THE SECRET PANDEMIC OF THIS ERA | KAIROS GLOBAL | AUGUST 2020

Author: Soney Abraham

Intro: Soney Abraham lucidly explains the root causes and damages caused pornography, masturbation and its vices and how we should steer clear by taking responsibility

 ‘Create in me a clean heart God’ (Ps 51:10), as David prayed, let us also pray to be free from the grip of the greatest secret pandemics- pornography and masturbation. All other sins are outside the body, which is forgivable, but sexual sin happens within our body destroying our body, soul and mind, the holy tabernacle of the Lord. In John 6:56 Jesus promises us that whoever eats His flesh and drinks His blood remains in Him and the Holy Trinity resides in that person. As Christians, we are responsible to keep our body holy so that God can reside in us. God created man and woman in his image of LOVE and placed the fundamental need for intimacy in each person to be fulfilled by healthy relationships with parents, siblings, friends, and spouses. The visible expression of one's soul is through the image of the body; hence our bodies should be treated with the greatest respect; they are not meant to be used but to be loved.

   The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines pornography as the removal of sexual intimacy from the context of marital love and the display of real or stimulated sexual acts deliberately to others. It is a mortal sin as it perverts the conjugal act, the intimate giving of spouses to each other, and it injures the dignity of its participants (actors, vendors, the public), making them objects of pleasure and means of illicit profit for others. Pornography includes visual images, written or audio forms (e.g. certain romance novels, erotic literature, phone conversations, social media, sexting, online video chats, etc.). Pornography leads to masturbation, which is deliberate erotic stimulation of self to achieve orgasm, against the chastity and dignity of one’s body as it seeks sexual pleasure outside of the mutual self-giving and fruitful intimacy of spouses in marriage. Masturbation has powerful neurological effects leading to addiction. 

Addiction to pornography and masturbation are the new pandemics, which grips people in all walks of life. The current statistics of pornography shows that 25% of search engine requests are related to sex, 35% of downloads from the internet are pornographic and the porn industry makes $57-$100 billion/yr. Mainstream entertainments, music lyrics, magazines, social media content, shopping online or at the mall, watching movies and television have all become hypersexualized. In this environment modesty in dressing is replaced by body revealing cloths portraying oneself as sex objects. It is a challenge to maintain purity and appropriate boundaries that are necessary for living chastely and having healthy relationships. There are deliberate and organized attempts to adulterate the traditional Christian teaching on masturbation and pornography. Catholic Church teaches that masturbation is objectively disordered or intrinsically evil, no circumstances or intentions of masturbation is morally good. But Liberalists claim that self-sexual satisfaction is a channel to open one's own spirit. Some psychologists wrongly advise pornography and masturbation to improve the quality of sexual intimacy among spouses. 

What the Bible Teaches about Sexual Sins -Jesus taught us that if anyone that looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Mt 5:27-28). Hence looking at another person with lust, as only a sexual object to enjoy, control and use is a sin. Proverbs 6:25-27 commands us ‘Do not lust in your heart after her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes, for the adulteress preys upon your very life’. In 1 Corinthians 6:13, St Paul teaches us that the body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. St Paul in Hebrews 13:4 urges us to honor marriage and keep it pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all who are sexually immoral. St Paul in Galatians 5, warns us that the results of self-indulgence are sexual vice, impurity, and sensuality and people who behave with self-indulgence do not inherit the Kingdom of heaven.

Causes of pornography and masturbation- People indulge in pornography and masturbation when their fundamental need for intimacy is not met through healthy relationships with one’s parents, siblings, friends, and spouse—when people feel empty inside. People attempt to fill this emotional vacuum with a false intimacy – selfish sexual gratification. The sexual fantasies achieved from various pornographic materials lead to masturbation, causing emptiness, worthlessness, and later they get trapped in a vicious cycle of addiction. 

Effects of pornography and masturbation- The adverse effect of pornography and masturbations are physiological (sexual dysfunction), financial (money spent on porn movies and prostitutes), emotional (detachment from family and friends), mental (anxiety, depression, eating disorders) and spiritual damage (detachment from God). Pornography damages the ability of men and women to be self-giving and self-sacrificing; it destroys their ability to build mutually cherishing, respectful relationships with each other. It creates a deep sense of shame and poor self-esteem, distorts one’s view of sexuality, marriage, and the opposite sex, and causes confusion about one’s own sexual identity and inclinations. It damages people’s relationship with God, leading them to falsely believe that God could never love them and making them feel that they are deprived of Gods mercy and healing. Children and youth who are exposed to pornography lose their innocence, develop distorted images of sexuality and build abusive relationships. Exposure to pornography and masturbation may lead children and young adults to situations of sexual abuse creating mixture of pleasure, pain, disgust, guilt, and curiosity. It may also make them prone to premarital sex and other degrading sexual practices.

Healing from pornography and masturbation- God want us to realize that we are His Tabernacles and hence we should be living in the power of Holy Spirit. Pornography and masturbation are sins against Holy Spirit that needs healing through the sacrament of penance and reconciliation. A collaborative effort of parents, clergy, diocesan and parish leaders, educators, mental health professionals and all those who are in positions to help is required to protect people from pornography and heal the men, women, and young people who have been harmed by its use.  Different steps that need to be adopted by the individuals affected by pornography are to 1) turn to God—repent and ask for healing and strength to abstain from sin, 2) spend time with God daily—spend time reading, studying and meditating on the Scriptures, 3) be in a support group, 4) identify the triggers, 5) seek help to heal the broken relationship with God, self, parents, siblings etc. through qualified counsellors. 

Parents and all adults who care for children should protect them from physical, psychological, moral, and spiritual dangers. They should offer emotional and spiritual support for kids who are abused and exposed to pornography. Children should be gradually educated about the virtue of chastity and the perils of sins against chastity. They should seek to edify children with examples of chaste life. Christian homes should use an appropriate system for monitoring electronic devices, and teach young kids to use them moderately and creatively. Children and young adults need special support groups and environment that will empower them to live chastely, and to reject the cultural pressure to treat sexual activity as recreational.

Conclusion- Use of pornography and masturbation are mortal sins and are the greatest pandemic addictions that grip the world. In order to obtain freedom from pornography cultivation of chastity is essential which like any virtue is a lifelong process that can be achieved through self-determination and divine intervention.

Soney Abraham works as a Nurse practitioner and lives in Dallas, USA with her husband and three children.