Lee Moses
In recent months, blemishes have been popping up on the face of Union City. Those local to this area have seen those blemishes that arose since a certain referendum passed, permitting the opening of liquor stores. Perhaps the reader has heard their radio advertisements, referring to these establishments as places to purchase “adult beverages.” It is very ironic that some call these beverages “adult beverages,” just as it is ironic to hear one call pornographic movies “adult films.” Yes, I know that the main reason alcoholic beverages and pornography are referred to as “adult” is because they are only legally permitted to adults.1
However, your average person does not call them “adult beverages” or “adult films.” Industry insiders tend to favor those terms because they are clearly more flattering than more accurate terms for alcoholic beverages such as mild poison or brain cripplers, or more accurate terms for pornography such as smut or public prostitution. Calling their products “adult” lends an air of credibility to them, an air of propriety to them, perhaps even an air of maturity to them.
But does someone act more mature—more adult—when he is imbibing alcoholic beverages? Hollywood might make some viewers associate martinis with a suave Sean Connery. Madison Avenue might lead some viewers to think that drinking beer transforms someone into the “most interesting man in the world.” Reality paints a very different picture. Alcohol causes grown people to throw temper tantrums that would rival the best work of a bratty two-year-old. Trying to reason with a drunk is like trying to reason with a drooling infant.
Pornography use is no more mature. According to Neuroscience News, “Watching pornography rewires the brain to a more juvenile state.”2 That is not in a good sense. Viewing pornography tends to lead to lower ability to form and maintain meaningful relationships. It can diminish brain function. It can lead to poorer decision making.4 According to one study out of Mayo Clinic, pornography addiction leads to “decreased interest in pursuing goal-directed activities central to survival.” 3 In other words, it can lead to laziness, lack of responsibility, and increased dependence. Like a child. It is no wonder that Paul told Timothy, “Flee also youthful lusts” (2 Tim. 2:22, emph. LM).
It is certainly true that such things are not fit for children, but neither are they fit for adults. An adult exercises responsibility. And there is no more responsible decision for any adult to make than submitting his own will to the perfect and holy will of God, which “teach[es] us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world” (Titus 2:12).
Notes
1 One might well question whether state and federal law truly permits the sale of pornography, or whether certain judges have imagined new Constitutional rights out of thin air. But that is a subject for another day.
2 https://neurosciencenews.com/neuroscience-pornography-brain-15354/
3 J.M. Bostwick and J.A. Bucci JA, “Internet sex addiction treated with naltrexone.” Mayo Clin Proc. 2008. 83: 226-30.
4 Rubén de Alarcón, et al., “Online Porn Addiction: What We Know and What We Don’t—A Systematic Review,” Journal of Clinical Medicine, Jan 15 2019.
