By: Shane James O’Neill
4 min. read
Who is Russell Brand?
Russell Brand. What a weird dude. I say “weird” in the best possible way. Anyone who is truly themselves is going to be unique and thus weird. I think that’s a lot of the draw toward Russell — he is himself and folks don’t know what to do with him. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
Russell Brand is a comedian, cultural activist, actor, and then so many other things. He seems to dip into as many different occupations as his interests will allow. He’s incredibly articulate. That, coupled with his candid vulnerability, has drawn millions in viewership.
Russell was a sex addict, porn addict, drug addict, and self-described narcissist. Several years ago, he began his journey to get clean and actually live life. He’s been through all sorts of rehabs, programs, accountability structures. In almost every way conceivable, Russell Brand completely reordered his life.
On his podcast and YouTube channel, he has dialogued with people such as Joe Rogan on culture, Jordan Peterson on the meaning of life, and Ricky Gervais on atheism and God.
Russell Brand and Pornography
And, yet, Russell Brand has also been very straightforward about the self-harm of pornography.
In fact, Russell Brand says: “My own relationship with pornography is kind of the hub of my feelings of inner conflict and doubt.”
Russell has been addicted to porn for most of his life. When he was 17 his dad took him overseas to a brothel so that he could have sex with prostitutes.
Sex is powerful. It grabs us emotionally, physically, spiritually, and relationally. Sex is literally the power to make life. And when that power is misused, we’re doing nothing short of abusing our own humanity — not to mention the humanity of others.
Russell Brand describes the effects pornography has had upon him by citing an article from The Journal of Adolescent Health.
The things he has struggled with include: an exaggerated perception of sexual activity in society. A diminished trust between intimate couples. The abandonment of hope of sexual monogamy. And the belief that promiscuity is the natural state.
With heart wrenching honesty, Russell takes time to talk about how each of these things have become beliefs that he holds, all because of porn.
These points are as true for me as they are for Russell Brand. Pornography has re-created my ethical imagination to believe that promiscuous sex is natural, that everyone is having easy sex. It has damaged my hope of having faithfulness in relationships and in marriage, and it has damaged the belief that monogamy is actually possible.
Russel states: “Our attitudes toward sex have become warped and perverted and have deviated from its true function as an expression of love and a means for procreation because… the way we have designed and expressed it has become really really confused.”
He goes on to say: “Pornography reduces the spectacle of sex to a kind of extracted physical act.”
Russell Brand: People and Pleasure
Pornography is no simple thing.
Porn makes intimacy into intercourse. When we watch porn we’re making people objects of pleasure to be used by us however we want. We’re not considering their hopes, we’re not wishing the best for them, we’re not mindful of their pain, we’re not wondering what makes them cry and what makes them laugh.
We’re de-humanizing them — treating them as something less than human. And, well, we’re treating ourselves as less than human, as well. As we make people into objects of pleasure, we’re also making ourselves into objects of pleasure.
Russell says: “There’s a general feeling… in your core, if you look at pornography, that this isn’t what’s the best thing for me to do, this isn’t the best use of my time now. I don’t put that laptop lid down and think ‘There a productive piece of time spent connecting with the world.’”
Can we be free?
One thing Russell said has been sticking with me: “I feel like if I had total dominion over myself I would never look at pornography again.”
That word — dominion — do you remember it from Genesis 1? The mandate given from God to us — to be fruitful and multiply, and to have dominion. We often think of dominion as subduing the world around us. But consider, as Russell is, that we need to practice self-dominion — learning to master our own selves. If porn is the giving of self to impulsive passion, then practicing to give our passion to real, beautiful, and meaningful things is the way of self-dominion.
Of course, we can’t do this alone.
Enter: God’s Spirit. That’s why Paul so emphatically states: “The weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ” (emphasis added).
This is the practice of the Christian — to invite Jesus into our very thoughts and to talk with him about the passions we experience, knowing Him in our loneliness.
Russell Brand isn’t a Christian. Yet, even then, he can’t seem to pursue life without using the very language of Jesus.
Check out his work; check out his thoughts. He’s fun to watch and he’s insightful. He does use profanity, so be mindful of that.
At the very least, it is remarkable to watch his journey out of pornography’s grasp. And I hope his journey is used by Jesus to help you in your own journey — just as it has my own.
“The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.”
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Shane James O’Neill is the Editorial Director for Proven Men Ministries. He is currently working on a graduate degree in apologetics at Liberty University’s Rawling School of Divinity.