Wiley Graf
The ninth in a series of 11 blogs answering anticipated objections to material set forth in A Way of Escape, i.e., the ninth in a series of 11 blogs answering anticipated FAQs.
OBJECTION #9 (of 11)
In Appendix C of your book, you claim that 83% of persons wanting to quit porn are not seeking the help of an accountability partner/group to help them quit [1]. But that survey question dates to 2016 when a leading accountability-based purity program had less than one (1) million subscribers. That same purity program now has over two (2) million subscribers [2]. If that same survey question were asked today, the 83% number would be lower. Update your data! Updated data would better represent the positive impact accountability-based programs are having in the war against the flesh.
RESPONSE
The 83 percent. And the companion calculation that projects a minimum of 10 million persons are still longing for a way of escape without accountability. These numbers were included in the book simply to raise awareness of the problem of porn in the Church. Numbers, even if only estimated, and even if slightly changed from the time the survey was conducted, help to bring this sin problem home to the Church with jaw-dropping clarity.
IS ANY PERCENTAGE TOO SMALL TO IGNORE?
Because of recent successes of accountability-based programs, is the percentage of addicts reluctant to seek accountability-based help now lower than 83%? Or, with two years of COVID under our collective belts, is the new number perhaps even higher than 83% (logically, which direction would one expect the numbers to go with the entire globe in various stages of lockdown since March 2020?)? Does the up-to-date correct percentage really matter? Is any percentage too small to ignore?
TENDER SHEPHERD TRIBUTE
Jesus taught that the shepherd with 99 sheep safely in his care would scale mountains to find the one sheep that had gone astray (Matthew 18:12-14). We ought to do the same. The updated percentage is probably only very slightly changed from the 83 percent reported in A Way of Escape. But even if only a few percent of the still-struggling are reluctant to seek accountability-based help, we still ought to do all we can to bring those few back safely into the fold.
A GAME-CHANGING BOOK HAS ARRIVED
In A Way of Escape, readers learn how to step up the degree to which they “walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16). They learn how to build a library of Spirit-anointed, flesh-diffusing apps. Apps that are uniquely fitted to them, and their unique Spirit-filling triggers.
The still-struggling now have another option. The still-struggling now have fresh hope for discovering that long-sought-after way of escape from sin and temptation (I Corinthians 10:13). A way that—because it is wholly Spirit-powered—does not require enlisting the aid of an accountability partner or group. Truly, a game-changer!
A WAY OF ESCAPE
A Spirit-Powered Battle Plan for Purity
(Accountability Partner/Group NOT Required!)
REFERENCES
1. The Porn Phenomenon: The Impact of Pornography in the Digital Age, Barna Group, Ventura, CA, page 112 (83% determined as the average of 79% for Teens & Young Adults and 87% for Adults Age 25 and Older), 2016
2. Conquer Series: The Battle Plan for Purity (the 2 million men statistic is reported on their Home Page at https://www.conquerseries.com/)
