Sir,
With reference to the story regarding the young teacher arrested for having child pornography on his computer, I would like to make a few comments if I may.
We read of the shock and horror of parents at this news. Yes it is horrible and shocking and repulses ever fiber of my being to think of children being defiled in this way and also the number of people logging on to such sites.
However, what shocks me more is the silence of ordinary good-living people, our churches, all these years as our country has been raped by all forms of immorality.
Walk down any street in our so-called Christian country and you will see large posters of scantily dressed bodies used to advertise various products, walk into 90 per cent of kiosks and you will find pornographic magazines, playing cards with nude pictures on them, postcards with naked bodies, suggestive advertising, the latest being a man opening the string on a lady’s bikini. Go to the cinema to see Bambi with your child and have all the upcoming films thrown at you with no thought given to the age of the audience. Look at the soaps on our televisions. The MTV music videos. Cafes, shops, everywhere we go, you will be guaranteed to have a naked or semi naked body staring at you. Our underwear shops recently had all forms of erotic underwear displayed on their windows for Valentine’s Day.
Is this the idea of sex and love we want to pass on to our children? Do we honestly think this is what God wants our children to be exposed to every day?
We know the dangers of internet pornography and yet we allow our children to have internet on their computers in their bedrooms. Are we so naive as to think they can fight the temptation? Grown men and women cannot fight it and yet we throw our children into this mire. A multimillion pound business and we think our kids won’t be tempted or enticed into pornography?
Pornography is highly addictive and starts off with the so-called harmless stuff. The majority of people logging on to child pornography would have started off on other porn sites. I am coming across many women who are horrified to find their young sons logging on the pornography sites. As young as 10 years old.
The Biblical view of sex is that it is a gift from God and a beautiful thing. Lust and sexual attraction are a very natural and healthy side of sex between two people committed to each other. However, we have defiled it and twisted it and we are denying the future generations a healthy outlook on sex.
Are we aware that pornography is highly addictive? Do we have any help for addicts. Do our churches help their young by talking and discussing such matters with them or is it hushed under the carpet?
So when we think of this young teacher embroiled in such evil, let’s not be too quick to condemn him only, but ourselves also, we have stood by all these years and allowed this to happen. The silence on our part is deafening. We are all responsible in one way or another.
M. Stavrianos
Pyrgos, Limassol
