Lest there be some confusion concerning my
latest article concerning porn, I should make a brief clarification. In discussing the deleterious effects which porn has on the love and fidelity between souses necessary for a marriage to be lasting and joyful, I took at times a quasi-consequentialist approach to my arguments against porn. To wit, I noted that porn causes lasting damage to marriage (and by extension, to other relationships), which is true, and which is reason enough to oppose its widespread use and availability. However, it is ultimately bad not only because of these consequences, but because it is evil in its own right (see Matthew 5:28). The former "consequentialist" arguments are certainly good arguments for why societal action should be taken against the distribution and use of porn (at the very least to the extent of curbing its availability and prohibiting the public use of porn, etc). However, the fact that it is a grave and intrinsic moral evil is the best reason to oppose it, both in our own lives and in the lives of our family and friends. We've a duty to warn against its deleterious effects on our lives, it is true; but
greater still is our duty to
warn against its effects on our souls.
Tags: Porn Culture-of-Deat H Abolition-of-Ma N
