“Can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned?” – Proverbs 6:27
In the January 23rd issue of The Nugget, T. Lee Brown stressed the importance of healthy male touching. Overall, the content was well-intentioned and helpful.
She cites pornography as a hindrance to healthy touching, stating, “Some porn addicts lose the ability to become aroused with real partners…Even non-addict porn users often develop social and relationship issues.”
This is important and correctly identifies a huge problem. Afterall, according to the Huffington Post, more users access porn sites every month than Netflix, Amazon, and Twitter combined.
However, her solution utterly fails to address the problem when she suggests, “Reduce online porn consumption for better chances at real-life intimacy…”
“Reduce” your porn consumption? As in, “ Just manage it; try to cut back (and definitely don’t get caught.)” This is terrible advice.
It’s like she’s treating porn like eating donuts – “just reduce your consumption.“ Unfortunately, porn treats the brain less like donuts and more like heroin.
According to an article published in 2013 by the Witherspoon Institute, entitled, “The New Narcotic,” neurological research has revealed that the effect of internet pornography on the human brain is just as potent – if not more so – than addictive chemical substances such as cocaine or heroin.
According to psychiatrist Dr. Jeffrey Satinover,
“…the delivery system for this addictive stimulus [internet pornography] has become nearly resistance-free. It is as though we have devised a form of heroin 100 times more powerful than before, usable in the privacy of one’s own home and injected directly to the brain through the eyes. It’s now available in unlimited supply via a self-replicating distribution network, glorified as art and protected by the Constitution.”
This is bad news. We’re talking about an “addictive stimulus” that’s “nearly resistance-free.” This isn’t some sugary treat you should merely reduce. It’s an evil drug that you should avoid at all costs.
So how does porn affect the brain? Again, citing the aforementioned article, “The same parts of the brain react to both illegal chemical substances and sexual arousal. Dopamine, the chemical triggered by sexual arousal, is also the chemical that triggers addiction in the brain. Exposure to pornographic images develops pathways that, over time, become more and more ‘well-paved’ as they’re repeatedly traveled with each exposure to pornography. Those neurological pathways eventually become the pathway in the brain by which sexual interactions are routed. Thus, a porn user has unknowingly created a neurological circuit that makes their default perspective toward sexual matters ruled by the norms and expectations of pornography.”
The more you watch, the more you want, and so on – until your sexuality is warped, perverted and lost. This is the essence of addiction.
We, Ryan and Justin, do not come to this topic to judge or assert superiority.
We simply have witnessed the pain and addictive power of pornography in our society and as husbands and fathers who are laboring to show our families a better way.
If either of our sons were to come to us and say “Dad, I saw some porn, and I feel bad about it,” neither of us would say, “Just be mindful of your consumption and try to reduce it.” In the words of the Apostle Paul, when it comes to sexual sin, we would tell them to “flee.” To stay away from porn is to fight it.
There’s hope, there’s forgiveness, there’s grace for the sexually broken, but the way to receive healing isn’t to normalize unhealthy behavior; healing begins with a conviction that our sexuality won’t be free from shame until it’s submitted to the God of the universe who created it.
As the great Richard Foster said, “Conformity to a sick society is to become sick.”
Why this article was written?
The increased sexualization of Western Culture has had many devastating outcomes, not the least of which is the staggering rise of pornography use coinciding with technological advances of the last 20 years. With more than 40 million Americans accessing porn sites on a regular basis, there is not only a failure on the part of mainstream culture to acknowledge the severity of the problem but also to admit there’s a problem at all.
The scientific evidence for porn’s damaging impact on the brain is undeniable yet, due to the shame associated with sexual sin, this topic has the inherent ability to stay in the dark. The situation is only made worse when well-meaning psychologists, psychiatrists, and counselors approach this topic with a failure to acknowledge porn’s highly addictive proclivities and advise their patients to merely reduce or manage their porn consumption.
Thus, they surrender to larger cultural forces that prioritize counterfeit sexual “freedom” that always leads to perversion over scientific realities. In the end, the lie is kept secret and the truth is suppressed.
Our only hope is to acknowledge the shame and bring it to the Light. That’s where the healing begins…
About the Authors:
Ryan Moffat, BS in Bible and Theology from Multnomah University. Pastor of Vast Church. Ryan received his BS in Bible and Theology and a minor in counseling from Multnomah University. He has pastored students, families and is passionate about Christ-centered recovery and healing. He’s been married to his beautiful wife Michelle for 13 years and they enjoy raising four crazy, unique and special kids together. Ryan is the teaching pastor at Vast Church in Sisters, OR and is currently working on his Masters in Theology at Western Seminary in Portland, OR
Justin W. Durham, CEO & Co-Owner of Sisters Coffee Company. Justin received his BA in Interdisciplinary Studies/History from Concordia University. He is the CEO and Co-Owner, along with his brother and sister of Sisters Coffee Company located in Sisters, OR. He’s been married to his college sweetheart, Leigh-Anne, since 2002, and they have three children. They’re blessed to raise their family in Sisters, work their family business and being a part of an active Christ-centered community at Vast Church.
The opinions and views of our guest contributors are shared to provide a broad perspective of addictions. These are not necessarily the views of Addiction Hope, but an effort to offer a discussion of various issues by different concerned individuals.
We at Addiction Hope understand that addictions result from multiple physical, emotional, environmental and genetic factors. If you or a loved one are suffering from an addiction, please know that there is hope for you, and seek immediate professional help.
Published on February 4, 2019
Reviewed by Jacquelyn Ekern, MS, LPC on February 4, 2019
Published on AddictionHope.com