at April 7, 2006 05:59 PM

Ok guys, I realize I'm now talking to someone off blog through Mike Ramone, but we have to put something major into perspective that really hasn't been discussed since William Henkin wrote his paper on the myth of sex addiction 10 years ago.

Addiction is physical. Drugs and alcohol are addictive. Caffine and cigarettes are addictive.

Compulsion is based on behavior.

Anyone having read Burroughs or listened to John Bradshaw understands this. Sex addiction, workaholism, abuse, manias, are compulsive acts.

This is why some on the far right are going out of their way to expose "erotoxins" in the brain from watching porn. While this reeks of 1984, it is their only way to legitimately tie an inanimate object to an act (not unlike the gun control issues we faced in the 80's).

Even the conservative Doctor Laura will tell you that it's the behavior that's unacceptable, and has to be altered, not the media the patient blames it on.

In short, sex addiction, religious addiction, workaholism, kleptomania, and school violence, are all behavioral issues which place responsibility solely on the individual acting out.

We choose our actions and to ignore the structure that tells what is right.

Sincerely,

Jay

PS: Also from Bradshaw, what separates compulsive behavior from fancy or hobby is that compulsive behavior causes dysfunction (therefore, dysfunctional families). Nintendo is not compulsive, unless you've found yourself playing for three days straight, not talking to your children.

Posted by: Jay Moyes at April 8, 2006 11:49 AM

Over on lukeisback, he responds to my question, "Luke, you want to perhaps re-think that statement?" that violence is fine as long as it's directed toward those worthy of violence.

"No. It's common sense is evident to those who want to see it. Everything is a matter of judgment, whether it is determing who is worthy of death or who is worthy of life. If O.J. Simpson and Mike Ramone were both drowning, I'd save Mike."

Well, thank you, but your analogy is off-point. It's one thing to make a choice as to which one of two persons you're going to save from drowning; quite another to take it upon yourself to determine who is "worthy" of aggressive violence against them. I know conservatives like you don't the concept of relativism - but that's exactly what it comes down to in this instance. The Nazis thought the Jews were "worthy" of extermination; Al Qeada believes Israel and the West are "worthy" of the same fate. Hard to believe you can't see the dead-end folly of you position, which I think you may have posted as a quick, maybe emotional reaction to my blog before really thinking it through (same with your statement that there's nothing wrong with addiction as long as one is addicted to something "good.")

Posted by: Mike Ramone at April 9, 2006 10:07 AM

Now that you have this disheartening thing, I wanted you to know to remember that they think they are right. They can't see that which has already destroyed them and they they are denying their only hope. So pray for them.

"Sha'alu shalom Yerushalayim."
PRAY FOR THE PEACE OF JERUSALEM
Faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen.

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