C.S. Lewis, Imagination & Porn

By Recuore, June 13, 2013

Capturing the Imagination is actually a crucial aspect of our journey out of any sort of involvement with pornography.

Consider this video where Max McLean talks about the genius of C.S. Lewis.

As McLean says, Lewis understood the importance of the Imagination because he saw it as the “organ of meaning.” Reason, on the other hand, is the natural order of truth.

So we don’t ascent to, or agree with, anything until it is first meaningful to us. Then, once it becomes meaningful, it captures our Imagination and we want to know what that thing is about. We want to know the substance of the who or the what that has captured our Imagination.

Lewis believed in capturing the Imagination, then applying truth and then through the application of truth and the means of Grace God provides, our will is changed.

Now at first glance, this may not seem particularly relevant to dealing with porn and lust addiction. And yet, it has everything to do with it.

Addiction, or even casual involvement with, pornography _ first and foremost _ about a search for meaning.  It is a search for validation and affirmation of my masculinity. It is a search for value and importance in my life. It is a search escape, which is tied to meaning because the escape helps me deal with the meaninglessness of the situation from which i am escaping.

But on the positive side, Imagination is key to freedom from porn addiction because just as pornography at one time has captured our Imagination, it is possible to have our Imagination captured by something entirely other than porn.

We can Imagine healthy relationships and sexuality without remorse. We can Imagine sexual experiences that fulfill us rather than leave us dissatisfied and craving just one more “hit.” We can Imagine a world of freedom, where men no longer merely strike a pose of manhood, but actually have a genuine strength worth offering to the world.

Purpose, Honor, Beauty and the promise of Noble Heart await us. When God begins restoring our broken identities and releases us we become _ like Lazarus _ brought back from the dead and unstoppable.

Imagine…

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.