Hey Guys,
Thanks again for your great responses to Derek. He wanted me to write the following message to be posted on the blog and he will give me personal responses for me to email to you people who personally responded.
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Thanks for so many great responses and thank you so much for the encouragement. I would like to start off explaining “sexual addiction” since many seem to get it confused. It can involve criminal activity, but most times it doesn’t. It includes everything that is not sex within boundaries Yahweh (our heavenly Father) has set for us, Marriage. And I would like to answer the questions from my perspective for you guys. My hope through this is that maybe some of you can help other people that struggle with sexual addiction in the event ever arises. And it is my desire that Yahweh will also use me to make it a topic that people are not afraid to talk about in churches. Lastly I would like to say that Yahweh has been leading me on this journey now for a little over 3 years, I was arrested on my 30th birthday. I also like to say that my crime was specifically related to my porn addiction (there was never any person to person contact and I have no victims on my case.) I hope to show others that might struggle, how easy their life can fall apart if they don’t find help. Thank you for being gracious enough and being open to see how you might be able to help others.
1. Can people change?: Yes, but they must want to and they must submit to the correction of Yahweh, for He will always lead us on the right path. And the change can be very significant, there may still need to be extra boundaries but I believe through Yahweh, complete change can happen as long as they are willing to accept truth into their lives.
2. Do you think people who have committed sex offenses committed them because they are the way they are or because of other circumstances? : For me it was because of underlying childhood trauma and abuse, and I had been addicted to porn from the age of 12. And it all led to it in the end. Leave it unchecked and porn will desensitize to literally everything. Its why I want to help warn people that struggle with sex addiction to be careful. And it is very rampant in the church, mostly because it is so stigmatized and no one wants to talk about it, let alone help others more than “Pray and read your Bible”. I was told to “deal with it on your own” by my church.
3. Believe it or not I am a rare case. Most people here do not seem to want real complete change, they just want enough change to not GET CAUGHT committing the crime again. What’s worse, there is literally nothing here to help you, its all on your own.
4. How do you measure change? ” I measure change by how I am following Torah and the fruits of the spirit apparent in my life.
Thanks again for your great responses. Feel feel to email Dave if you think of other questions you want me to try to answer.