Why sexual sins aren't "meaningless" and a protocol to quit pornography.
The Spiritual Dimension of Sexual Immorality
A few weeks ago, the internet was shaken by a new, massive release of the Epstein files. Some of the things on there were absolutely shocking. My Twitter feed was flooded with uncensored images and videos of the horrific things these people were doing (and many are likely still doing), and by terribly detailed emails showcasing the sheer evil of those participating in these abominations.
I’ll admit that I was quite affected by them, so much so that I had to get off Twitter for a while. If you haven’t gone down that rabbit hole, I don’t recommend you do. Just know that what’s in there is probably worse than you imagine, and all the things that “conspiracy theorists” have been saying were true.
It’s natural to feel pain and doubt when confronted by such evil. How could anyone do such horrific things?
It’s all Spiritual
You see, us Christians have known all along that this is not merely “some bad men doing bad things just because”.
No. We know it’s much bigger than that. We know there’s actual evil, and we know that there are people in high places making deals with the demonic, committing abominations in order to gain power in this world. One of the most shocking things about the Epstein files was how open they were about this, and how much of an effort they placed in mocking Christ and His Church.
Do you think that it’s a coincidence that Epstein’s bank account was named “BAAL” —the name of an ancient Canaanite demon—, that they talked about bringing down Pope Francis, and that they mocked Christ in multiple emails?
It’s always been spiritual. The emails, the satanic rituals, the demonic tint of their communications prove it. And those who refuse to accept it at this point are unknowingly helping Satan tighten his grip on this world.
With them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah which says:
‘You shall indeed hear but never understand,
and you shall indeed see but never perceive.
For this people’s heart has grown dull,
and their ears are heavy of hearing,
and their eyes they have closed,
lest they should perceive with their eyes,
and hear with their ears,
and understand with their heart,
and turn for me to heal them.’But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.
— Matthew 13:14-16
There is a spiritual war ongoing. You can unite yourself to Christ, who fights for life, light, good and beauty, or refuse to join the fight, and become one more silent, numb warrior in the army of the dead.
Because it’s not only greatly virtuous actions and terrible evil deeds that tilt the spiritual balance. No, every little thing you do either helps the light or the darkness. There is no neutral position here. Every single decision you make leads you —and all of us— closer to Heaven or further down into the abyss.
Light or darkness. Good or evil. Holiness or wickedness. Your actions don’t just affect you personally, but they also create ripples in the spiritual realm, meaning that even those “private” sins you commit damage other people, if not directly, then always at least indirectly, by allowing the demonic to keep spreading in the world.
Not even those so-called “innocent” sins are meaningless.
Going back to the question we posed at the beginning of this article (how could anyone do such a thing?), it’s not like the wicked men on the Epstein list woke up one day and decided to commit abominations. No, what most likely happened is that they left a lot of “innocent” sins unchecked, and those sins led to bigger sins and stronger depravities, slowly allowing the demonic to get a firm hold on their hearts and souls.
Maybe they started watching pornographic videos, which became stronger and more violent over time. Maybe they made little concessions and lied and cheated to get ahead, and these became larger and more evil deals over time. Disorder always lead to more disorder. What was initially just an “innocent” sin eventually becomes an abomination if you don’t stop it. Because, like we said: you either climb towards holiness or you descend towards wickedness.
The Connection Between Flesh and Spirit
In an episode of his YouTube show, Dr. Taylor Marshall talks with Dr. Dan Schneider about why and how sexual sins attract demonic possession. It’s very telling that, after occult practices, Dr. Schneider names sexual deviancy as the second most common sin leading to demonic obsession/possession. The interview is extremely interesting, and you can watch it here:
You see, those “meaningless” private sins are everything but meaningless. The flesh and the soul are connected beyond our understanding, and whatever we do with our bodies has consequences in the spiritual realm. St Alphonsus Liguori calls impurity “hell’s widest gate”, and he gives a detailed sermon on the gravity of sexual sin:1
The painting at the beginning of this article shows Dante and Virgil in hell watching a tragic couple configured in a lustful tryst. Saints, poets, painters and thinkers have been warning us for ages: sexual sin is grave enough to condemn us. And yet, after the sexual revolution, we’ve chosen to follow the desires of our flesh instead of God, and we’ve fallen for the propaganda that claims to want to “liberate” us from the shackles of chastity, when in reality it seeks to let evil spread unchecked throughout the world.
Do you ever wonder why there’s such a strong push for you to keep watching p*rn and committing sexually disordered acts? It’s not a coincidence. Powerful people in powerful places know that this is one of the most effective ways in which they can control you and also lead you away from God completely.
It starts with small concessions. A look here. A “little” sin there. An unconfessed impure thought in which you relished. A video that your peers tell you is “not so bad”. A private mistake. And before you know it, you’re slipping down the slope, unable to stop the descent into addiction. Your relationships suffer. Your marriage ends. Your soul becomes darkened.
All of this to say that you need to take this seriously. You need to purify your life. It’s not worth losing your soul over this. And if you don’t take it seriously, know that you are helping the darkness spread far beyond yourself.
The goal here is not to get you to feel guilty (although some guilt is prudent when you sin). My goal here is to be —perhaps the only— voice that tells you the truth: that it is actually bad to keep watching p*rn, it’s incredibly evil and hurtful, and you’re risking your soul if you keep doing it. You need to see this sin for what it is, because perhaps only then will you decide to try your hardest to quit it, instead of justifying it or allowing it to be a part of your life under the pretext that “it’s not so bad”.
I also want to tell you that is it possible to quit completely, it is possible to purify your life and live a life of chastity.
Resources To Quit Pornography and Other Forms of Sexual Immorality
Before I share these resources with you, I want to reiterate something: Christ is the only answer to this problem, as well as to the problem of evil as a whole. Any solution that you pursue without Him will fall short. You might make some progress, but to eradicate this vice completely, you need the help from Our Lord.
You also need to surround yourself with likeminded men who are fighting this battle, you need to pray often, read your Bible, go to confession, and strive to remain in a state of Grace. That needs to be the foundation upon which you strive to build the virtue of chastity and get rid of this vice once and for all.
It’s very difficult to get rid of this vice all on your own, so if you feel like you need that community, that accountability, and a structured , evidence-based plan to help you quit, one of the best resources I’ve found is the Christian app Relay.
There’s a ton of positive testimonies of men who have found freedom from p*rn addiction, masturbation, and other forms of sexual immorality with the help of the structured, evidence-based protocol that Relay offers.
If you have been trying other methods and they haven’t worked, I recommend you give this one a try and see if it helps you. You can get a 7-day free trial with the code AETERNUM and see if it helps:
Additionally, and because this article is getting long enough, if you have some questions about Relay or would like me to recommend some other articles/resources, feel free to shoot me a DM or leave a comment on this article. I’ll be more than happy to share whatever I can with you.
It’s a Life or Death Thing
I want to end this article reiterating just how important it is to quit p*rnogrpahy and other forms of sexual immorality. We live in a spiritual universe, in which our actions have more consequences than we can see with our eyes. Every single evil thing you do has a spiritual consequence, beyond the materialistic consequences that sin also carries with it.
This is why Christ warns us so strongly against sins of the flesh:
If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell.
— Matthew 5:29
No sin is “meaningless”. No sin is private. Sexual sin definitely isn’t. We need to face the harsh reality of the evil it contains, because only then will we understand why it’s so critical to quit.
I believe it is fitting to quote St. Alphonsus Liguori once again, this time by sharing what he says at the very end of his sermon:
Beware, brother, if you do not be converted now, you may never be converted.
— St. Alphonsus Liguori
Do not postpone this. Do not brush it off. Take it seriously. Do whatever you need to do to purify your life. Work to order your life towards all that’s good, beautiful, and true, and be radical in rejecting sin. Give it all to Christ, and let Him be your strength. Help Him too, by making an effort, by taking this purpose seriously, and by doing whatever it takes to get rid of these sins that have led so many men to eternal damnation.
God is with you, you are in my prayers, and surely too in the prayers of all the men who fight this battle alongside you.
May God bless you and keep you.
Ad Maiora Nati Sumus,
Juan
Thank you for reading!
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https://www.onesaint.org/uploads/1/1/9/4/11942290/alphonsushellswidestgate-impurityetc..pdf
"We" Christians, not "us" Christians. Otherwise, very good!
It's intense how you connected the Epstein files to the bigger spiritual picture. I appreciated how you didn’t just dwell on the horror of the acts themselves, but explored how small compromises and choices can slowly open the door to evil. The way you tied daily decisions to spiritual consequences made me pause and think about the ripple effects in my own life. Let's continue to pray for an end to evil and sexual sin!