Why did I decide to quit porn? Maybe because I just realized it is the biggest obstacle to having the only thing life never gave me, a fulfilling relationship with a woman. I think porn had a big role in crashing my first serious relationship, I think it was a huge factor in making me think I was inadequate for any relationship. It was my drug to ease the pain life brought me, and it ended up doing a great deal of damage. But that was before. Am I inadequate? No, I just think I was afraid to admit that no matter what I am human, I am not perfect and I'm going to make mistakes, because I thought people would despise me if they discovered how I really was. Well, I talked about quitting porn with my best friend, a person who I thought was quite "perfect", and it turned out he had my same problem with porn (maybe not at the same order of magnitude, but still). Seems I am more normal than I thought. Am I bad for using porn? No, I'm just a man who was hurting and needed help. Though I'm a practicing catholic, I don't think it's a big moral issue. I think too many people read the Bible too literally, instead of thinking about the inner meaning of the scriptures. Masturbation isn't bad because the book says so, but because it keeps you from reaching the most intimate state with your lover. That's what St. Paul is trying to tell us all along, and yet it seems through the centuries few people managed to grasp this message. Will I make it? Yes, I will. I already quit another addiction, to food. In 2011 I shed almost 40 kilograms and I have been able to control my weight ever since. There is no reason why I shouldn'make it this time, too. So, wish me luck. It will be a season in hell, but I am sure I'm coming out clean from it.
Best of luck. Regarding the Catholic stuff and what the Book says, I just find it amazing that modern science and secular society in understanding the detrimental effects of PMO addiction are finally catching up with what the religious wisdom has always understood as destructive - hence, a complementarity between faith and science, not conflict (one can be a guidepost for the other). Also, it gives one pause to be cautious of being too dismissive of the wisdom from the millennia that have been treasured for a reason and brought down to us. Why reinvent the wheel and learn the hard way all over again? And, if there's something we really feel disagreement over, it's a challenge to really wrestle with our conscience and the truth in honesty rather than be quick to dismiss the wisdom. Strength to you in your battles ahead.
I'm speaking only for what I know, the Catholic teachings, but I think the main reasons why people nowadays tend to reject old wisdom are two: -first, the way of teaching the principles have not evolved together with the society. It is very simple to tell people "do not masturbate because Gen 38 tells you not to do so" (and I purposely cite a chapter which was misused for centuries as an argument against masturbation), but unfortunately it just won't be enough for modern times. The problem is, a lot of teachers still tend towards the "simple" answer because it takes a lot of effort and competence to fully explain the relation between PMO, sex and relationships. And it also needs someone willing to listen, which brings me to the second point: -the society has become inherently ego-centric. We tend to reject anything we have not witnessed firsthand and to dismiss moral/religious principles as useless because they collide with our egocentric tendence. Unfortunately nearly all of the old teaching swere collected by religious associations (which have been for centuries the only institutions capable of collecting wisdom from all over the world) and thus dismissed as mere superstitions.
