{"id":43201,"date":"2012-12-31T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-12-31T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/eight-harmful-effects-of-pornography\/"},"modified":"2012-12-31T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2012-12-31T00:00:00","slug":"eight-harmful-effects-of-pornography","status":"publish","type":"sermon-illustrations","link":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/eight-harmful-effects-of-pornography\/","title":{"rendered":"Eight Harmful Effects of Pornography"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>After reviewing a number of research studies, a few years ago <em class=\"citation\">Men&#39;s Health<\/em> magazine summarized the following eight harmful effects of porn:<\/p>\n\n<p>1) <strong>It is progressive.<\/strong> A 1985 study found that 92 percent of boys had looked at <em class=\"citation\">Playboy<\/em> by age 15. Another study conducted over 20 years later (2008) found that 74 percent of 15-year-old boys had viewed highly graphic and deviant internet porn.<\/p>\n\n<p>2) <strong>It creates unrealistic expectations.<\/strong> A Utah University study found that regular porn use creates longings and needs that are rarely met in real life relationships.<\/p>\n\n<p>3) <strong>It can lead to casual sex.<\/strong> Paul Wright, Ph.D. at Indiana University concludes that men who regularly view pornography are more likely to engage in casual sex, have multiple partners, and cheat on their spouse.<\/p>\n\n<p>4) <strong>It amplifies emotional problems.<\/strong> Dr. Ray Bergner, professor of psychology at Illinois State University, states that &quot;the combination of normal sexual desire and using sex to cope with emotional problems&quot; creates a &quot;potent sexual cocktail&quot; which drives an even deeper need to use porn to cope with emotional issues.<\/p>\n\n<p>5) <strong>It creates unhealthy sexual bonds.<\/strong> William Struthers, Ph.D., author of <em class=\"citation\">Wired for Intimacy<\/em> writes, &quot;If you&#39;re viewing pornography, your partner is the screen in front of you.&quot; In other words, porn users are conditioning their brains to bond and attach to pornographic images, not a real partner.<\/p>\n\n<p>6) <strong>It counterfeits true intimacy.<\/strong> Struthers says, &quot;People think porn is about sex. It&#39;s not. It&#39;s about intimacy. The guy who can&#39;t find a girlfriend and starts looking at porn is searching for intimacy. He hasn&#39;t found it.&quot;<\/p>\n\n<p>7) <strong>It disrupts real relationships.<\/strong> Norwegian and University of California studies have concluded that when only one partner is into porn an &quot;unwelcome third party&quot; has invaded the relationship.<\/p>\n\n<p>8) <strong>It hurts your spouse.<\/strong> A 2011 study in the <em class=\"citation\">Archives of Sexual behavior<\/em> found that 36 percent of women surveyed consider porn use as being unfaithful. More than 40 percent of women feel their partner&#39;s porn use means that she&#39;s &quot;not good enough.&quot;<\/p>","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"template":"","tax_ctp_audience":[],"tax_ctp_authors":[],"tax_ctp_categories":[165],"tax_ctp_format":[171],"tax_ctp_illustration_types":[410],"tax_ctp_multimedia":[],"tax_ctp_point_editor":[],"tax_publications":[140],"tax_ctp_tags":[3386,3726,4242,4409,4425,4664,4747,4913,4958,4982,5038,5169],"tax_ctp_topics":[390],"class_list":["post-43201","sermon-illustrations","type-sermon-illustrations","status-publish","hentry","tax_publications-ct-pastors","tax_ctp_tags-adultery","tax_ctp_tags-culture","tax_ctp_tags-infidelity","tax_ctp_tags-lust","tax_ctp_tags-marriage","tax_ctp_tags-pornography","tax_ctp_tags-purity","tax_ctp_tags-self-deception","tax_ctp_tags-sexual-immorality","tax_ctp_tags-sinful-pleasure","tax_ctp_tags-spiritual-bondage","tax_ctp_tags-tolerance-of-sin"],"acf":{"scripture_references":[{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null}]},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Eight Harmful Effects of Pornography - CT Pastors<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/eight-harmful-effects-of-pornography\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Eight Harmful Effects of Pornography - CT Pastors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"After reviewing a number of research studies, a few years ago Men&#039;s Health magazine summarized the following eight harmful effects of porn: 1) It is progressive. 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