The night before he was executed for a string of grisly murders, serial killer Ted Bundy was interviewed about the reasons behind why he decided to kill and rape so many people. His answer shocked the world and delivered an unexpected challenge to society over how it views the use of pornography.
Faithwire Launches ‘Set Free’ — A New E-Course Focused on Combatting Porn Addiction
In total, Bundy confessed to killing and raping at least 30 young women, though the actual body count could be much higher than this. But it was his prolific use of pornography, and the cataclysmic impact this had on his heinous crimes that shocked both the interviewer, Focus on the Family founder Dr. James Dobson, and the rest of the nation.
“Like most other kinds of addiction,” Bundy began, “I would keep looking for more potent, more explicit, more graphic kinds of material. Like an addiction, you keep craving something which is harder, harder, something which gives you a greater sense of excitement. Until you reach the point that pornography only goes so far… .”
Bundy noted the staggering number of murderers he met in prison, all of whom, he claimed, had been deeply embroiled in pornography use for years leading up to their crimes.
“I’ve lived in prison a long time now. I’ve met a lot of men who were motivated to commit violence just like me. And without exception, every one of them was deeply involved in pornography,” he said. “Without question, without exception, deeply influenced and consumed by addiction to pornography.”
In today’s pornography, the depiction sexual violence is commonplace. Indeed, internet accountability service Covenant Eyes found that out of 304 sex scenes analyzed, 88 percent of the scenes contain physical aggression and 49 percent contained verbal aggression.
And the penchant for pornography harbored by sexual criminals is also shocking. Anti-porn campaign group Fight The New Drug (FTND) found that the FBI’s own statistics show that pornography was discovered at “80 percent of the scenes of violent sex crimes, or in the homes of the perpetrators.” Plus, according to FTND, The Michigan State Police Department found that pornography “is used or imitated in 41 percent of the sex crimes they have investigated.”
Of course, no one is saying that if you watch porn you will eventually commit some dreadful sex crime. But there is no doubt that the darkness of pornography works its way deep into your heart, and can cause you to contemplate doing things that would have never otherwise occurred to you.
Indeed, the link between extramarital affairs and divorce is abundantly clear:
The American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers found that some 56 percent of the divorce cases its attorneys work on involved one party having “an obsessive interest in pornographic websites.” It is simple — sexual fantasy played out through the consumption of pornography often leads to a seeking out of a physical sexual experience outside of marriage.
And just like any other addiction, once you have started watching pornography regularly, or have begun an affair, it is wildly difficult to stop. In its research, Covenant Eyes found that “those who had ever committed adultery are 218 percent more likely to look at porn.” It is a vicious, destructive cycle, and it needs to be broken immediately.
If pornography is not a part of your story, protect yourself immediately. Don’t let it into your household; introduce internet filters, arrange an accountability partner and don’t allow yourself unbridled internet access when you’re alone.
However, if you struggling on in the battle against porn, remember that you are not alone — nearly two-thirds of Christian men admit to struggling with porn use. If you’re ready to fight this sin, check out our new e-course hosted by Pastors Toby Sumpter, Doug Wilson and Jeff Durbin. It’s called “Set Free” and it goes beyond filters and accountability partners — and gets to the heart of the matter. Find out more HERE.