Purity

1. Purity Stats Reasons why people break their purity TV Music Alcohol Dancing Party ‘games’ Facebook Swearing Drugs Tips

2. Stats • In 2006 $97 billion was spent on pornography. Bigger than Microsoft, Google, Amazon, eBay, Yahoo!, Apple, Netflix and EarthLink combined. Australia 5th • The word porn was the most searched word in south Africa, Ireland, new Zealand, united kingdom, Australia • The word sex was the most searched word in Pakistan, India, Egypt, turkey. • 12% of total websites are pornographic • The average age that children are exposed to pornography is 11 • 20% of men watch pornography at work • Many partners admit to watching pornography together, … rise of porn parties, school sales etc.

3. Reasons why people break their purity • Temptation • Belief in pleasure • Friends, media, tv, billboards • Lust is attractive and difficult to overcome • Don’t forget the work of satan

4. TV • Tvis a big problem these days. “TV offers us a more animated version of pornography. There is hardly a movie without some kind of porn in it, even cartoons. The internet has now equaled or even surpassed TV in the amount and variety of sinful sights it offers, and they are only a mouse click away” • Most movies contain swearing or immoderately dressed women, and they’re usually not entertaining anyway.

5. Let’s make a deal. If you made a rule that every time you heard a swear word and saw a woman dressed immodestly you would shut off the tv for two hours. • How much tv would you watch? ......... zero

6. Music • Very loud and violent music is also to be avoided. He says some music feels like the devil is beating the drums! • Music videos - not only are you bombarded by the very lustful lyrics sung in a very lustful way, but your eyes are also bombarded with very lustful scenes. The results are devastating and they are all over the TV. Bad music often sticks to your mind and the words keep repeating themselves in your mind while you are working, walking or even while you are praying. • Concert

7. Alcohol • Alcohol is a very potent stimulus physiologically and psychologically. There are many horror stories concerning drinking alcohol, especially fornication. We do not have the time to detail alcoholic effects here.

8. Dancing • Dances are the most common way for “relationships” to start. We will detail a horror story here. A priest was serving for another priest on vacation in the USA. He was approached by a 13 year old girl who wanted to confess. He took her to the office of the priest he was covering for, and she went on crying and sobbing. He tried to calm her down, asking about the reason for her tears. Finally she started talking, “I had sexual intercourse”. It turned out she went to a dance, danced with a 15-year old boy, and before the night was over she had lost her virginity. “Did he rape you?” the priest asked, “No father, I wanted it as much as he did. With the music and the lights and our bodies close to each other, I had no desire to resist.” That was her answer.

9. Party ‘games’ • Truth or dare basically becomes a gossip session • Spin the bottle puts peer pressure on a boy and girl to kiss. • Apparently there is a game where a boy and girl are locked up in a closet for a period of time, maybe five minutes. I’ll spare you the details and let you guess what happens in that closet. Unfortunately these games are becoming all the more frequent.

10. Is this really fun? • Do you really think these parties are fun? Do you think people have true fun because music is played, alcohol is consumed and you’re on the dance floor? • Are these effects extreme?

11. Facebook • You have 500 ‘friends’ on facebook • Are these people really friends, or is it all for show • How many would visit you if you were in hospitalised or imprisoned (hypothetically) • Is facebook worth it? • Is it worth getting rid of it?

12. Drugs Some misconceptions • Taking a drug is not necessarily bad for you • The majority of people take drugs • Taking a drug affects everybody equally See our drug powerpoint on this blog for more detail

13. Swearing Swearing is: Insulting Rude Vulgar Disrespectful See our swearing and its implications post for more detail

14. What should we do? • “Become addicted to church attendance; to prayer; to fasting, as instructed by the church calendar and clergy; to psalmody; to confession and Holy Communion as instructed by a priest; become addicted to performing unselfish good deeds for others; to reading Orthodox books; to fighting off passions, sins, and temptations. Most of all, we hope to become addicted to God. That is, to make our entire life revolve around Jesus Christ, His teachings, and His example of bearing tribulations. • How?

15. Tips • Never rely on yourself. Realiseyour nothingness and constantly keep in the forefront of your mind the fact that by yourself you can do nothing good which is worthy to gain entry into heaven. • Ask for God’s help with warm and humble prayers, for this is His gift. • Accustom yourself to be weary and to fear your innumerable enemies whom you cannot resist even for a short time without God’s help. • If you fall into some transgression, you must quickly acknowledge the realisationof your weakness and remain aware of it.

16. Flee as far as you can • Prayer: short, simple appeal for help • Faith in God’s promise: ‘God is faithful, He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it’ • Fasting: be careful what you eat and when you eat • Be earnest, make serious commitments - look away immediately at something lustful….

17. Destroy all pornographic/lustful materials in your possessions today. Do not leave it to chance. • Be extremely careful about what you hear and see • Do useful activities in your life: praying, reading spiritual books, reading educational books, watching spiritual videos, watching educational videos, writing, play sports, hang out with real friends, fishing, telescope viewing or whatever else.