The Catholic Chic is a personal and faith-based blog on the life of a Catholic woman in the modern world.

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

My Thoughts on "The Hardcore Truth"

In my college days, I joined a Catholic youth group, CFC-Youth for Christ, which advocates the 100% pure lifestyle. Among the many advocacies we lived by was No to Pornography, shortly coined "porNO".

From yfc.tumblr.com

To my young mind, the phrase sounded catchy but I did not fully understand it as of late. In those days, I wasn't really aware of the inner workings of the world of pornography. I thought it was an issue which affects only the males.


Recently, I came across an e-book suggested to me by my husband. It is entitled The Hardcore Truth and was written by Matt Fradd and Donny Pauling

Once again, I thought the porn issue only concerned men. However, I realized after reading this that the issue concerns females as well, as I learned women suffer from this addiction and/or the ill effects of porn.

The book answered the many questions I had about pornography and discussed the latest issues surrounding this topic. It debunked the many myths about porn that was fed to me by the media. 

It is a 30-page e-book which can be finished in a few hours. I suggest you get a copy if you are looking for a quick read. 



But first, who are Matt and Donny?

Matt Fradd works for Covenant Eyes, and is the author of the new book Delivered: True Stories of Men and Women who Turned from Porn to Purity. He is also the founder of The Porn Effect (www.theporneffect.com), a site dedicated to exposing the reality behind the fantasy of porn and offering help to those seeking freedom from it. Matt lives with his wife and children in Georgia. 

Donny Pauling was a porn producer for 9 years, working with Playboy and other top companies. But after meeting a Christian ministry and having a God-encounter of his own, Donny walked away from porn for good. Now a Christian speaker, Donny shares his story and the truth about the dangers of porn to churches and universities around the country. Donny was confirmed into the Catholic Church on Easter Vigil, 2014. 

Matt Fradd and Donny Pauling

These 2 guys teamed up to create this interesting e-book and here are some of the Myths about pornography they debunked:

Myth 1: Porn is Morally Neutral
Myth 2: Porn is Glamorous
Myth 3: Porn Liberates Women
Myth 4: Porn Stars Love the Sex
Myth 5: Watching Porn is Healthy, Adult Entertainment
Myth 6: Porn Enhances Sexual Intimacy
Myth 7: Porn Stars are Well-rounded women
Myth 8: Porn is Safe for the Actors to Make 
Myth 9: Looking at Free Porn doesn't support the Industry
Myth 10: Porn is just Fantasy

The book was truly an eye-opener as it immersed me to the real world of pornography. It contained a lot of personal stories of men and women who once actively participated in the industry, as well as biblical and Christian insights to thoroughly discuss and debunk the myths enumerated above. 

While reading, my heart ached for all women who were victimized by this industry. At the same time, I was encouraged to read more about their plight and pray for them as well as the million others who have been deceived by porn.

Here are a few excerpts which struck me (emphasis mine):

"Real sex cannot be packaged and sold through pixels on a screen. Porn turns sex into a commodity. Porn reduces the mystery and beauty of a man or a woman to a collection of body parts to be used rather than recognizing them as persons to be loved. It reduces the great mystery and sanctity of human sexuality to a trivial activity."


"Pornography sells lies—cleverly scripted and cunningly edited lies. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church states, porn “immerses all who are involved in the illusion of a fantasy world.”


"I would say the foundational reason pornography is wrong is that it removes the sexuality from its natural context. It removes sexuality from outside of the intimacy of the partners and turns it into a commodity, something to be bought and sold."


"I like to say that pornography doesn’t complement sexual intimacy; it competes with it. I found out at the 2003 meeting of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, they revealed that 58% of their divorces were in some way influenced by a spouse looking at excessive amounts of pornography online. So pornography certainly doesn’t enhance intimacy in marriage. It’s its enemy. It’s a counterfeit. It offers a warped sense of intimacy."

I hope you would download this e-book as it is a great resource in understanding pornography. If you have any peers, friends, family members who would like to detox from porn, this e-book will also be of great help. 

This e-book is actually FREE and you can download it from the Covenant Eyes website. 

Other FREE e-books you can find at Covenant Eyes include the following:

For Parents:

1. Protecting Your Family Online, A How-To Guide for Parents

2. A Parent's Guide to Cyberbullying

3. Parenting the Internet Generation, 7 Potential Threats and 7 Habits for Internet Safety 

Recovery from Porn:

4. Your Brain on Porn, 5 Proven Ways Porn Warps Your Mind and 3 Biblical Ways to Renew it

5. The Porn Circuit, Understand Your Brain and Break Porn Habits in 90 Days

6. Pornography Statistics (2014 edition)

7. Coming Clean, Overcoming Lust Through Biblical Accountability

8. Stop the Demand, The Role of Porn in Sex Trafficking

Support for Couples:

9. Porn and Your Husband, A Recovery Guide for Wives

10. Hope After Porn, 4 Women Share their stories of heartbreak and how their Marriages were Saved

Church support:

11. Porn-free church, Raising Up Gospel Communities to Destroy Secret Sins

12. Internet Pornography, A Ministry Leader's Handbook

Visit Covenant Eyes today and read up on these valuable resources. May God bless you!

+ Totus Tuus +

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