“What’s wrong with a little porn viewing?”
This was the question tossed to me in open discussion during a Catechism class I was teaching a few years ago. In a room full of teenage boys, ages 14 to 17, one of them asked an important question.
No doubt, as I told them, the pop culture has bombarded them with sexual images. The allure of sexual gratification as the pinnacle of happiness tempts them. How can a young man not be interested?
His hormones are raging. His social skills are lagging behind. He is told sexual encounters will be exciting, and even fulfilling.
For the vast majority of boys, pornography serves as an introduction to the topic of sex. With the way the male brain is wired, they will often be hooked.
THE BRAIN ON PORN
I laid out for my students some of the science behind brain activity. Particularly, I focused on three of the many hormones in the brain that regulate sexual activity.
I explained how dopamine, oxytocin, and serotonin affect a person during sexual activity.
First, dopamine is a hormone released that makes someone feel pleasure. Sexual arousal and activity floods the brain with dopamine. Porn viewing also causes dopamine to be released in high doses. Thus, porn viewing simulates physical sexual activity.
Second, oxytocin serves as a bonding chemical in the brain. It helps give us the warm and fuzzy feelings we get. Just like physical sex, viewing porn causes this same chemical to be released. Thus, porn viewers become attached to the naked people they are viewing.
Third, serotonin acts as a relaxing chemical. It too gets released in sexual activity—physical sex and porn use. This hormone gets released at the end of physical sex to enhance the pleasureful feelings.
SPIRITUAL DESTRUCTION
So far, only the physical effects of porn use have been discussed. I also mentioned to these teens the spiritual ramifications of using pornography.
Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:27-28).
You can see why the topic of porn use remains worthy of regular discussion. People’s eternal salvation remains at stake!
Viewing pornography remains a grave sin. If someone has full knowledge of this and chooses willfully to view it anyway, then they are guilty of a grave sin. If they die without repenting of this sin, they could spend eternity in hell.
Yes, viewing pornography is that bad.
If the students didn’t know that before the class period that day, I made sure they knew that by the time they left. Who else is going to tell them?
I also implored them to go to Confession and gave them strategies for living a chaste lifestyle.
WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL?
The immorality of viewing porn lies not in a belief that sex is bad. No, sex is good. Sex naturally feels good, as God designed it. It also remains the means by which God brings new lives into the world. Human beings with eternal souls are created only after a man and a woman have conjugal relations. Sex is that powerful.
The immorality of viewing porn does not lie in a disdain for the human body, either. God created mankind male and female. Only after creating mankind did He announce His creation to be “very good” (Genesis 1:31). The human person is a wonderful good, including his or her body.
The reason viewing porn will always remain a grave sin rests in its violation of the very purpose of human sexuality.
Men and women deserve to be loved and respected in their totality. The two sexes complement each other—not only physically, but in many other areas, as well.
The viewer of porn does not love the porn model or actress. Instead, he treats her as a sexual object to please his sexual appetite.
Human beings should not serve as instruments for one another. No one ought to objectify another person. This is dehumanizing and leads to a moral collapse.
Such moral depravity can spiritually bankrupt the porn viewer. Just as well, as the acceptance of porn grows in a society, society breaks down as a result. Think our culture earns high grades in avoiding this? Me neither.
A large percentage of men view porn. Porn causes them to devalue women, making them think women exist to please them. This leads to friction in personal relationships, breakups of marriages, and cultural collapse.
The domino effect of porn use stretches far. This is what I tried to impress upon my Catechism students. I pray they heeded my warning.
If they did, it may just help save their souls.
YOUR TURN
Have you had anyone question you, “What’s wrong with a little porn viewing?”
If so, how did you respond?
If not, what else would you say to anyone who may ask you this in the future?
Please sound off below.
Oh, and if you would like me to come to your parish or youth group to deliver a similar message to your teens, please send me an email to let me know.
