Notes (and quotes) from Chapter 1 of Captured by a Better Vision.
12 ways porn harms us, and 12 reasons you should give it up.
1 Porn wrecks your view of sex
“Porn has a double effect: dulling people’s appetite for real sex while ratchetting up their appetite for more extreme fantasy sex.”
“real sex, sex as God intended, is the celebration and climax – quite literally – of a relationship.”
“Porn will teach you nothing about good sex. Porn only teaches you to be a porn addict.”
2 Porn wrecks your view of women
“‘The sexualization of girls is not just shattering the lives of girls and women, it is preventing boys and young men from relating to girls and women as complex human beings with so much to offer them. It is preventing boys from forming healthy friendships and working relationships with girls and women.'”
3 Porn wrecks women’s view of themselves
4 The porn industry abuses women
“‘Consider then the hypocrisy of the activist Christian who vows to help “Stop the Traffik”, then returns to his PC in secret to help fuel it. By viewing pornography, we’re not only engaging in lust; we could also be participating in human rights abuses.'”
5 Porn is a sin against your wife
“As we’ll see, that reflects the fact that porn is not simply a substitute for sex. So don’t be fooled. Many men have thought they would readily stop using porn when they got married. They were wrong. Don’t think you’re a special case.”
“Using porn is a bad way of preparing not to use it when you’re married! Every time you use porn, you’re giving it more control over your heart. You’re sowing a bitter harvest for your married life.”
6 Porn wrecks families
7 Porn is enslaving
8 Porn erodes your character
“Did King David decide one day to commit an act of murder? No, he didn’t. He was on the roof of his house and he let his eyes wander. And then his heart wandered. As a result, he committed adultery with Bathsheba. At this point he still had no thoughts of murder. But sin was desensitizing him.”
“They are people who’ve switched off their consciences so many times that they can’t switch them on again.”
9 Porn wastes your time, energy and money
10 Porn weakens your relationship with God
“Solomon’s unchecked sexual desires turned his heart away from God. They gave him a divided heart.”
11 Porn weakens your service
“porn is a sin against your church.”
12 God’s wrath is against people who use porn
“Consider Proverbs 5. Here we find many of our reasons for avoiding porn echoed and summarized:
Porn looks sweet, but leads to destruction (3–6)
Porn wastes your time, energy and money (7–11)
Porn leads to remorse and shame (12–14)
Porn is a sin against your wife (15–20)
Porn is a sin against the women involved and their husbands (20)
Porn may seem secret, but it is seen by God (21)
Porn is enslaving (22)
Porn leads to judgment (23).”