Pornography

What if you are thinking about baseball? Is that still being unfaithful?

 

In your case? No. You're a Red Sox fan and there's no joy in that.

 

And this is the #2 practical reason why using porn is harmful.

 

Your lying to yourself if you think your husband has never had a thought, even for a moment, of another women while having sex....you are lying to yourself if you believe you have never had those thoughts...you are human...right?

If the answer is yes, then your human nature forces you to have these thoughts whether you like it or not. That is unless you are Jesus, who was tempted but never gave in to temptation.

 

My definition isn't as relevant as Jesus' definition. He said the words afterall. But judging from what He said about it -- particularly about it being "adultery in the heart", I'd say it equates to visualizing sexual acts in one's mind with another person.

Today, we'd call that fantasy.

Lust is not the same as envy or covetousness, and doesn't apply to inanimate objects in most cases. It's a purely sexual craving. Nothing else would fit the "adultery" conviction. I think it's okay to acknowledge beauty, and it's not a sin to be tempted, as has been posted in this thread already. What makes temptation a sin is what you do about it. If you move along, you're okay. If you entertain the temptation or indulge in it, that's when it becomes sin.

James 1:14-15
"...each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin..."

 

Not for me, no. But that is precisely why I am thinking about baseball.

 

This isn't a bad way to put it, actually. Well done, Riddel.

 

Most of the time it does. One of the things that porn does is it de-sensitizes people to sex. When people get de-sensitized to anything, they want to either increase the frequency or potency of whatever they're indulging in. In that respect, it's not unlike a drug addiction.

 

:applause:

Romans 6:1-2
"What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?"

 

And this is the #1 reason why using porn is harmful. The psychological and emotional effect it usually has on a spouse -- especially women -- can be almost as catastrophic as if physical adultery had taken place.