Why I think watching porn is wrong/unloving and why I stopped watching it.

[DanielB]

I hope I am posting it in the right section(if there is a section for this type of stuff). I wrote this in response to a christians telling people that it is okay to watch some kinds of porn. These arguments/points do not rely on traditional understandings of sexual sin or even the belief that sin and law are still existing and relevant. In fact, this was written in hopes that it might help to change the mind or stir the conscience of those who are untraditional(or not mainstream) in their understanding of sin, the law, etc(some of the points can even apply to golden rule followers whether they are christians, atheists, etc). Those who are more traditional in their understanding but struggling against a porn problem can also hopefully find it helpful.

"Some  things people and especially christians(or most religious or spiritual  types) should consider before thinking porn is ok. This is intended to  help thwart rationalizations/justifications rather than trying to  encourage unproductive shame or self-hate.

1.  It is not purely a matter of illicit lust, fornication, and adultery(there are multiple other ways ways it can be wrong/harmful if not sinful).  It is not purely a matter of sexual sins and we must consider other  things like whether it is completely compatible with the "golden rule", mercy, love, etc. An argument against porn does not require traditional/mainstream understandings of fornification, adultery, etc. (I will not be using arguments related to this besides point 2)


2.  Many porn stars are married. There are disagreements among christians  about what qualifies as adultery but is willfully fantasizing about another person's spouse really that ambiguous?


3.  Many porn stars regret getting involved and would probably want the  pornographic videos and pictures removed if they had any choice in the  matter. As a christian universalist, I believe that they will all  eventually change their minds about it(that they will come to believe it  was a bad and or ugly thing) if not regret it but many more certainly  will change their minds regardless. Yes, most probably made a  choice(there are certainly exceptions where people are unwilling) and  were completely or at least partially complicit but as a person who has  been forgiven and shown mercy I want to have similar compassion on those  who are repentant or even regretful. A christian should not mercilessly  justify/rationalize their actions by thinking/saying "They should never  have gotten involved or signed any contracts if they didn't want  pictures, videos, etc to stay on the internet!" Such a statement is  absolutely true(for people who were voluntarily involved in porn and  responsible for their own actions) but we can not justify anything by  it. A christian should instead think "I will not haunt a repentant  person with their past or add to their suffering. I will have mercy in  the way that mercy has been shown to me.". A person has no right to  complain about their willful mistakes or sins coming back to bite them  but we have no good reason to be justifying our selfishness with the  mistakes of others(retribution is only justified when it is unselfish and does good). We shouldn't want to be agents of suffering and we  certainly shouldn't want to take pleasure in something that causes a  person suffering.


4.  Many of the pornographic pictures and videos are of dead people(even if  they were not dead at the time of the filming). It may not be necrophilia as far as mental health is concerned but it seems morally  similar if not the same. Porn involving currently dead porn stars can be likened to masturbating over a corpse or maybe masturbating over a picture on a person's obituary. This is not to say that people who watch  such videos are "into" that sort of thing or that their sexuality has  been twisted in the same way but when we are considering the morality/immorality of such porn we need to consider whether that is  wrongful treatment of the dead (whether the dead should be treated with respect). My point is that how we approach death and the treatment of  the dead is a relevant subject. It certainly seems pretty morbid either  way.


5. A  significant amount of porn involves unwilling/non-consenting people.  This isn't even by ridiculous extremist-feminist/SJW ideas of consent.  There are people who have clearly refused and clearly don't want to be  in porn videos or have sex with the people involved. Sex slavery and  child sex slavery are some obvious examples. I am sure that there is probably also pressuring or bribing people into doing things that they  don't desire to do (involving cruelty, disgusting stuff, etc)


6.  (This is pretty much a continuation of 5.) There is also the matter of  people filming sex with a person(with or without their  knowledge/permission) and sharing videos/pictures without their consent.  Many people will say that it is stupid or unwise to give a person  permission to film you having sex with them but it is really irrelevant  whether it is the dumbest or most ingenious idea to give such  permission. Idiots are not sub-human or non-persons. It is still wrong  and basically a form of rape(or some kind of extreme violation) to share  such videos and pictures on the internet or with others without a person's permission and it is wrong to knowingly gawk at and use such videos for masturbation. It is not different or less sleazy than trying  to look up people's skirts. It would probably be extreme to consider the  most naive/ignorant of porn users to be guilty of this particular evil but once you know that such videos are out there you have an obligation not to watch them and not to risk watching them.


7.  It can harm the people involved physically, emotionally, sexually, and  psychologically. Are all difficult jobs necessarily bad? No. Some people  have emotionally, physically, and or psychologically  stressful/harmful/difficult jobs that are still important and good  despite the suffering involved if the jobs help people and do good(and if the workers are voluntarily involved obviously). For example, I have  heard that some medical professions or missionary work can involve suffering. But giving someone something to masturbate to isn't worth the  suffering that goes into it.


8.  It can put both viewers and the people being filmed on a path of  becoming less empathetic/compassionate regardless of whether the acts are consensual. This is true of the more violent/rough stuff at least. If a person is being payed to inflict pain or humiliation on people(or taking pleasure in it) in any context it is going to cause a decline in  compassion and or suffering on the person causing the pain. You can't harm people without being negatively changed in some way.


9.  A person may have to face all the harm they have done at some point. We  should not take pleasure in a person adding to their guilt(if they are  doing something wrong). I imagine a person will have to face how they  harmed others(maybe even as far as being aware of every evil/harm they  are responsible for) at some point but that is speculative. Taking pleasure in a person's guilt(if a person is guilty of some wrongdoing) is screwed up.


10.  People involved in the videos may be conflicted about doing it. It is simply naive to think that all porn stars are totally sure about the stuff they are doing and actually enjoying it rather than acting and hiding their real feelings.





Some of these things can be avoided if a person does some research before fantasizing/masturbating. For example...(some ways of avoiding  the different problems by their respective numbers)

2. A person can research whether the people in the videos are married  before using the video(for fantasizing/masturbating). This only works if  the people involved are all named, credited, and say that they are not married(people can lie and say they are not married though). The risk of fantasizing/masturbating to married porn stars can be reduced but not  eliminated.

3. It is probably possible to avoid looking at videos that people regret  by only watching "live" porn instead of recordings. Otherwise the risk  can be reduced by research but not eliminated.

4. That is avoidable by only watching live pornographic videos rather  than recordings.The only risk here would be if the video wasn't live  because of a misunderstanding or deception.

5. The risk of this can probably be reduced by researching before  fantasizing/masturbating but there is no way to know for sure that they  are not being coerced and or bribed.

6. That is probably mostly avoidable with research but there are some  cases where a porn company will still use videos and images even though a  person involved has asked them not to or withdrawn permission(it is  legal but wrong to do so).

7. Some porn is worse than others but I personally am not convinced this  one can be avoided even if the shooting of some video didn't cause the  people involved any suffering, inner discord, malignant perversion, etc  it is still likely that the porn company/producer involved are involved  in some bad stuff that you are supporting by watching the videos(porn is  funded not only by subscribers and buyers but by ads and the amount of  clicks on the site). One company may be making some videos that don't  seem to revolve around pain, humiliation, etc but they might have a site  that revolves around the more screwed up stuff. It isn't enough to just  avoiding watching the roughest stuff because large companies can be  involved in all kinds of different porn and you are indirectly  supporting it all if you are supporting the porn company.

8. Probably unavoidable(aside from refusing to look at porn) but reducible.

10. The risk of fantasizing/masturbating to such people is unavoidable  but reducible if you are a master of reading people(and if you are  actually reading them but a person who is watching porn is probably not carefully watching a person's facial expressions, etc).

I don't mention the ways to avoid some of the problems because I advocate watching discriminately(I don't believe watching any of it is good) but to give an idea of what a person would  have to go through to avoid these problems without refusing to watch  porn entirely. It is absurd to think that person is going to do a bunch  of research before watching a porn video or looking at porn pictures. Can you imagine a person diligently researching and watching out for all these factors before masterbating to the videos/images? It is less trouble and less risk to just not look at porn.

What about simple nudity(in magazines like Playboy for example)? The wrongness of porn(including "softcore" stuff like Playboy) has nothing to do with nudity or sex. The problem is not that there are pictures of naked women(or men). There is not anything intrinsically wrong with seeing naked people or nakedness. Softcore porn has some of the same problems mentioned above. The problem is that there are real people involved and some if not all of these people will eventually regret exposing themselves in such ways. The golden rule, compassion, decency, love, etc demand that we respect a person's desire to not be looked upon or thought of in the way people typically look at porn nor should we look upon the most promiscuous and immodest person in a way that disregards their inalienable worth and dignity.

Nudity in movies and shows can be wrong(much of it is actually porn in my opinion) for the same reason that Playboy is wrong. Nudity is not wrong so long as people are not being exploited, disrespected, etc. It ought to be obvious where to draw the line(just use common sense and your conscience). There really is no "tasteful" way to exploit a person's nakedness for profit that I can think of. 
The point is that the case against porn(on a moral level) is not entirely dependent on traditional understandings of fornication, adultery, etc or even being religious(someone who simply tries to live by the golden rule and respects people even when they aren't looking  ought to consider such arguments).
My primary reason for opposing porn use is the golden rule, respect for the rights of others, and my desire to love others. I also wanted to make some less orthodox and less obvious arguments(but some of the  points I used are common in anti-porn arguments).
Not everyone will find such arguments compelling(and it is aimed mostly at christians and people with similar worldviews).   I have noticed that some christians seem to think that porn is okay for christians to watch and that it is okay to willfully ogle women even when they are married(generally they interpret fornification and or adultery in an untraditional way) but this is clearly wrong if the wife does not approve of such behaviour regardless of whether it is adulterous(notice I say "willfully")."


I decided to share this because I was concerned upon seeing facebook friends and other christians on the internet teaching that porn is okay or "liking/sharing" porn where it would show up on my newsfeed. Unfortunately they were universalists which might not bother me more than if it were anyone else if not for the fact that I have seen at least two christian universalists who have dozens if not hundreds or thousands of watchers. Hopefully you all can see(as I have) that it is not only(that is not to say "merely") a matter of debate over sexual sin but that the golden rule and love itself is an argument against porn(no law is required to make it harmful). I shared it on this forum because it is a common problem(even among christians) and I found(and still find) these points to be helpful but some of the points are not stated commonly enough.

[marie glen]

Oh dear. That is very unfortunate. Jesus did say to be looking at one with desire, not one's mate/spouse, is to be committing adultery in one's heart, if one did not reject it and nip it in the bud right away. Oh that crafty adversary is always ever so busy. ...Way to make UR look bad! Is it Paul wrote "of what benefit now are those things of former life which we now know lead to death?" - well, that's rather poorly paraphrased from memory, but that's the gist of it.

Too many folks don't know history. How the olde pagan religions were sex rites/orgies/&watching sex (and sacrifice of unwanted babes?)

And the harlot of the Book of Revelation - the word translated harlot, is "pornos" - has seduced, led astray and beguiled/bewitched/enchanted all seven hills/continents. This $ity babble-on, I believe is different from the Jezebel spirit having to do with the chuches, wrapped up/equated with the political beast of yesteryear. And if more of the people of God understood this spirit (flood of rev 12) of "pornos" and how Yahweh says it has destroyed the earth.. it would be far less likely any rational christian could ever consider "pornos" to be okay, and not a very serious evil.

I rest my case, by how the ten horns (wearing crowns, as opposed to yesteryear's beast manifestation which 7 heads wore the crowns) the "ten 'kings' which will rule one" (final) "hour with the beast" - ten horns, ten kings, ten toes of Nebuchadnezzars dream statue of world empires affecting the faith (Israel and Christianity) - how these ten will hate the harlot (capitalism gone pornos) and will desolate her.. Socialism finally will devour capitalism.. This final harlot will crash in an hour and fall in a day, at which time the merchants will cry for no one will be buying their merchandise, long list of, right down to the bodies and souls/lives of humans.. And the kings/politicians are in bed with her (fornicate w her). She, this last empire of Godless mankind, holds in her hands a golden ($) cup of her abominations (side effects? of fornication, perversions, murders, abortions? dissolution of marriage and culture/society).

This final global empire (monetary/gold system) now gone "pornos" is said to be responsible for all blood shed upon earth. And no longer will the miller's wheel be heard in her..

If we read Revelation chapter 12 very carefully.. we can see in it [[the birth of the Son of man, Herod the Great, altho indirectly? used by the dragon.. the razing of Jerusalem in 70 a.d. and a first migration of the faith, largely to Europe.. then rage of the dragon, and his persecution/inquisition of the faith, followed by a 2nd migration when the faith is given the two wings of an eagle to fly (sail?) to a new place where the faith is kept safe from the face of the dragon for 3.5 divisions of time, but after which]] the serpent (beguiling) guise of the dragon spews out a flood (proliferation?) after the faith in order to wash her away from the face of the earth... but the earth will open its mouth and swallow the flood (Lk 23:28,31). [1620 or bit earlier+350=1960's/70 an unfortunate proliferation in earnest?]
:Peace2:

Thank you for spreading the Word about the evils of pornography, which is so highly dissoluting, crippling, and corrupting.

[Dandelion]

I think, rather than analyzing law, we can do better to view pornography as disrespecting our own bodies, as well as those whom we are watching.

Marriage is the vehicle for us to engage in sexual desires, according to God's story of Salvation.

Jesus compared his relationship to the church, with that of marriage.

In this fallen world, there are things that disrupt that, but, we must still strive for this, with God's grace and our commitment to His plan. I have my own story to tell of not being able to always live up to this goal, so I speak of what I know. I have seen the terrible results of this, firsthand, and how the devil pepetuates lies to us.

So, rather than run from the negative, let's try to keep our eyes on the ideal, and pray for our own path to be that of God's.

We need to always, in all ways, seek the greater good for others, for ourselves, and to be a good example to others, of following God, in all we do.

We need to treasure each another, body and soul, and spend our lives in the pursuit of the Spirit, and in the ways we can give God the most glory and honor.

And, I believe, when we do this, we will walk in the Light of Jesus.

Phillipians 4:7 - 9
7And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think on these things. 9Whatever you have learned and received and heard from me, and seen in me, put these things into practice. And the God of peace will be with you....


D.

[rosered]

There sure is a huge confusion on the judging   and I do believe with all my heart  , that confusion is  on the who , what , why , when and where ..


   The judgment seat of Christ is   all about   the  deeds done in the body , but when we literally die  , without  this mortal body  , NO LONGER  in a sinful state of decay  ,  when one sins against his own physical  body    1 CORH The Temple of the Holy Spirit


17But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with Him in spirit.

18Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a man can commit is outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.

19Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own...

These are those that are one body with the  great WHORE OF THE EARTH ...With her the kings of the earth committed adultery, and the inhabitants of the earth ... with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and with ... of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. .... written: Babylon the Great, the mother of prostitutes and of the abominations of the earth.

SHE IS   DEAD when she lives in the earth , GOD IS ALL ABOUT  DESTROYING HER TOTALLY ...

1 Peter 4 Living for God's Glory
...4Because of this, they consider it strange of you not to plunge with them into the same flood of reckless indiscretion, and they heap abuse on you. 5But they will have to give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6That is why the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged as men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit....

Acts 10:42
And He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that He is the One appointed by God to judge the living and the dead.

Romans 14:9
For this reason Christ died and returned to life, so that He might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.

Romans 14:12
So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.

2 Timothy 4:1
I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of His appearing and His kingdom:

James 5:9
Do not complain about one another, brothers, so that you will not be judged. Look, the Judge is standing at the door!


To me the book of Revelations is all about the  dead and the living , please note the great white throne speaks ....  Rev 19 ;5 WHILE  GOD SITS IN IT
http://biblehub.com/revelation/19-5.htm

But there is no more earth and heavens as the  old is passed away  ,    REV 20 no more physical bodies as to being done in them  ...  when you die  , the soul/being  and spirit remain to be judged   and the separation  between the two     are found in Hebrews 4 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews%204 and the rest   is being in the BODY OF CHRIST of LIVING  ,  and the rest of dead  did not live till the 1000 years are completed ...

ALL THINGS ARE IN THE BODY OF CHRIST LIVING AND DEAD STILL
ALL THINGS ARE MADE BY HIM AND THOUGH HIM AND NOTHING IS MADE THAT IS NOT MADE The Beginning
...2He was with God in the beginning. 3Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made. 4In Him was life, and that life was the light of men....

Proverbs 8:30
Then I was beside Him, as a master workman; And I was daily His delight, Rejoicing always before Him,

John 1:2
He was with God in the beginning.

John 1:10
He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him.

1 Corinthians 8:6
yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we exist. And there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we exist.

Colossians 1:16
For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him.

Hebrews 1:2
But in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe.

Hebrews 11:3
By faith we understand that the universe was formed by God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

1 John 5:1
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the Father also loves the one born of Him.

Revelation 3:14
To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Originator of God's creation.

Jude 1 God's Judgment on the Ungodly
...6And the angels who did not stay within their own domain, but abandoned their proper dwelling,

He keeps under darkness, in eternal chains for judgment on that great day.


7In like manner, Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, who indulged in sexual immorality and pursued strange flesh, are on display as an example of those who sustain the punishment of eternal fire. 8Yet in the same way, these dreamers defile their bodies, reject authority, and slander glorious beings....

I do believe we still have the same modern day examples ....  in the world  and ''signs of the times ''  :eek:

  The thing is   , who is really seeing this   as evil and as of the world ?    Who considers their bodies as good as dead already  in Faith ,as Abraham  did in his day ?

Being in it , you never notice such things  , but when you are  in the world but not of it , you are given eyes to see and ears to hear and a heart to understand      , your Body is healed     and of the Body of Christ as LIVING  , not of the dead   any longer as we'' KEEP   LIFTING UP THE LORD JESUS CHRIST '''  so all men will be drawn to HIM \\IF I BE LIFTED UP from the earth !

John 12
...31Now judgment is upon this world; now the prince of this world will be cast out. 32And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself." 33He said this to signify the kind of death He was going to die....
Berean Study Bible

Isaiah 11:10
Then in that day The nations will resort to the root of Jesse, Who will stand as a signal for the peoples; And His resting place will be glorious.

John 3:14
Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,

John 6:44
"No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.

John 8:28
So Jesus said, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing on My own, but speak exactly what the Father has taught Me.

John 12:34
The crowd replied, "We have heard from the Law that Christ will remain forever. So how can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?"

John 18:32
This was to fulfill the word that Jesus had spoken to indicate the kind of death He was to die.

John 8:28 Then said Jesus to them, When you have lifted up the Son of man, ...


When we do as we are told and  obedient   to Gods desire  , we do eat His body and drink His blood that we might have Life in us ...  the passover LAMB OF GOD  is the  rest in hope and  peace of  the land HIS OWN BODY  we are a part of ... lambs

  I do believe Jesus is separating the sheep from the goats  as   the  intercessory prayers   ,   the positive power of LIGHT   SHINE FORTH IN THE DARKNESS /WORLD ..

[DanielB]

Thanks, I agree with you guys as much as I understand you. Revelation and even interpretations of it go straight over my head. :)

[anti_nietzsche]

I think sexuality is to be expressed by two humans who really and honestly love each other and are faithful to each other. Without this honest and faithful love in it, sex is simply only a fleshly affair that is to be rejected. I must admit that I have watched porn too and used masturbation, but I am trying to get away from this. I am a human with sexual desires, which I think is normal, but this is a struggle we all have to enter so that we would not dishonor our bodies and our sexuality. If you masturbate to a porn actress, chances are you do not love her. So in effect you're only following lust, and that would be sinful. God is accepting everyone, so in one sense it does not matter, but we are called to enter the struggle for good and strive for purity. But it's unfortunate that some of us are apparently deprived of sexual pleasure because they do not find loving partners. For that objective reason we must be merciful towards all, and I would remind you to the bible that says there is no law against gentleness and that the Holy Spirit actually seeds gentleness in us. We should not destroy peace by coercing each other or being too stern. God is love and has included everyone into disobedience so he can be merciful to all. Sin is ugly but it is not larger than God's love and Christ's salvation. So if you struggle with porn and have had defeats, do not worry, God still loves you and eagerly forgives you. Just be real to the Father and try not to play games that would harm you or others. I pray that God gives everyone a partner, including me who has searched a lot but found nobody. Sex in a partnership is a blessing. So sex normally is not dirty or offensive to God at all. Just when love and faithfulness are absent we cannot speak of a healthy sexuality, and that is the same with watching porn.

[DanielB]

I think sexuality is to be expressed by two humans who really and honestly love each other and are faithful to each other. Without this honest and faithful love in it, sex is simply only a fleshly affair that is to be rejected. I must admit that I have watched porn too and used masturbation, but I am trying to get away from this. I am a human with sexual desires, which I think is normal, but this is a struggle we all have to enter so that we would not dishonor our bodies and our sexuality. If you masturbate to a porn actress, chances are you do not love her. So in effect you're only following lust, and that would be sinful. God is accepting everyone, so in one sense it does not matter, but we are called to enter the struggle for good and strive for purity. But it's unfortunate that some of us are apparently deprived of sexual pleasure because they do not find loving partners. For that objective reason we must be merciful towards all, and I would remind you to the bible that says there is no law against gentleness and that the Holy Spirit actually seeds gentleness in us. We should not destroy peace by coercing each other or being too stern. God is love and has included everyone into disobedience so he can be merciful to all. Sin is ugly but it is not larger than God's love and Christ's salvation. So if you struggle with porn and have had defeats, do not worry, God still loves you and eagerly forgives you. Just be real to the Father and try not to play games that would harm you or others. I pray that God gives everyone a partner, including me who has searched a lot but found nobody. Sex in a partnership is a blessing. So sex normally is not dirty or offensive to God at all. Just when love and faithfulness are absent we cannot speak of a healthy sexuality, and that is the same with watching porn.

I agree. I am not trying to condemn anyone or beating myself up over my past. I don't think/feel that sex is bad or disgusting or anything. I actually have a very high view of sexuality as a result of all the suffering it has caused people and all the evil it has tempted people to. I think God would've just made us all very asexual if there was no goodness to sex. I really don't think God just wants to put us through trials for no good reason or give us something that has so much potential to be abused unless it also has a lot of potential for good.

I think people and society in general looking down upon, being apathetic towards, or even hating prostitutes(those who allow themselves to be mistreated and disrespected) is the cause of prostitution rather than people who have love or compassion for them. I get pretty angered sometimes about all the hard heartedness many have towards prostitutes.

By the way, my advice to anyone still stuggling with it is to
1. Build compassion/empathy for prostitutes. I think God has helped me much with this but I think there are ways we can build empathy/compassion ourselves. Think about how much they are being wronged and how much they are likely going to regret taking part in it. At this point my zeal against porn and my aversion to the evil and hard heartedness of it makes me not want to watch it more than I am urged to. It has been the primary factor in helping me to stop.

2. Do not to even consider or debate with yourself whether to give into a temptation(or stop if you have started to do so) because if you are addicted(or whatever you want to call it) enough where you need advice to quit then you will probably end up rationalizing it or convincing yourself to do so or making up some reason. Listen to your conscience and the better part of yourself that is telling you not to and don't be fooled by yourself. I think whatever part of the mind is responsible for temptations is very good at debate or at least manipulation and temptation.

3. Stay away from stuff that makes you vulnerable if possible. Don't watch or look at stuff that arouses you even if you are not watching it for that reason. Think of it like intoxication. You probably won't be to prone to making outrageously foolish decisions after half a can of beer but sipping down more and more can make you more and more vulnerable. 

4. It is easier to find something else to focus on rather than trying to block it or remove a thought or temptation from you mind. Just treat it like an invasive thought and go work on something or find some way to occupy your brain until you are back in a less vulnerable state of mind. If you see something(picture, video, ad, etc) or someone that is arousing then you can just divert your eyes(and I have found that this can become a helpful habit/reflex if you keep it up).

5. Have faith/hope that you can overcome the problem and that it will get easier and less exhausting to resist with time and practice. Don't listen to any doubts that tell you that the rest of your life will be a constant struggle or that it is some vain effort. That is just the "devil on your shoulder" trying to get you to give in.

6. Don't get discouraged by failure because you don't automatically lose all of the progress you have made from each failure. Focus on the progress you have made.

7. If you do make the mistake of giving in then quit giving in right when you have the opportunity(when you lucid enough to realize it). Giving in and masterbating can set back some of your progress but don't be fooled(by the "devil on your shoulder") into thinking that all the damage is already done so you might as well finish or seek some more. Stopping in the middle of the act can minimize any damage done to your progress.

8. You can and should also pray for help in all of this of course.