An episode of ABC’s Modern Family captures the split in American opinions about porn. Claire Dunphy finds a dirty picture on one of their computers and assumes it was her 10-year-old son Luke who looked at it. Claire calls it unacceptable “smut.” Her husband Phil (the one who actually downloaded the picture) tries to chalk it up to sexual curiosity.
Claire’s solution is to tell Luke every time he looks at porn God kills a puppy.
Phil’s attitude: “It was hardly porn. It was a topless woman on a tractor. Do you know what they call that in Europe? A cereal commercial.”*
Is porn all that bad for you? Many don’t think it is, even in the church. Yes, we know lust is wrong (Matthew 5:28), but why would using pornography be especially harmful? Why should we be concerned when our husband, wife, son, or daughter looks at pornography?
5 Ways Porn Warps the Mind
There are at least 5 ways using pornography over and over damages our sexual beliefs:
Harm #1: Watching Porn Decreases Our Sexual Satisfaction
It trains us to desire the variety and “designer sex” of cybersex more than the familiar sexuality of marriage. Studies show the more people expose themselves even to softcore porn, the less satisfied they are with the physical appearance of their significant other.
Harm #2: Watching Porn Disconnects Us from Real Relationships
It trains us to detach emotional involvement from sexual experience. Studies show the more people turn to cyberspace for sexual satisfaction, the less they turn to committed relationships to experience true intimacy.
Harm #3: Watching Porn Lowers Our View of Women
It trains us to see women as sexual commodities, not people created in God’s image. The more men (and women) view porn, the more likely they are to buy the glossy lies pornography teaches: that women are only worth their sexual prowess and their ability to conform to the erotic euphoria of porn women.
Harm #4:Watching Porn Desensitizes Us to Cruelty
It numbs us to the seriousness of verbal and physical aggression. Most modern pornography portrays women as enjoying sexually abusive and degrading language and activity. It is toxic sexual mis-education.
Harm #5: Watching Porn Makes Us Want to Watch More Porn
It taps into the neuro-circuitry of our brains, making us desire the same rush of sexual energy again and again. Over 90% of therapists believe a person can literally become addicted to using pornography. And like other addictions, the more porn we use, the more we need to use to get the same high.
The Way of Escape
God promises that God is faithful in the midst of our temptations, and He will not let us be tempted beyond our ability, but with the temptation he will provide the way of escape (1 Corinthians 10:13).
Our e-book Your Brain on Porn: 5 Ways Pornography Warps Your Mind and 3 Biblical Ways to Renew It presents scientific research fully detailing these 5 harms. It also gives a solid biblical foundation to understand why porn is so harmful and the way God has provided to break free.