It's been almost two years now since Shellie R. has watched porn. She was first exposed to it by her boyfriend, with whom she was sexually active with.
A recovering porn addict, Shellie likened porn to roadkill.
"Nobody wants to admit they look at roadkill but we all do," she said Wednesday.
Shellie was addressing an online audience from around the world during "ThePornEvent.com," a 25-minute experience that is being put on by XXXChurch.com and LifeChurch.tv through this week.
While some participants intentionally joined the event to hear about how pornography affects nearly half of Internet users, others were directed to the online experience while searching for porn.
"Is it porn or religus (sic)?" one user asked in a live chat that went on during the event.
Porn users were encouraged by other participants to stay for the short event even though it might not have been what they were initially searching for. Some typed out prayers for those who said they consumed pornography and saw no problem with it.
While many porn users feel there is nothing wrong with viewing porn, Shellie of XXXChurch.com stated clearly, "We were never supposed to be watching anyone have sex."
Sexual intimacy, rather, is designed to happen in a private context within the covenant of marriage, she said.
Though men are more likely to struggle with pornography addiction than women, Shellie has found many women, like herself, becoming addicts as well. And the increasing accessibility to porn has not helped the problem.
Seventeen percent of women are addicted, she noted, and many more are viewing it, though they may not necessarily have an addiction.
"Porn is just mean," she stressed. "It cares absolutely nothing about your feelings; it's not interested in your sexual pleasure even; it's interested in your money."
The recovering addict, whose father had a crack addiction, described porn as crack.
"I don't know too many people who watch it once and they've had enough," she said.
Steven Luff of XXXChurch.com explained during Tuesday's ThePornEvent.com experience that consuming pornography has the same effect as using methamphetamine or heroione except to a lesser degree.
"Pornography is a drug," he said. "It relases a neurochemical in the brain called dopamine which gives a great rush."
As someone still taking it day by day to stay abstinent and sober from porn, Shellie encouraged those struggling to be open and honest and deal with the problem.
"The Lord is not shocked by our humanity nor is He shocked by our addictions or struggles," she said. "We're not punished for our sins but by them.
"My self-esteem has changed immensely since I have not viewed porn. Humanity is no longer my meter; He is."
During the online event, participants have the opportunity to make prayer requests, talk to someone live or even pray the prayer to accept Jesus Christ. After each event, LifeChurch.tv goes straight into its online church service, allowing users to be connected to a church.
