Corinthians tells us that he who sins sexually sins against his own body. And Matthew tells us that
Corinthians tells us that he who sins sexually sins against his own body. And Matthew tells us that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. But going back to Corinthians, we are also told to purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit.How relevant these words remain today, in the age of internet pornography. Even among those who see porn as a problem, it has become unfashionable to remember the most obvious thing about it: that it is all about looking lustfully at a woman, a real female person who somewhere in the world allowed herself to be filmed committing sexual sins, all so that corporations can make profits from encouraging boys and men to commit adultery within their hearts.Never before in history have adolescent boys been faced with such a massive and available system designed to tempt them to self-abuse in this way. This is a new situation, different from anything in the past. And we can know that it is new, because it has new social effects, never seen before: never before in history have girls been expected to do so many degrading acts for the pleasure of boys, whether it is to get on their knees and provide oral sex like it means nothing, or let them ejaculate their semen onto their faces, or let them enter them anally. None of these practices are recent inventions, we know, but never before have they become so widespread and so common. Young people are being robbed of their sexual innocence in these ways at too young an age. They reflect changes in youthful sexuality for which internet porn has great responsibility. Many do not want to see these sinful effects upon society, but deep down everyone knows they are there and they are deep.The dilemma mothers of boys face is clear, and stark: when we know that adolescent boys all have access to electronic devices that make all these images of sexual degradation available, when we know that our boys will see thousands upon thousands of such images, when we know that the cumulative effect of repeated, ritualistic self-abuse while watching sin is to increase the appetite in an addictive way that leads to the desire for ever greater degradation, what can mothers do to help their boys purify themselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit?How can we prevent boys from committing sins against their own body, and how can we prevent them from doing so when they are surrounded by images that invite them, in the clearest possible way, to look lustfully upon a woman and commit adultery within their heart? How can boys be relieved of their sinful temptations when all around them are temptations to impurity? We believe there is no more serious problem facing mothers in today’s world. And we believe that what is necessary is to find practical solutions. -- source link