Comments on: Fetters http://www.spiritualtramp.com/blog/2009/03/fetters/ Musings on Christianity Sat, 04 Feb 2012 09:00:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Scott http://www.spiritualtramp.com/blog/2009/03/fetters/comment-page-1/#comment-413 Scott Wed, 11 Mar 2009 18:12:00 +0000 http://www.spiritualtramp.com/blog/?p=229#comment-413 <p>Perhaps as much.</p> <p>I do know that if I listen to/watch too much violence it often makes me cranky.</p> Perhaps as much.

I do know that if I listen to/watch too much violence it often makes me cranky.

]]> By: sidfaiwu http://www.spiritualtramp.com/blog/2009/03/fetters/comment-page-1/#comment-412 sidfaiwu Wed, 11 Mar 2009 17:26:08 +0000 http://www.spiritualtramp.com/blog/?p=229#comment-412 <p>"You make a good point when you bang the drum on violence. I will be as vigilant to protect my children from that as I am about porn. I'm not as vigilant when it comes to my own consumption, but I have made inroads in that direction."</p> <p>Yeah, I do harp quite a bit about violence. Perhaps as much or more so than Christians harp on sexuality? Everyone has their own tolerances when it comes to these things. Do you think your consumption of violence is starting to affect you negatively (spiritually or otherwise)?</p> “You make a good point when you bang the drum on violence. I will be as vigilant to protect my children from that as I am about porn. I’m not as vigilant when it comes to my own consumption, but I have made inroads in that direction.”

Yeah, I do harp quite a bit about violence. Perhaps as much or more so than Christians harp on sexuality? Everyone has their own tolerances when it comes to these things. Do you think your consumption of violence is starting to affect you negatively (spiritually or otherwise)?

]]> By: Scott http://www.spiritualtramp.com/blog/2009/03/fetters/comment-page-1/#comment-2184 Scott Mon, 09 Mar 2009 21:23:16 +0000 http://www.spiritualtramp.com/blog/?p=229#comment-2184 Naturally boundaries are subjective. Some don't set them at all and some (imo) go way overboard. Porn is a tricky thing. I don't want it banned. I don't think that showing two (or more) people having sex is necessarily a bad thing any more than showing someone drinking (or actually drinking yourself) is inherently a harmful thing. Much like drinking, if it is done to excess it can be bad for you. For some people even "partaking" of that sort of content even once can have deleterious effects. After some bad experiences I have decided that I am one of those people. As a parent I will do what I can to teach my children that it is my belief that the adult entertainment complex is harmful to those that participate both in the production and consumption of its products. While not everyone involved ends up badly statistics I have read indicate that most do. Also, I believe porn (differentiated from merely showing two people gettin' it on) in general is harmful if not mentally or physically then spiritually. Regardless of whether society at large agrees with me or not I don't believe that I will let my children be the guinea pigs in that experiment. So yes I will block them. Will that stop them from seeking it out? Probably not. If I find them go around me will I hate them? No. Will I shame them? I don't think so. I'll talk to them about what they're doing and why I think it's a bad idea. I'll ask them what they're seeking out and why. There will likely be negative consequences just as if I had caught them drinking, smoking, doing drugs, or anything else that has the potential for harm. I don't think that that qualifies as shaming them. So, has porn harmed you Shawn? I'll take your word when you say no. Does that make it harmless? I'd say no. You make a good point when you bang the drum on violence. I will be as vigilant to protect my children from that as I am about porn. I'm not as vigilant when it comes to my own consumption, but I have made inroads in that direction. Naturally boundaries are subjective. Some don’t set them at all and some (imo) go way overboard.
Porn is a tricky thing. I don’t want it banned. I don’t think that showing two (or more) people having sex is necessarily a bad thing any more than showing someone drinking (or actually drinking yourself) is inherently a harmful thing. Much like drinking, if it is done to excess it can be bad for you. For some people even “partaking” of that sort of content even once can have deleterious effects. After some bad experiences I have decided that I am one of those people.
As a parent I will do what I can to teach my children that it is my belief that the adult entertainment complex is harmful to those that participate both in the production and consumption of its products. While not everyone involved ends up badly statistics I have read indicate that most do. Also, I believe porn (differentiated from merely showing two people gettin’ it on) in general is harmful if not mentally or physically then spiritually. Regardless of whether society at large agrees with me or not I don’t believe that I will let my children be the guinea pigs in that experiment. So yes I will block them.
Will that stop them from seeking it out? Probably not. If I find them go around me will I hate them? No. Will I shame them? I don’t think so. I’ll talk to them about what they’re doing and why I think it’s a bad idea. I’ll ask them what they’re seeking out and why. There will likely be negative consequences just as if I had caught them drinking, smoking, doing drugs, or anything else that has the potential for harm. I don’t think that that qualifies as shaming them.
So, has porn harmed you Shawn? I’ll take your word when you say no. Does that make it harmless? I’d say no.
You make a good point when you bang the drum on violence. I will be as vigilant to protect my children from that as I am about porn. I’m not as vigilant when it comes to my own consumption, but I have made inroads in that direction.

]]> By: Scott http://www.spiritualtramp.com/blog/2009/03/fetters/comment-page-1/#comment-2183 Scott Mon, 09 Mar 2009 21:04:21 +0000 http://www.spiritualtramp.com/blog/?p=229#comment-2183 Thanks John! Thanks John!

]]> By: sidfaiwu http://www.spiritualtramp.com/blog/2009/03/fetters/comment-page-1/#comment-2182 sidfaiwu Mon, 09 Mar 2009 20:49:46 +0000 http://www.spiritualtramp.com/blog/?p=229#comment-2182 I'm all about setting maturity-appropriate boundaries for children, but how and where to set those boundaries are highly subjective. Having no children myself, I won't speculate as to what is and is not out of bounds, but I'm sure my kid(s), if I have it(them) will have access to material that most religious sorts will consider harmful. Speaking of which... I'm still waiting for all those harmful effects of pornography to catch up with me. In the meantime, the guilt and shame my parent's religion made me feel about sex has done a lot more harm in my life than all the porn I've consumed. Thank your God I was able to overcome those emotional fetters. But hey, that's just me. I can have a healthy relationship with fantasy sex, but not fantasy violence. Some people are the opposite. Seen any good horror flicks recently? ;) I’m all about setting maturity-appropriate boundaries for children, but how and where to set those boundaries are highly subjective. Having no children myself, I won’t speculate as to what is and is not out of bounds, but I’m sure my kid(s), if I have it(them) will have access to material that most religious sorts will consider harmful.
Speaking of which…
I’m still waiting for all those harmful effects of pornography to catch up with me. In the meantime, the guilt and shame my parent’s religion made me feel about sex has done a lot more harm in my life than all the porn I’ve consumed. Thank your God I was able to overcome those emotional fetters.
But hey, that’s just me. I can have a healthy relationship with fantasy sex, but not fantasy violence. Some people are the opposite. Seen any good horror flicks recently? ;)

]]> By: John http://www.spiritualtramp.com/blog/2009/03/fetters/comment-page-1/#comment-411 John Fri, 06 Mar 2009 15:11:26 +0000 http://www.spiritualtramp.com/blog/?p=229#comment-411 <p>Scott,</p> <p>Hooray for you! Children need boundaries. If they don't have them they don't feel loved. We as adults need boundaries, if we don't have them we don't feel loved. Why? Because anyone who really loves you doesn't want you to make a mistake that could affect the rest of your life. Anyone who loves you wants to protect you from harmful things like pornography. Anyone who loves you is willing to stand up and take the arrows for you instead of allow harm to come to you. These people who say you're being adversarial or authoritarian must have a screwed up view of love because they're willing to throw their children to the wolves and let them fend for themselves. Good for you for standing up and being counted. Count me in too.</p> <p>John</p> Scott,

Hooray for you! Children need boundaries. If they don’t have them they don’t feel loved. We as adults need boundaries, if we don’t have them we don’t feel loved. Why? Because anyone who really loves you doesn’t want you to make a mistake that could affect the rest of your life. Anyone who loves you wants to protect you from harmful things like pornography. Anyone who loves you is willing to stand up and take the arrows for you instead of allow harm to come to you. These people who say you’re being adversarial or authoritarian must have a screwed up view of love because they’re willing to throw their children to the wolves and let them fend for themselves. Good for you for standing up and being counted. Count me in too.

John

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