Last week, former reality television star Josh Duggar admitted to a pornography addition that led to marital infidelity and famed Subway pitchman Jared Fogle struck a plea deal in response to charges of child pornography and sex acts with minors, but a Christian attorney and writer says these stories are just the tip of the iceberg of the destruction caused by pornography.
The Duggar admission followed the data dump by hackers of the Ashley Madison adultery website.
“I have been the biggest hypocrite ever. While espousing faith and family values, I have secretly over the last several years been viewing pornography on the internet and this became a secret addiction and I became unfaithful to my wife,” said Duggar in a statement.
Matt Barber is a former vice president for Liberty Counsel Action. He is still a constitutional attorney and is founder and editor-in-chief of barbwire.com. He says pornography addiction is rampant, due in large part to it being available at a moment’s notice.
“Pornography is pervasive in our culture now. It is available in hand-held devices, your iPhone. People are literally a button away. It’s so pervasive, in fact, that it even comes through your computer unsolicited, you know pop-ups and things like that,” said Barber, who says pornography is often the trigger for other lusts, like the ones pursued by Duggar and Fogle.
“Adultery is sin. Certainly this child abuse is sin. Pornography is the common denominator, a catalyst. It’s a gateway drug that leads people to act on their fantasies,” said Barber.
He says our secular culture acts to diminish the harm done by pornography but the facts show otherwise.
“People say that pornography is a victimless crime. Nonsense. The objects of pornography, whether it’s child pornography or whether they’re consenting adults. You start looking at the statistics of the women who engage and try to make a quick buck in pornography, selling their bodies for the consumption of all of these men, these are victims,” said Barber.
However, Barber says the most obvious victims are the ones left shattered at home.
“Pornography is destroying families right and left across America. It sets up this false notion in the minds of the husbands that are looking at this pornography. It creates this unrealistic view of what is beauty and what is sexual,” he said.
Even more, Barber says addicts usually seek greater titillation as time goes on.
“With the law of diminishing returns, they view this and then they want the next big thrill. As one form of pornography becomes kind of boring, they go on to the next, higher level of hardcore porn. It’s a vicious cycle and it’s destroying marriages,” said Barber.
So how can the “vicious cycle” be stopped? Barber offers multiple steps, starting with a realization of what pornography is.
“It’s adultery. Scripture talks about if you look at a woman with lust in your heart, you have committed adultery (Matthew 5:28). So people need to understand that pornography is not a victimless crime. It’s a device, it’s a tool that is being used to lead people into other forms of sexual perversion and sexual immorality,” said Barber.
Next, he advises individuals and parents to apply internet filters to their electronic devices.
“It’s a good idea to do that whether you have children or not. Certainly, if you have kids and they’re on your computers and they’re on your iPads, you’ve got to get this software, because it is so pervasive, so readily accessible and it comes unsolicited often times. We’re protecting our children with Net Nanny but I would suggest that people, whether they have kids or not, just remove the temptation as much as possible,” said Barber.
There is progress to be made in our culture as well. While courts have upheld the rights of pornographers as free speech, Barber says United States v. Miller clearly stated there are obscenities that are not legally protected.
However, Barber says we have no reason to expect this administration to do anything about them.
“The problem in this Obama administration is there is no one at the Department of Justice who has any interest in going after obscene material and going after these pornographers and so forth,” he said.
He says the current inaction is proof that elections are important.
“Elections matter. We have to get people in office who have the political will to do the right thing and protect children from this horrific trade,” said Barber.
