Is Pornography Moral?

Pornography is the portrayal of sexual subject matter for the exclusive purpose of
sexual arousal. Pornography may be presented in a variety of media, including books,
magazines, postcards, photographs, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound
recording, phone calls, writing, film, video, and video games. It degrades all members
that participate in the act: the people being filmed/described, the vendors, anyone who
watches the pornography; it makes them objects of the sin. It also places all of these
people into a fantasy world.

Pornography is a moral issue. It undergoes a lot of debate if it is good or not.

Some people might say that watching pornography is good because it is a healthy
activity involving consenting adults especially married couples, but it is strictly hidden on
children because their minds are not mature enough to understand or handle the idea of
pornography. It can be used in healthy manner to increase intimacy between married
couple.

For those who disagree about the idea of pornography, their reason is that it is
wrong from its very nature: tool for self-gratification that like some drugs have terrible
side effects on the person indulging on it and also it can become addiction. Addicts feel
isolate, spend large amount of time locked in their rooms or their fantasy world.
Watching pornography individually separate them from social contact dissolving into
fantasy world that is very far from reality. Their self-esteem will decrease and will
become introvert. Pornography could make it difficult for one of the partners to view sex
as a loving form of communication. As a result, pornography can decrease sexual
satisfaction within one's marriage. The moral effects of pornography are, by now, well
attested. The scourge of pornography has brought ruin and harm into the lives of
millions of our friends and neighbors, destroying marriages, distorting sexuality, and
poisoning minds. Even so, the pornography industrial complex continues to grow,
representing one of the most lucrative segments of the Internet economy.

Pornography promotes lust. Lust is one of the seven capital sins. Pornographic
materials are intended to illicit sexual arousal in our flesh. Lust is any arousal of the
flesh which occurs in an immoral manner, and the whole purpose of filming other people
engaging in sexual acts (often grossly distorted and perverted acts) is to entice lust in
the hearts of the audience. Lust is a sin, and anything that brings us to the point of lust
is a sinfully corrupting and tempting influence. Jesus says that the commission of lust is
equal to the commission of adultery. Consider the Bible's teaching: Matt. 5:28 but I say
to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed
adultery with her in his heart. James 1:14 But each one is tempted when he is carried
away and enticed by his own lust. James 1:15 Then when lust has conceived, it gives
birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.

Porn destroys our values. Video is powerful. We live in a world where we need to
see something to believe it and in our fast-paced, information-driven world, video is the
preferred means of communication and information dissemination. The thing is, video
has the power to influence and even replace behaviors in your mind without you being
consciously aware of what one is seeing. As one watch videos, one’s subconscious
mind is rapidly dissecting, translating and making sense of what it is being fed. The
research found that the subconscious mind translates and subsequently changes their
behavior in one disturbing way: Pornography makes the individual to lower their
standards sexually. It encourages them to seek sex and, in some cases, build intimate
and unhealthy relationships with people who are willing to have sex without any
boundaries. As exciting as that sounds, having sex with anyone who is available can be
a sign of someone without much discipline.

For me as a student and as a Christian, pornography is an immoral act because

as what the bible and church taught me, the sin of pornography violates two of the Ten
Commandments, the sixth commandment and the ninth commandment. The sixth
commandment, "You shall not commit adultery, “commands us to be chaste and modest
in all that we do. Pornography violates the virtue of chastity because it involves
unmoderated, impure thoughts. The ninth commandment, "You shall not covet your
neighbor's wife," commands us to look upon other people with pure thoughts.
Pornography, by definition, violates this command. Furthermore, Jesus teaches us that
if a man even looks at a woman with lust, he commits adultery in his heart. Pornography
directly relates to one of the capital sins: lust. Since lust is a capital sin, it leads other
types of sin and tends to repeat itself over and over again. Lust is, "An inordinate desire
for or enjoyment of sexual pleasure, which is essentially a more generalized definition of
pornography. Furthermore, Jesus teaches us that if a man even looks at a woman with
lust, he commits adultery in his heart. When a person commits the sin of pornography,
he or she is looking at others in a lustful manner, so whenever a person commits this sin
he or she is committing adultery. 1 John 2:16 “For all that is in the world the desires of
the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions is not from the Father but
is from the world (1 John 2:16)”.
 STELLA MARIS COLLEGE
OROQUIETA CITY

ASSIGNMENT
In
ETHICS

Submitted by: Jonyl S. Abang

Submitted to: Sr. Maria Gina Rendoque