In his book on pornography, Wired for Intimacy: How Pornography Hijacks the Male Brain, Dr. William Struthers explains how regular external stimulus alters one’s neurological makeup, which is how human beings learn.
Consistent exposure to pornographic images actually rewires the brain.
Like a tire that gets stuck in a well-worn rut, the brain, in a sense, can be trained and eventually subjected to addictive behaviors.
Learning to drive from Vin Diesel movies.
Similarly, psychologist Catherine Steiner-Adair notes in the Telegraph piece that porn has become so prevalent in our culture, it has replaced how young men learn about and understand sex:
“The boys are very confused about how to approach girls,” she says. “Their sexual education is porn. And it’s very misogynistic and violent porn.” … The result is mutual unhappiness, frustration and disappointment.
[Porn star] Nina Hartley agrees. “Young people are going to find information wherever they can get it. … But watching porn to learn to have sex is like watching Vin Diesel movies to learn how to drive. I’m paid to give this performance.”
As Dr. Struthers writes, “Pornography teaches its students to focus on the physiology of sexual sensations and not on the relationships for which these sensations are intended.”
Ultimately, porn defiles the concept of intimacy and destroys the original God-glorifying intent for sex. By consistently pursuing pornography, men “have unknowingly created a neurological circuit that imprisons their ability to see women rightly as created in God’s image,” Struthers concludes.
Sin is dead.
Don Jon doesn’t promote the whole truth of God’s design for sex, but it does point out that even those in the secular media and entertainment are aware of the dangers of porn. As porn use has rapidly become a social norm, even those without spiritual convictions are beginning to take notice of just how much damage porn can do.
For the Christian guys who are reading this and feeling awful and shameful, I need you to trust that you can put your sin to death because Jesus died for your sin. Jesus went to the cross and scorned your shame so that you can scorn your shame.
There is an entire generation of Christian men who are standing on the sidelines feeling disqualified from serving Jesus because they are enslaved to porn. Fight for purity.
When you get knocked down, get back up. The fruit of the Spirit includes “self-control” and is possible for you, my brother.
