One day, a young teenager wanted to just help around the house by cleaning a storage room of his family's home. While he was cleaning, he saw a plastic bag with several magazines. With curiosity, he opened the bag and found 2 different magazines with "shocking" covers-naked women! He then look around to see if anyone was around and decided to sneak it up to his bedroom. Later that night, he waited for everybody in the house to fall sleep. When the "close was clear", he took out a flashlight under his bed and look at those "pornographic" magazines to get a better view page by page. This became one night, then the second, then the third, etc... This man still has images of these pages when "something" triggers his mind to reflect on them, which he cannot "delete" them still!
Above is a story that many men can relate as they've been "victims" of pornography, which has plagued globally. What can they do? I decided to write on this after watching a special show on "Oprah" that featured famous gospel singer Kirk Franklin.
Related Sites:
Porn Epidemic from Oprah
"Kirk says he's been addicted to pornography since he was 8 years old. "Growing up, everybody's got a friend that's got that big brother that has the stash [of pornographic magazines or videotapes] under the bed," he says. "From my first look, I was hooked."
Kirk Franklin Reveals All on Oprah , from CBN Nov 30th of 2005
He admitted-humbly of his porn addiction, which I personally have a higher respect for him now because not many folks (espeically Christians in a high position in society) would do this in "national" television. I decided to share this story above because this was something that happened to someone I know personally. I too have had similar stories (e.g. computer chat online), which I want to encourage folks suffering this addiction that they can be helped! I found my help through finding a personal relationship with my Savior-Jesus Christ!
As a on-going growing Christian, I've (Sal) learned to fight this temptation through fasting (personal prayer). I would love to share more on this with you personally, so feel free to contact me! I would fast once a week during my junior year in college to help me to fight all types of temptations/sinful desires) I was struggling hard with in my early walk with God. I still fast once awhile still (Dec 1st of 2005), depending on what trials/circumstances I face in my daily walk. However, I can honestly say I'm able to deal with sexual temptation a lot easier now than before, which wil be an on-going battle. It gets easier though as one keeps their focus/walk with God through prayer and daily devotions reading the Bible!
Money a reason?
I recently (Fall or 07') chatted with a woman online that tried to lure me to one of those "web cam" shows where they pose naked. I asked her if they get paid for every person that goes on her site. She kind of "beat on the bush" and confessed that she needed the money for college. I kept telling her that there are other options. I then share with her my story...
During my freshmen year at college, I was kind of in a desperate situation to make quick money. I saw an add to pose nude for an art class, where I would stand/sit/whatever position in front of some students as they draw. They paid good money, which I was very close to doing. Then one weekend, I went to go downhill skiing at a local ski resort with some other college students (paid for free). I then got into an accident (see full-story) , which I had to be in crutches for almost 4 weeks. I thought this was a sign from God that I shouldn't pursue this desire to pose nude for money. It was a life lesson to not doing something in desperation or you might suffer the consequences later on.
Biblical Story
One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, 3 and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, "Isn't this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" 4 Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (She had purified herself from her uncleanness.) Then [1] she went back home. 5 The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, "I am pregnant." -2 Sammuel 11
Like the story above, pornography is the "oogling" or "eyeing" of another woman (maybe married, which will be considered adultery) with lust! This is a huge struggle for men, whether they are Christian or non-christian.
Internet Child-Porn
Article: "Communication key to child porn cases 05/21/2005 (Morris Sun Tribune
Computer technology would seem to afford on-line users anonymity. Just you and the glowing flat screen in the privacy of your home or office. But as a recent arrest in Morris illustrates, Internet users leave a trail of cyber bread crumbs, and law enforcement officials, Internet providers and watchdog organizations follow that trail relentlessly when they suspect it will lead to crimes involving minor children. The Morris Police Department on May 13 arrested a 22-year-old Morris man for allegedly downloading hundreds of images, movies and videos depicting children involved in sexual activities. Christopher Nicholas Ervin faces seven felony counts of possessing pornographic work involving a minor. Ervin was released after his initial court appearance and is schedule for an Aug. 11 court appearance in Stevens County District Court. Preliminary forensic searches by Morris Police Sgt. Ross Tiegs revealed 429 individual image files on computers and computer storage devices seized during the search of Ervin’s residence. The majority of the files contain images of pubescent and pre-pubescent males with genitals exposed or engaged in sex acts. Tiegs’ work also uncovered discs containing movies and video clips of children engaged in sexual activity. Tracking Internet child porn and those trafficking in it can be a laborious process. Morris law enforcement learned of Ervin’s alleged activity in late January, but waited to make an arrest on May 13. Ervin’s next court date was set three months away because of the time needed for forensic investigators to work on the Ervin case plus dozens of others, Tiegs said. That burgeoning workload isn’t solely the result of more people becoming involved in Internet crime, said Staca Urie, a supervisor with the Exploited Child Unit of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The center was founded in 1998 by Congressional mandate. Soon after came the creation of the Cybertipline, through which potentially exploitive activity can be reported 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Then, a federal law was passed requiring Internet Providers, called IP’s, to track and report any content they discovered that might be considered child pornography, Urie said. In 2004, the 169 IP’s registered to monitor activities made more than 78,000 reports of potential child porn activity to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Urie said. “Reporting has dramatically increased since the mandate,” she said. “We rely heavily on them,” Morris Chief of Police Jim Beauregard said of the IP’s and watchdog groups. “We’re working more cooperatively to put cases together. It’s not that there are more (possible cases) out there, but we’re working more closely with other agencies at bringing these kinds of things out. Before, we just didn’t have the resources.”
How does it work?
IP’s monitor their users and raise the first red flag, Urie said.
In Ervin’s case, Yahoo! Inc. discovered activity and made its report to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
The national center then reported the activity to the Minnesota Internet Crimes Against Children task force, which is part of the St. Paul Police Department.
The MICAC task force was established in 1998 as part of a national program through the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
The task forces do analytical research on the potentially criminal material, work to track down the IP address and contact local law enforcement. The task force also engages in training for law enforcement agencies, like Morris, which do not have the manpower to staff full-time computer and technology crime units.
There are 43 task forces working nationwide in 38 states, and Minnesota’s is among the best, Urie said.
“All the task forces do a good job getting back to us (about prosecutions), but it doesn’t happen all the time,” Urie said. “In Minnesota, you’ve got an amazing task force. They’ve got a 100 percent response rate.”
Once the state task force has done its work and the alleged culprit or culprits tracked, the reports are filtered down to the local level.
Agencies work together
Tiegs is the Morris Police Department’s resident authority on Internet crime activity, having attended several training programs and keeping abreast of cyber crime techniques. Even with that exposure, Tiegs said, “I’m amazed by the number of people out there in this stuff, and it’s expanding because of the anonymity.”
At one training session, the instructor tapped into an Internet site known for lurid activity, Tiegs said. “Within 15 seconds, she had guys on with their video cameras, sitting naked and saying stuff like, ‘Talk dirty to me,’ ” Tiegs said. “It’s amazing how quickly people can get hooked into these sites. It’s not all juvenile, but if you know what you’re looking for, you can find it quickly.”
Tiegs has done preliminary investigation of the material on computers and storage devices taken during Ervin’s arrest. In addition to the vast amount of material that can be stored on a computer hard drive, DVD discs can store thousands of images. All of it must be cataloged, and then the computers are sent to state forensic computer experts who determine if there’s more material on the computers or storage devices that require investigation, Tiegs said. Through an investigation, law enforcement and other agencies have made reports back to IP’s, which have been good about monitoring their “rooms” or “groups” for criminal activity, Tiegs said. “With 200 million people a day going through Yahoo, you’re not going to catch everything,” Tiegs said. “But they’ve been good about relaying what they find.”
Staying on the problem
The need definitely is there. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reported that in 2002, an estimated 45 million children had on-line access. Today, that figure is estimated at 75 million. Tiegs also noted that, most available research suggests that at least some on-line child pornography users move beyond the photographs. “Courts have decided that if they’re into child pornography, they’ll generally make use of other tools, too,” Tiegs said. “All of a sudden, the pictures don’t do it for them anymore and they want what they’ve been looking at. That’s why when we find something like this, we take it very seriously. The psychologists, psychiatrists and sociologists say that’s the progression.”
Vigilance is the key, Urie said, given the rapid advances in technology For that reason, the National Center for Missing and Exploiting Children has an “emerging technology team,” to stay on top of the issue. “Any type of new technology is great for all the reasons it was created,” Urie said. “But on the flip side there are ways it can be used illegally.”
And law enforcement and watchdog organizations have to be equally alert, she said. “We hear back from law enforcement daily about cases,” Urie said. “When what may have started as a piece of information we provided ends up leading to an arrest or conviction, that’s satisfying. But we’re all overachievers and we’d like to see the time when the reports are zero.”
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Hookers For Jesus, Annie Lobert on TBN
"Annie Lobert, founder and creator of Hookers4Jesus in Las Vegas was a former prostitute/escort for over 11 years. After a series of life changing events, she reached out for Jesus in her desperation and fear of dying. Listen to the amazing story of transformation and how she is inspired now to reach out to the very women she used to work with"
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What will you do the next time porn strikes?
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