One Minute Apologist - God's Design For SexSample

What's Wrong With Pornography?

First, porn objectifies women. Or all people for that matter. The options for porn material are numerous. There’s homosexual porn, child porn, and, of course, adult female porn. We objectify people when we use them for our own self-centered purposes.

That’s what porn does. It uses people. It treats them like objects. Porn is using an image of a human being made in the image of God to gratify one’s lust-filled desires. And that’s not good.

Second, porn destroys our brain. With the advancement of neuroscience, we now know that our willpower is a function of the prefrontal lobe of the brain and that consistent use of pornography actually reshapes this critical part of the brain, thus weakening one’s moral fortitude. The will is sapped of strength through continuous porn play. It’s often referred to as hypofrontality, a term used to describe the breakdown of the frontal lobe of the brain. This especially impacts addicts as their addictive desires simultaneously heighten, while their determination to resist is weakened and buckles under sexual pressure.

Third, porn causes self-deception. I once heard someone say, “The problem with being deceived is you don’t know that you’re deceived.” How true that is, especially when our behaviors turn addictive. The more one uses porn, the more one can’t stop using it.

The motto for the porn addict becomes, “Just once more.” In the moment of desire, they believe they’ll be able to beat it the next time. So, in self-deceit, they fulfill themselves in the moment. But the problem is they tell themselves the exact same thing the next time and the next time and the next time after that. Until they truly make a decision to quit viewing porn once and for all, they’ll continue to destroy their lives through self-deception.

Fourth, porn depraves the soul. Porn sucks the life out of its victims, creating within viewers an insatiable appetite that can never be satisfied and that grows more deviant the more it’s fed. If you’re addicted to porn, let me encourage you to get some help ASAP. Start by meeting with your pastor or a local Christian counselor who can point you in the right direction. Be encouraged. There are lots of support groups out there that are filled with people who have discovered a freedom from pornography through Jesus Christ.

Question to Consider

What are some other dangers of viewing porn, and why should it be avoided at all costs?