The Christian Institute of Philosophy
Dealing with Pornography
Introduction
There may be no better place to talk about the subject of pornography than on a Christian website. It is an enormous problem within the Church and in the culture at large. We hear little discussion about the topic because most people feel that it is a lost cause, and there are no answers for dealing with it.
In this series of articles we will study the problem of pornography and seek to understand the addictive power it has in the lives of most men. We will use scriptural wisdom and honest analysis to study the subject, and we will look for real answers to give Christian men ways to effectively deal with this problem in their own lives.
Honesty will be a primary objective. There are many YouTube videos discussing pornography and its negative effects - and you will have the opportunity to view many of them in these articles - but few of them are completely honest. As Christians, we have the opportunity to look at this subject at a much deeper level (high resolution) and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal answers to us that are specific to our own personal needs.
Lets start by admitting one of the deep dark secrets of the church - nearly all men (including Christian men) have problems with pornography to some degree. This is because 95 percent of all men are amazingly responsive to the female form. Let’s admit this fact, and hopefully agree that males are easily stimulated by the sight of the female body. That will be our first principle for the study of pornography.
What is Pornography?
Pornography is difficult to define. A government commission was established in the 1980s to study pornography and its detrimental effects on society. At that time, the definition of pornography proved to be difficult because a persons definition depends on his or her moral, cultural, and religious background. There was significant push back against the commission, regarding free speech issues. At one point a young man showed a commission member a picture of a nude woman in a popular sex magazine and ask if this was pornography. The commission member said it was not.
The word pornography literally means "body picture or body writing". One could call a scantily clad woman on a bill board a very mild form of pornography. But, most people define it as something far more prurient and destructive. Nor would most people consider statutes or medieval art (such as that found at the Vatican) as pornography. So where is the line between art and pornograpy?
We will be working with this question throughout these articles. But for right now lets start with a simple concept - no matter how you define pornography, the less pornographic material you allow in your life the better off you will be. Always remember - Degree Matters. It is one thing to have to walk through a pigsty and get your shoes muddy - it is another thing altogether to wallow in it. In this time period of history Christian males have no choice but to walk through the pigsty, but we certainly have the choice not to wallow in it. It is the Holy Spirit working in us that gives us that choice.
Principles for Understanding and Defeating Pornography
Principle 1
Males are easily stimulated by the sight of the female body.
Video
Mr. Prager's story about his friend responding subconsciously to a mannequin is important, because it illustrates the mystery of the male attraction to the female form. The female form does not even have to be a real person. It can be a statue or a cartoon, and it will still cause a man to take notice - maybe only for a split second - but he will notice the form. The male himself does not understand why that attraction exists. He just knows that something causes him to look.
Note the following video by Jordan Peterson in which he does a good job of pointing out this strange attraction to the female form and the difference in sexual stimulation between men and women.
Video
So the first thing you need to learn and accept, if you are ever going to deal effectively with pornography, is that men are visual creatures and respond strongly to seeing the female body.
And, this trait is not learned! It is instinctive (stated in philosophical terms, it is "a priori".) A priori means before experience - it is built into us before birth.
Why do men respond so strongly to the female form? No one really knows. It is a mystery of creation. But almost certainly it has to do with chemicals released in the brain. And the chemical reaction can be very quick - within a second or less. Those chemicals are greatly amplified by the use of pornography. Note that the speaker in the next video states that the chemical high can activate the pleasure centers of the brain in ways similar to cocaine. In essence, if left unrestrained by moral choice, pornography acts like a drug and creates a feeling of euphoria in the male that quickly becomes addictive.
This is why men are so suseptable to looking at pornography. It gives them, basically, a chemical high. And, psychologically, it allows them to "change worlds". (We will talk more about the changing of worlds later in this study.) Combine these two addictive qualities - and then throw in the stress of living and the ubiquitous availability of porn - and it is no wonder that almost all men have problems with pornography to some degree.
Principle 2:
Porn is harmful to your physical, psychological, and spiritual health. And, the more porn you watch, the more harmful it becomes.
Degree matters!
At time 2:50 in this video the speaker mentions an episode of Friends. Clips of the episode can be viewed below. It should be noted that this television series (a comedy) was top rated and viewed by millions of people every week in the 1990s. The cultural addiction to porn has been increasing in intensity for several decades. And now it is out of control and no one knows what to do about it.
This is a clip of an episode of Friends referred to in the video above. Note the excessive laugh track on this episode. Obviously, the producer was trying to associate laughter with the subject. Try to imagine the show without the laugh track and see if the dialog is still funny - especially in the light of the information given in the video above.
However, don't feel bad if you are a male and you find yourself chuckling at some of this. The male attraction to the female body is in some ways a secret among males and something that only males can understand. The producer has done a good job of identifing this secret world and most males will recognize it - and males will tend to laugh at the strangness of their own reactions. Note the writers and producers have also identified the fact that women are virtually clueless about these male feelings.
But, make no mistake about it. No matter how funny it might be - no matter how many laugh tracks a producer adds to the show - and no matter how many movies or internet sites may say its Ok -- if you do not get significant control over porn in your life, it will destroy your life physically, psychologically, and spiritually.
Even if you cannot get total control, always be working toward doing better. Ask the Lord for insight on how to eliminate more and more of it from your life. And always remember, the forgiveness won by Christ at the cross is infinite. He will always forgive and start over. And always remember - Degree Matters! The more porn you consume, the more devastating the affect will be on your mind. So look for every way possible to decrease the use of porn in your life.
Principle 3:
If you are a Christian man, make sure to have compassion for yourself when it comes to pornography.
No other generation of males in all of human history have had to deal with this kind of temptation. This is especially true for young Christian teenage males who are just now feeling the power of the male sex drive. If you are a young Christian male, be aware your natural sexual feelings are a result of strong chemical/genetic forces, and the culture knows this. Thus the old saying: "Sex sells." It sells, because it appeals to chemical reactions in the male brain. So, a male who wants to live a Christian life should expect a real battle. But it is a battle worth fighting.
Editors Note: While creating a short course on cell biology, I was collecting videos on the subject of DNA. Suddenly YouTube offered the following choices of videos. Note the first video.
When I was 16 years old, this offer would have been irresistible. And for most men it is irresistible at almost any age. And of course YouTube knows this. Remember, sex sells.
I apologize to all young Christian males for the psychological world we baby boomers leave to you. We leave you a good physical world but it is empty, confused, and pornographic - "full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." You are not going to get any help from western culture to deal with your sexual feelings. In fact, the culture will seek to inflame these feelings for money. But the Lord will stand by you as you work through this problem in your life. Just make sure to understand you are dealing with a chemical/genetic problem. The fact that you are highly attracted to the female body is not a sin - it is nature, it is biology. It is what you do with that attraction that is the key to its affect on your Spiritual life. So have a lot of compassion for yourself. But also make sure to be honest with yourself. All sin brings corruption - physically, psychologically, and spiritually. So don't take it lightly. But don't destroy yourself with guilt either.
If you are a true Christian you will want to find victory over this problem, but it will be very difficult to do in this time period of history. Never try to solve the problem by dismissing it. Porn is sin, and it will wreck your life by short circuiting the emotions in your mind. Porn, for most men, is a "stronghold" type of sin and you will find it very difficult to overcome. But always keep trying. You may not be able to eliminate it totally, but remember degree matters - the degree of use and the degree of type. Hard core porn is very destructive to a males psychological life.
"And to the angel of the church of Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges; I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is..." Revelation 2:12-13 The Lord knows what you are facing and that you live in an age where the seat of Satan can be right in your own bedroom - 12:00 am - on your phone.
Screen shot: July 2023
And to the young Christian women, I apologize on behalf of my generation for what we leave behind for you too. It is a world much impoved physically, but emosionally lost. You have been told by the culture that you must be the daughter of Herodias (Matthew 14:6) before you can be considered a woman. And if you are not emotionally or physically able to cater to the male sexual appetite, then you must be something other than a woman. If you think this is new insight, it is not. It is old world pagan stuff, and we baby boomers did this to you.
Another random menu presented by YouTube.
Want to see what your 10 year old son is using to
imprint his sexual feelings?
Are you feeling bored and empty? Well here is an idea. Lets run a 50 year social experiment where we drink deeply of the most vile thoughts and pornographic images ever to be seen by the human race, and then be shocked, shocked! - when the culture drowns in its own psychological vomit.