If Your Eye Causes You To Sin

 Pornography is at an all-time high in consumption. The reason, which is fairly obvious, has been the advent of the Internet. No longer relegated to filthy magazines, which no decent person wants to get caught buying or reading, the Internet brings porn right to you with ease. I've read some estimates that say as much as 34% of all websites are pornographic. Many people try to turn this into a strictly religious issue, with some even claiming that porn has societal benefits (e.g., men will be less likely to commit rape, there will be less adultery, etc.).

As time goes on, more and more secular evidence is being brought forth which shows that there are benefits to obeying God's Laws, as well as even secular dangers to those who choose to disobey. Recently, a study by Simone Kuhn and Jurgen Gallinat, "Brain Structure and Functional Connectivity Associated with Pornography Consumption: The Brain on Porn," JAMA Psychiatry 71, no.7 (July 2014) came up with incredible findings concerning porn's effects on the brain. Other studies show porn's effects on emotional health, sexual violence, and marriage (there were other factors, but I will focus on these findings). For the full article on the brain, See http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/1874574 The other studies may be found in Appendix 1 of The Porn Myth, by Matt Fradd, Ignatius Press, [2017], pgs. 191-212.

1. Porn and the Brain

•  When researchers compared the brain scans of porn users to non-users, those who used porn had a dulled reward center.

• When the reward center is dulled, the person doesn't feel dopamine's effects like they used to do. This means that in order to get the same excitement as before, porn users must resort to more hard-core material.

• Since porn addiction goes hand in glove with Internet addiction, such people have less gray matter in several important areas of the brain, such as the frontal lobes, the striatum, and the insula. These areas help people with self-control, prioritizing, and feeling empathy; when gray matter lessens, so do these important functions.

2. Porn and Emotional Health

There is a correlation between the frequency of porn viewing and:

•  depression, anxiety, stress and various social problems.

•  the motivation to pursue goals.

•  changed sexual preferences.

• poor overall health.

• hurting oneself.

• problems with intimacy.

3. Porn and Sexual Violence

• Porn use increases the risk of developing sexually deviant tendencies such as beastiality by 31%

• The risk of committing a sexual offense increases 22% in those who use porn frequently. 

• There is a correlation between frequent porn use in men and the likelihood of rape. Rather than lessen the likelihood of rape, porn actually increases it.

• States that had higher sales of porn magazines had higher rates of rape.

• In one study, in 193 cases of rape, 24% of the rapists mentioned the use of pornography without any solicitation for such information.

4. Porn and Marriage

• Porn heightens belief that marriage is "sexually confining," that promiscuity is normal, and that raising a family is unappealing.

• Women who discover a husband's porn use may experience depression, fatigue, and suicidal tendencies.

• Porn use correlates to higher incidence of adultery.

• Porn correlates with sadistic marital rape. 

Conclusion

 There is no doubt that God's Laws are in place for our good both here (wellness) and hereafter (to get to Heaven). Don't be fooled into thinking that pornography is "harmless," "normal," or "prevents greater evils." Secular studies prove this is not the case. More importantly, porn is a mortal sin, making one worthy of Hell. Of course, there will be those who will try to minimize the deadly effects of porn on the soul and on society. Men will object, "I watched porn and never raped anyone." In the words of one researcher, "Many people share Strossen's opinion that men who consume porn but who have never raped a woman disprove the theory that porn can cause rape. This is comparable to arguing that because some cigarette smokers don't die of lung disease, there cannot be a causal relationship between smoking and lung cancer." (Russell,1995)

 Say no to porn, and parents, please check what sites your children and teens visit. As Our Lord said, "And if thy eye scandalize thee[causes you to sin], pluck it out, and cast it from thee. It is better for thee having one eye to enter into life, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire." (St. Matthew 18: 9).