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Into the Light: a teaching documentary on freedom from pornography

Documentary
81 minutes / 2023
Rating: 8/10

Are you someone who doesn’t take quickly to reading? Are you looking for a more accessible resource for yourself or perhaps your study group? Look no further than Into the Light! This documentary was created for the very purpose of providing non-readers with a faithful and effective presentation of the Christian’s struggle with pornography, and the work that God does to restore them.

An independent project by Jacob Valk and John-Michael Bout, this documentary is a valuable resource for Christians struggling against pornography and for those walking alongside them.

Great group resource

As the title suggests, this documentary aims to bring the conversation about pornography out into the open and highlight the fact that it is a very real struggle for many Christians, both men and women, young and old. The documentary is comprised of six short interviews, each with an expert in various aspects of the Bible’s teaching about sexual purity and in the fight against pornography. The interviews cover the consequences of sin, God’s design for sex, understanding our hearts, taking radical practical measures, learning to endure in the fight, and discovering true freedom in Christ. The presentations by each of the six interviewees are biblically based and provide great hope for those who may feel lost or defeated in the struggle against sexual sin.

The interviews are spaced apart by five short segments that follow the story of Tim and Chelsea – a Christian couple who had their own struggle with pornography. Their story really helps to bring out the talking points that are covered in the interviews and shows how they are lived out by real Christians. They typify what is sadly very common among Christians, namely their initial misunderstanding of how destructive pornography really is and the pain that the struggle against it brings. Their story, however, is full of hope for through Christ they have found freedom from pornography and can live a new life in Him.

Into the Light is about an hour and twenty minutes long but for study purposes can be watched in episode form. Since this was an entirely crowd-funded endeavor, the creators of this documentary have made it freely available at IntoTheLightDocumentary.com. On the website, under the resources tab there is an excellent leader’s guide for study groups as well as discussion questions for each of the six interviews. These two resources are of high quality as they thoroughly explore each subject and even provide sample answers and additional resources for those who want to learn more. With the aid of these helpful resources, bringing the conversation about pornography into the light can begin to happen.

Caution

While the documentary does an excellent job of not discussing unnecessary explicit details of sexual sin, some of the talking points do require a certain level of maturity. For teenagers and young adults this documentary is a great way to start the conversation about pornography but for those of pre-teen age it may need parental guidance.

Conclusion

One thing that is missing from this documentary is a breakdown of just how pervasive pornography is amongst Christians. It would have been helpful to highlight the fact that this problem is only growing and that the Church needs to be equipped to deal with this.

The filmmakers of Into the Light are Reformed Baptists and the teaching and guidance that their documentary provides is scriptural and Christ-centered. To learn more about their story and purpose in making this documentary check out their appearance on the Real Talk podcast, Episode 50.

To watch it for free, just pick your format below. To get access, they do ask you for your email address.

Find the other resources at: IntoTheLightDocumentary.com. And watch the trailer below.

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Documentary, Movie Reviews, Watch for free

Brain, Heart, World – a fantastic, free, 3-part documentary on pornography's harmful impact

Documentary 90 minutes / 2019 RATING: 8/10 Fight the New Drug is an anti-poverty group that's come up with an impressive 3-part documentary called Brain, Heart, World about what pornography consumption does to your brain, what it does to your relationships, and what it does to the world. Each part is half an hour, and while you do have to give them your email address, it's well worth doing (and they won't spam you). They've packaged up important psychological insights with compelling personal accounts, making this must-see TV. Maybe what's most impressive is that they're having a very open conversation about pornography, even as they keep that conversation very PG-rated...at least for the first two episodes. With Episode 3, The World, since it is tackling sexual trafficking via first-hand accounts, there was really no way to keep it from being PG-13-ish. That said, this is as careful and delicate a presentation on this topic as I've seen. (Parents, if you're considering sharing and discussing this with your kids do be sure to preview it). This is an eye-opening presentation, but it is an entirely secular one. Fight the New Drug is "a non-religious and non-legislative organization" that teaches about the harmful effects of pornography "using only science, facts, and personal accounts." That means they operate from a materialist worldview that ignores the spiritual, and seemingly denies it. They don't speak to the repentance Jesus offers and in passing ways even minimize the need for it – at one point a girl says: "I realized it wasn't me that was bad; it was the porn that was bad." She gets close to the truth here, even as she completely misses it: the porn is irredeemable, but she isn't. Another example: in the Heart episode they share that researchers have found relationships the key to happiness such that "happiness is love." Now, understanding as we do, that relationship with God is the key to everlasting happiness, we might be tempted to say that here again they got it almost right. But seeing as they aren't actually pointing us to God, they also got it awfully wrong. In this way the series shortcomings are enormous; we can't fix a sin problem like lust and adultery without acknowledging it as a sin problem. That said, Christians can benefit enormously from watching series, because the series' shortcomings are the sort that we can fix with what God teaches us, and its strengths and insights can be a help when stacked on top of God's firm foundation. You can watch the series trailer below, and access the series itself here. ...