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Issues - Pornography
Pornography is tearing apart the very fabric of our society. Yet Christians are often
ignorant of its impact and apathetic about the need to control this menace.
• Pornography is an $8 billion a year business with close ties to organized crime.(1)
• Adult bookstores outnumber McDonald's restaurants in the United States by a
margin of at least three to one.(2)
Definitions-The 1986 Attorney General Commission on Pornography defined
pornography as material that "is predominantly sexually explicit and intended primarily
for the purpose of sexual arousal. (3)
Types of Pornography
• Adult magazines. According to Henry Boatwright (Chairman of the U.S. Advisory
Board for Social Concerns), approximately 70 percent of the pornographic magazines
sold end up in the hands of minors.
• Vidoes and DVD’s – over 50 million dollars per year
• cyberporn. What was only available to a small number of people willing to drive
to the bad side of town can now be viewed at any time in the privacy of one's home.
• A final type of pornography is audio porn. This includes "Dial-a-porn" telephone
calls which are the second fastest growth market of pornography. These businesses
continue to thrive and are often used most by children.
• Women Against Pornography estimate that about 1.2 million children are annually
exploited in commercial sex (child pornography and prostitution).
Social and Psychological Effects
We need to be known and loved…finding that intimacy is complicated…fantasy offers a
sense of intimacy, but doesn’t satisfy…guilt and shame over fantasy cause us to build
walls of protection from being found out (“if people knew I did this, they wouldn’t love
me”)…we hide behind our walls and make it even harder for people to know us…we still
crave intimacy…it starts over again…
• Psychologist Edward Donnerstein (University of Wisconsin) found that brief
exposure to violent forms of pornography can lead to anti-social attitudes and behavior.
Male viewers tend to be more aggressive toward women, less responsive to pain and
suffering of rape victims, and more willing to accept various myths about rape.(4)
• Researchers have found that pornography (especially violent pornography) can
produce an array of undesirable effects such as rape and sexual coercion. Specifically
they found that such exposure can lead to increased use of coercion or rape,(5)
increased fantasies about rape,(6) and desensitization to sexual violence and
trivialization of rape.(7)
• In one study, researchers Dolf Zillman and Jennings Bryant investigated the
effects of nonviolent pornography on sexual callousness and the trivialization of rape.
They showed that continued exposure to pornography had serious adverse effects on
beliefs about sexuality in general and on attitudes toward women in particular. They
also found that pornography desensitizes people to rape as a criminal offense.(8)
• Dolf Zillman found that viewing pornography changed the subjects’ views as to
what constitutes normal sexual practice. (9)
• One study demonstrated that pornography can diminish a person's sexual
happiness.(10) They were also more inclined to put more importance on sex without
emotional involvement.
• In a nationwide study, University of New Hampshire researchers Larry Baron and
Murray Strauss found that in states with high circulation rates of sexual material, rape
rates were also high. And in states with low circulation rates, rape rates also tended to
be low as well. (11)
• Even pro-porn researchers have similar findings. Ohio State University
researchers Joseph Scott (a man who testifies frequently for pornographers in court)
and Loretta Schwalm examined even more factors than Baron and Strauss (including
the circulation of non- sexual magazines) and could not eliminate the correlation
between pornography and rape.(12)
• Michigan state police detective Darrell Pope found that in 41 percent of the
38,000 sexual assault cases in Michigan pornographic material was viewed just prior to
or during the crime. This corroborates with research done by psychotherapist David
Scott who found that "half the rapists studied used pornography to arouse themselves
immediately prior to seeking out a victim."(13)
• The FBI shows that pornography is found at 80 percent of the scenes of violent
sex crimes, or in the homes of the perpetrators.(14)
• Of the 1400 child sexual molestation cases in Louisville, Kentucky, between July
1980 and February 1984, adult pornography was connected with every incident, and
child pornography with the majority of them.(15)
• Police officers have seen the impact pornography has had on serial murders. In
fact, pornography consumption is one of the most common profile characteristics of
serial murders and rapists.(16)
• Professor Cass Sunstein, writing in the Duke Law Journal, says that some sexual
violence against women "would not have occurred but for the massive circulation of
pornography." (17)
• In his introduction to a reprint of the Final Report of the Attorney General's
Commission on Pornography, columnist Michael McManus noted that:
“The FBI interviewed 36 sex murderers in prison who had killed multiple numbers of
times. 29 of them (or 81%) said their biggest sexual interest was in reading
pornography. They acted out sex fantasies on real people. For example, Arthur Gary
Bishop, convicted of sexually abusing and killing five young boys said, "If pornographic
material would have been unavailable to me in my early states, it is most probable that
my sexual activities would not have escalated to the degree they did." He said
pornography's impact on him was "devastating. . . . I am a homosexual pedophile
convicted of murder, and pornography was a determining factor in my downfall."(18)
• Dr. James Dobson interviewed Ted Bundy, one of this nation's most notorious
serial killers. On the day before his execution, Ted Bundy said that the "most damaging
kinds of pornography are those that involve violence and sexual violence. Because the
wedding of those two forces, as I know only too well, brings about behavior that is just,
just too terrible to describe."(19)
Biblical Perspective
• God created men and women in His image (Gen. 1:27-28) as sexual beings. But
because of sin in the world (Rom. 3:23), sex has been misused and abused (Rom. 1:24-
25).
• Pornography attacks the dignity of men and women created in the image of God.
Pornography also distorts God's gift of sex which should be shared only within the
bounds of marriage (1 Cor. 7:2-3).
• When the Bible refers to human sexual organs, it often employs euphemisms and
indirect language. Although there are some exceptions (a woman's breasts and womb
are sometimes mentioned), generally Scripture maintains a basic modesty towards a
man's or woman's sexual organs.
• Moreover, Scripture specifically condemns the practices that result from
pornography such as sexual exposure (Gen. 9:21-23), adultery (Lev. 18:20), bestiality
(Lev. 18:23), homosexuality (Lev. 18:22 and 20:13), incest (Lev. 18:6-18), and
prostitution (Deut. 23:17-18).
A biblical perspective of human sexuality must recognize that sex is
exclusively reserved for marriage for the following purposes.
1. It establishes the one-flesh union (Gen. 2:24-25; Matt. 19:4-6).
2. It provides for sexual intimacy within the marriage bond. The use of the word
"know" indicates a profound meaning of sexual intercourse (Gen. 4:1).
3. Sexual intercourse is for the mutual pleasure of husband and wife (Prov. 5:18-
19).
4. Sexual intercourse is for procreation (Gen. 1:28).
The Bible also warns against the misuse of sex.
• Premarital and extramarital sex are condemned (1 Cor. 6:13-18; 1 Thess. 4:3).
Even thoughts of sexual immorality (often fed by pornographic material) are
condemned (Matt. 5:27-28).
• Moreover, Christians must realize that pornography can have significant harmful
effects on the user. These include: a comparison mentality, a performance-based
sexuality, a feeling that only forbidden things are sexually satisfying, increased guilt,
decreased self concept, and obsessive thinking.
Christians, therefore, must do two things.
1. We must work to keep themselves pure by fleeing immorality (1 Cor. 6:18) and
thinking on those things which are pure (Phil. 4:8). As a man thinks in his heart, so is he
(Prov. 23:7).
2. Christians must not feed our fleshly desires (Rom. 13:14). Pornography will fuel the
sexual desire in abnormal ways and can eventually lead to even more debase
perversion. We, therefore, must "abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul"
(1 Peter 2:11). Psalm 101:3,Job 31:1.
Guys, what do you put in your mind and before your eyes? How do you treat women?
Girls, what do you put in your mind, before your eyes, and before the eyes of guys?
Remember, your most powerful sex organ is your mind!!!
Christians must work to remove the sexual perversion of pornography from society.
Steps to Combat Porn
We must adopt a wholesome, biblical view of sexuality. This requires committing to
proactive purity
We must evaluate our exposure to media (magazines / books, TV, movies, sexually
suggestive music) with inappropriate sexual themes.
We should warn others (even if it is your parents) about the dangers of pornography
and instruct them in a proper view of sexuality. Like Joseph in the Old Testament, we
should flee immorality which can entice us into sin.
We should block cyberporn with software. There are many commercial services as well
as special software that can screen and block areas children may try to investigate.
No computers in your room!!! No net surfing in private!!! You can do this…will you?
Covenanteyes.com
We should express our concern to local officials (through letters and petitions) about
adult movie houses and book stores in the community.
Finally, do not patronize stores that sell pornographic materials.
Notes
1. Report of the Attorney General's Task Force on Family Violence, U.S. Department of
Justice, Washington, D.C., 112.
2. "Effect of Pornography on Women and Children," U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee,
Subcommittee on Juvenile Justice, 98th Congress, 2nd Session, 1984, 227.
3. Final Report of the Attorney General's Commission on Pornography, ed. Michael
McManus (Nashville, Tenn.: Rutledge Hill Press, 1986), 8.
4. Edward Donnerstein, "Pornography and Violence Against Women," Annals of the New
York Academy of Science, 347 (1980), 277-88.
5. Edward Donnerstein, "Pornography: Its Effects on Violence Against Women," in
Malamuth and Donnerstein, eds., Pornography and Sexual Aggression (New York:
Academic Press, 1984).
6. Neil Malamuth, "Rape Fantasies as a Function of Repeated Exposure to Sexual
Violence," Archives of Sexual Behavior, 10 (1981): 33-47.
7. Linz, Donnerstein, and Penrod, "The Effects of Multiple Exposures to Filmed Violence
Against Women," Journal of Communication, 34 (1984): 130-47.
8. Dolf Zillman and Jennings Bryant, "Pornography, Sexual Callousness, and the
Trivialization of Rape," Journal of Communication, 32 (1982): 10 21.
9. Dolf Zillman, "Effects of Prolonged Consumption of Pornography," a paper prepared
for the Surgeon General's Workshop on Pornography and Public Health, Arlington, Va.,
22-24 June 1986.
10. Dolf Zillman and Jennings Bryant, "Pornography, Sexual Callousness, and the
Trivialization of Rape," Journal of Communications 32(1982): 15.
11. Larry Baron and Murray Strauss, "Legitimate Violence and Rape: A Test of the
Cultural Spillover Theory," Social Problems 34 (December 1985).
12. Joseph Scott and Loretta Schwalm, "Rape Rates and the Circulation Rates of Adult
Magazines," Journal of Sex Research, 24 (1988): 240-50.
13. David Alexander Scott, "How Pornography Changes Attitudes," in Pornography: The
Human Tragedy, ed. Tom Minnery (Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers).
14. Deborah Baker, "Pornography Isn't Free Speech," Dallas Morning News, 17 March
1989, Op. Ed. Page.
15. Testimony by John B. Rabun, deputy director, National Center for Missing and
Exploited Children, before the Subcommittee on Juvenile Justice of the Senate Judiciary
Committee, 12 September 1984.
16. "The Men Who Murdered," FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, August 1985.
17. Cass R. Sunstein, "Pornography and the First Amendment," Duke Law Journal,
September 1986, 595ff.
18. Final Report, ed. McManus, xvii.
19. Interview with Dr. James Dobson with Ted Bundy in Starke, Florida, on 23 January
1989.
Pornography is tearing apart the very fabric of our society. Yet Christians are often
ignorant of its impact and apathetic about the need to control this menace.
• Pornography is an $8 billion a year business with close ties to organized crime.(1)
• Adult bookstores outnumber McDonald's restaurants in the United States by a
margin of at least three to one.(2)
Definitions-The 1986 Attorney General Commission on Pornography defined
pornography as material that "is predominantly sexually explicit and intended primarily
for the purpose of sexual arousal. (3)
Types of Pornography
• Adult magazines. According to Henry Boatwright (Chairman of the U.S. Advisory
Board for Social Concerns), approximately 70 percent of the pornographic magazines
sold end up in the hands of minors.
• Vidoes and DVD’s – over 50 million dollars per year
• cyberporn. What was only available to a small number of people willing to drive
to the bad side of town can now be viewed at any time in the privacy of one's home.
• A final type of pornography is audio porn. This includes "Dial-a-porn" telephone
calls which are the second fastest growth market of pornography. These businesses
continue to thrive and are often used most by children.
• Women Against Pornography estimate that about 1.2 million children are annually
exploited in commercial sex (child pornography and prostitution).
Social and Psychological Effects
We need to be known and loved…finding that intimacy is complicated…fantasy offers a
sense of intimacy, but doesn’t satisfy…guilt and shame over fantasy cause us to build
walls of protection from being found out (“if people knew I did this, they wouldn’t love
me”)…we hide behind our walls and make it even harder for people to know us…we still
crave intimacy…it starts over again…
• Psychologist Edward Donnerstein (University of Wisconsin) found that brief
exposure to violent forms of pornography can lead to anti-social attitudes and behavior.
Male viewers tend to be more aggressive toward women, less responsive to pain and
suffering of rape victims, and more willing to accept various myths about rape.(4)
• Researchers have found that pornography (especially violent pornography) can
produce an array of undesirable effects such as rape and sexual coercion. Specifically
they found that such exposure can lead to increased use of coercion or rape,(5)
increased fantasies about rape,(6) and desensitization to sexual violence and
trivialization of rape.(7)
• In one study, researchers Dolf Zillman and Jennings Bryant investigated the
effects of nonviolent pornography on sexual callousness and the trivialization of rape.
They showed that continued exposure to pornography had serious adverse effects on
beliefs about sexuality in general and on attitudes toward women in particular. They
also found that pornography desensitizes people to rape as a criminal offense.(8)
• Dolf Zillman found that viewing pornography changed the subjects’ views as to
what constitutes normal sexual practice. (9)
• One study demonstrated that pornography can diminish a person's sexual
happiness.(10) They were also more inclined to put more importance on sex without
emotional involvement.
• In a nationwide study, University of New Hampshire researchers Larry Baron and
Murray Strauss found that in states with high circulation rates of sexual material, rape
rates were also high. And in states with low circulation rates, rape rates also tended to
be low as well. (11)
• Even pro-porn researchers have similar findings. Ohio State University
researchers Joseph Scott (a man who testifies frequently for pornographers in court)
and Loretta Schwalm examined even more factors than Baron and Strauss (including
the circulation of non- sexual magazines) and could not eliminate the correlation
between pornography and rape.(12)
• Michigan state police detective Darrell Pope found that in 41 percent of the
38,000 sexual assault cases in Michigan pornographic material was viewed just prior to
or during the crime. This corroborates with research done by psychotherapist David
Scott who found that "half the rapists studied used pornography to arouse themselves
immediately prior to seeking out a victim."(13)
• The FBI shows that pornography is found at 80 percent of the scenes of violent
sex crimes, or in the homes of the perpetrators.(14)
• Of the 1400 child sexual molestation cases in Louisville, Kentucky, between July
1980 and February 1984, adult pornography was connected with every incident, and
child pornography with the majority of them.(15)
• Police officers have seen the impact pornography has had on serial murders. In
fact, pornography consumption is one of the most common profile characteristics of
serial murders and rapists.(16)
• Professor Cass Sunstein, writing in the Duke Law Journal, says that some sexual
violence against women "would not have occurred but for the massive circulation of
pornography." (17)
• In his introduction to a reprint of the Final Report of the Attorney General's
Commission on Pornography, columnist Michael McManus noted that:
“The FBI interviewed 36 sex murderers in prison who had killed multiple numbers of
times. 29 of them (or 81%) said their biggest sexual interest was in reading
pornography. They acted out sex fantasies on real people. For example, Arthur Gary
Bishop, convicted of sexually abusing and killing five young boys said, "If pornographic
material would have been unavailable to me in my early states, it is most probable that
my sexual activities would not have escalated to the degree they did." He said
pornography's impact on him was "devastating. . . . I am a homosexual pedophile
convicted of murder, and pornography was a determining factor in my downfall."(18)
• Dr. James Dobson interviewed Ted Bundy, one of this nation's most notorious
serial killers. On the day before his execution, Ted Bundy said that the "most damaging
kinds of pornography are those that involve violence and sexual violence. Because the
wedding of those two forces, as I know only too well, brings about behavior that is just,
just too terrible to describe."(19)
Biblical Perspective
• God created men and women in His image (Gen. 1:27-28) as sexual beings. But
because of sin in the world (Rom. 3:23), sex has been misused and abused (Rom. 1:24-
25).
• Pornography attacks the dignity of men and women created in the image of God.
Pornography also distorts God's gift of sex which should be shared only within the
bounds of marriage (1 Cor. 7:2-3).
• When the Bible refers to human sexual organs, it often employs euphemisms and
indirect language. Although there are some exceptions (a woman's breasts and womb
are sometimes mentioned), generally Scripture maintains a basic modesty towards a
man's or woman's sexual organs.
• Moreover, Scripture specifically condemns the practices that result from
pornography such as sexual exposure (Gen. 9:21-23), adultery (Lev. 18:20), bestiality
(Lev. 18:23), homosexuality (Lev. 18:22 and 20:13), incest (Lev. 18:6-18), and
prostitution (Deut. 23:17-18).
A biblical perspective of human sexuality must recognize that sex is
exclusively reserved for marriage for the following purposes.
1. It establishes the one-flesh union (Gen. 2:24-25; Matt. 19:4-6).
2. It provides for sexual intimacy within the marriage bond. The use of the word
"know" indicates a profound meaning of sexual intercourse (Gen. 4:1).
3. Sexual intercourse is for the mutual pleasure of husband and wife (Prov. 5:18-
19).
4. Sexual intercourse is for procreation (Gen. 1:28).
The Bible also warns against the misuse of sex.
• Premarital and extramarital sex are condemned (1 Cor. 6:13-18; 1 Thess. 4:3).
Even thoughts of sexual immorality (often fed by pornographic material) are
condemned (Matt. 5:27-28).
• Moreover, Christians must realize that pornography can have significant harmful
effects on the user. These include: a comparison mentality, a performance-based
sexuality, a feeling that only forbidden things are sexually satisfying, increased guilt,
decreased self concept, and obsessive thinking.
Christians, therefore, must do two things.
1. We must work to keep themselves pure by fleeing immorality (1 Cor. 6:18) and
thinking on those things which are pure (Phil. 4:8). As a man thinks in his heart, so is he
(Prov. 23:7).
2. Christians must not feed our fleshly desires (Rom. 13:14). Pornography will fuel the
sexual desire in abnormal ways and can eventually lead to even more debase
perversion. We, therefore, must "abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul"
(1 Peter 2:11). Psalm 101:3,Job 31:1.
Guys, what do you put in your mind and before your eyes? How do you treat women?
Girls, what do you put in your mind, before your eyes, and before the eyes of guys?
Remember, your most powerful sex organ is your mind!!!
Christians must work to remove the sexual perversion of pornography from society.
Steps to Combat Porn
We must adopt a wholesome, biblical view of sexuality. This requires committing to
proactive purity
We must evaluate our exposure to media (magazines / books, TV, movies, sexually
suggestive music) with inappropriate sexual themes.
We should warn others (even if it is your parents) about the dangers of pornography
and instruct them in a proper view of sexuality. Like Joseph in the Old Testament, we
should flee immorality which can entice us into sin.
We should block cyberporn with software. There are many commercial services as well
as special software that can screen and block areas children may try to investigate.
No computers in your room!!! No net surfing in private!!! You can do this…will you?
Covenanteyes.com
We should express our concern to local officials (through letters and petitions) about
adult movie houses and book stores in the community.
Finally, do not patronize stores that sell pornographic materials.
Notes
1. Report of the Attorney General's Task Force on Family Violence, U.S. Department of
Justice, Washington, D.C., 112.
2. "Effect of Pornography on Women and Children," U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee,
Subcommittee on Juvenile Justice, 98th Congress, 2nd Session, 1984, 227.
3. Final Report of the Attorney General's Commission on Pornography, ed. Michael
McManus (Nashville, Tenn.: Rutledge Hill Press, 1986), 8.
4. Edward Donnerstein, "Pornography and Violence Against Women," Annals of the New
York Academy of Science, 347 (1980), 277-88.
5. Edward Donnerstein, "Pornography: Its Effects on Violence Against Women," in
Malamuth and Donnerstein, eds., Pornography and Sexual Aggression (New York:
Academic Press, 1984).
6. Neil Malamuth, "Rape Fantasies as a Function of Repeated Exposure to Sexual
Violence," Archives of Sexual Behavior, 10 (1981): 33-47.
7. Linz, Donnerstein, and Penrod, "The Effects of Multiple Exposures to Filmed Violence
Against Women," Journal of Communication, 34 (1984): 130-47.
8. Dolf Zillman and Jennings Bryant, "Pornography, Sexual Callousness, and the
Trivialization of Rape," Journal of Communication, 32 (1982): 10 21.
9. Dolf Zillman, "Effects of Prolonged Consumption of Pornography," a paper prepared
for the Surgeon General's Workshop on Pornography and Public Health, Arlington, Va.,
22-24 June 1986.
10. Dolf Zillman and Jennings Bryant, "Pornography, Sexual Callousness, and the
Trivialization of Rape," Journal of Communications 32(1982): 15.
11. Larry Baron and Murray Strauss, "Legitimate Violence and Rape: A Test of the
Cultural Spillover Theory," Social Problems 34 (December 1985).
12. Joseph Scott and Loretta Schwalm, "Rape Rates and the Circulation Rates of Adult
Magazines," Journal of Sex Research, 24 (1988): 240-50.
13. David Alexander Scott, "How Pornography Changes Attitudes," in Pornography: The
Human Tragedy, ed. Tom Minnery (Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers).
14. Deborah Baker, "Pornography Isn't Free Speech," Dallas Morning News, 17 March
1989, Op. Ed. Page.
15. Testimony by John B. Rabun, deputy director, National Center for Missing and
Exploited Children, before the Subcommittee on Juvenile Justice of the Senate Judiciary
Committee, 12 September 1984.
16. "The Men Who Murdered," FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, August 1985.
17. Cass R. Sunstein, "Pornography and the First Amendment," Duke Law Journal,
September 1986, 595ff.
18. Final Report, ed. McManus, xvii.
19. Interview with Dr. James Dobson with Ted Bundy in Starke, Florida, on 23 January
1989.