sanctified imagination

CULTIVATING PURE IMAGINATION TO FIGHT PORN

If you think that removing all the gadgets, including your cell phone and computer, will root out the issue of pornography, I think you’re mistaken. Oftentimes, counselors use that as their last resort to help their counselees. Although one may find it edifying to stay away from electronics for a little while, it may not address the underlying problem. The reason being, as one pastor said, “We don’t need screens; our heart itself has a screen.” The root issue is not external but internal. Sometimes we feel that if only we are away from all that is impure, messy, chaotic, and worldly, we will have pure hearts. We learn in church history that some of the Ancient Desert Fathers practiced living away from the community because they thought that would help them lead pure lives. They ran away from the community, but they could not run away from their sin within their hearts!  

Because human beings are created with imagination, there is no limit to what their hearts can imagine. Building on this, a key life principle is that what we are exposed to has a significant impact on our imagination. To put it differently, if we are exposed to something lovely, pure, and beautiful, our hearts reproduce something similar to that (Phil. 4:8). If we are drawn towards something unlovely, impure, and dark, that is what our hearts will reproduce.  A person who is addicted to pornography has their heart warped. Regular intake of porn severely affects one’s thinking and imagination. This is one of the reasons why men who watch porn find it difficult to talk to women in their churches. In some cases, just mere appearances can trigger uninvited graphic images, which makes it challenging to have fellowship with the opposite sex. To put it crudely, their imagination is messed up!  In this article, I aim to help the struggler reorient their imagination towards something better and more beautiful, so that it may be a breath of fresh air to those who are discouraged.

What is imagination?

To understand imagination, several key considerations are essential. There are external factors that shape one’s imagination ( Social Imaginary). And how these external factors influence our brains, which have the inherent ability to produce imagination (Organic Imaginary). The interplay between cultural practices and neurological factors cannot be unnoticed.  

Social Imaginary

Borrowing the idea of ‘Social Imaginary’ from Sociologist Peter Berger, the theologian Kevin Vanhoozer crystallizes the concept of imagination. He explains that imagination is formed by a world that has implicit and invisible, yet universal, ideas passed on from generation to generation through language, stories, pictures, and practices.[1] This helps us see that our culture and other external circumstances play a pivotal role in shaping our imagination.

How does this apply in the case of Pornographic Addiction?

To explore this, let me ask some questions to help the reader consider how his culture might have influenced his social imaginary. What were the stories that were circulated about boys and girls at your school? When were you first introduced to graphic pornographic content? How did it change your view towards women or men? How your family and friends treat and view women shaped your view towards women? How do you feel you were pressured to view women as your friends would? Do you feel validated by your friends when you act in accordance with their expectations? How have the Indian Movie Industry or Hollywood impacted your thinking towards women? In what ways do you think social media and the internet warped your imagination, adding fuel to the fire? Did you ever have normal friendships with people of the opposite sex in a non-sexual manner? Do you not feel you are indoctrinated by what you are surrounded by?

Organic Imaginary

What we see, hear, smell, and feel (sensory experiences) are stored in a part of the brain called the hippocampus.[2] Additionally, the hippocampus stores all our memories. When someone begins to imagine in their brain, the hippocampus combines sensory experiences with memories to create different scenarios.[3] Joining the bandwagon, the Prefrontal Cortex in our brains gets activated, offering all the logical and hypothetical possibilities. No wonder when the Pastor said, ‘our hearts themselves have a screen,’ he is spot on.      

But how does watching pornography impact your imagination?

Building on our earlier discussion, your brain constantly offers different scenarios, aiding your imagination to commit sexual sins in your mind. You become a slave to your lustful imagination. The Apostle Paul says, “ So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19 Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed ( Eph. 4: 17-19) .”  Do you see the interplay between the cultural narratives (Social Imaginary) and the darkened thinking (Organic Imaginary) here? The way the Gentiles lived (Social Imaginary) impacted their thinking (Organic Imaginary), resulting in their giving themselves over to unrestrained sexual activities.

Sanctified Imagination

But our God desires, delights, and commands us to have sanctified imagination (Phil. 4:8) because he has changed the core of our being. He has not left us in darkness but has delivered us from it. Through regeneration, not only has he changed our hearts but helps us by dwelling in our hearts through His Spirit strengthening our inner being so that our thinking (our imagination) gets transformed by the renewing of our mind (Eph. 3: 16-18, Rom. 12:2). Having been redeemed by the blood of Jesus, he now invites us to alter our imagination to that which is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, praise-worthy, etc (Phil 4:8). So, what does sanctified imagination look like in our day-to-day lives?

To give you an example, when David wrote Psalm 23, he wanted the reader to be transported into the world he describes. He writes, “He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters. He refreshes my soul (Psalm 23:2-3).” What is David expecting the reader or the singer to happen when he reads or sings this psalm? He wants the reader’s imagination captivated by his poetry. In essence, he gives the reader the paintbrush to paint a picture on the canvas of his mind. Through familiar word pictures that evoke relatable thoughts and feelings, he draws the reader into a deeper fellowship with God. He creates a world where he can walk with God beside the still waters. He takes you on a stroll through the green pastures and quiet waters. Now, use your imagination and long for such an experience, and see how it calms your mind and fills your heart with joy, thankfulness, peace, and confidence. As the adage goes, “Why fear, when God is near?”.

To give you another example, C.S. Lewis writes that, “…A baby feels hunger: well, there is such a thing as food. Aduckling (emphasis mine) wants to swim: well, there is such a thing as water. Men feel sexual desire: well, there is such a thing as sex. If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I am made for another world.” [2] (Page: 136-37; Mere Christianity) When I read such sentences, my imagination kicks in immediately and involuntarily. I begin to imagine mommy-ducks and baby-ducks swimming around with flapping wings and making ripples across the pond. Do you see what I am saying? Can you hear the splashing sound of the water too? Just one word can evoke a faded memory we saw and experienced long ago. All of this shows how literature can stir our imaginations. Here, C.S. Lewis argues for another world for which we are all made. The dissatisfied longings point towards a place where all the deepest desires of the soul will be fulfilled. Now, the question is, what is this place going to look like? How is this New World going to impact your imagination?

Sanctified Imagination & Sanctification

In order for you to practice ‘Sanctified Imagination’, you need to develop a genuine interest in knowing the Word of God.  To root out porn from your life, you need to think about meaningful meditation on God’s Word that transforms your imagination rather than reading it mechanically as a chore every day. When you read the Bible, something happens to you. It is a gateway to enter into the glorious world of His Revealed Will. In his Word, you would encounter a World that charms your imagination. It takes you back to the Garden of Eden, a time when there was no sin, and transports you forward to the New Heaven and the New Earth, where sin will no longer exist. And it portrays graphic carnage due to sin, showing how the God of the Universe, through His Son Jesus Christ, unentangles the puzzle and rescues His people to be with them forever. The goal is that, as you are enthralled by the beauty of God’s word, because you’re so caught up in it, you should think about God and Christ when you go to bed, when you wake up, when you go to work, when you talk to your colleagues, when you feel bored, or when you feel tired.

Think About This:

• You may say, “I cannot fight porn because I cannot”. Of course, you cannot. However, let me remind you that the God of the Universe dwells in you through the Holy Spirit. Do you believe that God rescues the weak and the humble? Is it not the summary of the Bible? Do you believe that God forgives your sin of pornography if you confess it to him?

• Do you believe that the God who changed your stony heart can change your imagination?

• You may be praying all the time, but you may not be believing in the sufficiency of Christ’s atonement and the power of his resurrection, because of which God forgives your sin unconditionally. If you’re honest, you must say like the father of the demon-possessed guy ( Mark 9:24), “ I believe, help my unbelief”.  

• Though there may be a million reasons not to go to God after you’ve sinned, no sin is big enough for God not to forgive. And, ultimately, you don’t have any other option but to go to God.

• Be content with little victories and learn to thank God every time you get a victory. Don’t just go to him only when you feel guilty. Go to him often. Do you realize that God is pleased every time you genuinely put in an effort to fight porn?  The simple truth is that humble people go to God and seek help, while the proud try to solve their problems on their own. What kind of person are you?

footnotes.

[1] Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Hearers and Doers: A Pastor's Guide to Making Disciples through Scripture and Doctrine (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2019), 9

[2] Bethany Ranes, 'The Science of Imagination : How Your Inner Mind Shapes Your Outer Reality', November 26, 2024, https://medium.com/firing-and-wiring/the-science-of-imagination-3a711f6cfa33#

[3] Bethany Ranes, 'The Science of Imagination : How Your Inner Mind Shapes Your Outer Reality', November 26, 2024, https://medium.com/firing-and-wiring/the-science-of-imagination-3a711f6cfa33#

[4] C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (New York: Harper Collins, 2009), 136–37