Sex Addiction

Theology of the Body writer, Christopher West says that up to 80% of the men sitting in the pews have used pornography and that up to 40% use it compulsively. I don't know where they get those numbers but Jeff Cavins, author of the Bible study program "The Great Adventure", claims a similar number; worse, he also claims that the wives always know something is wrong in such a marriage. I believe that; even a little pornography use will cause marital discord. Here’s a bit more from a 2006 survey:

Adult Internet Pornography Statistics

Men accessing pornography at work - 20%.

Women accessing pornography at work - 13%.

Promise Keeper men viewing porn in the last week - 53%.

Christians stating porn is a major problem in the home - 47%.

Child Internet Pornography Statistics

Average age of first Internet exposure to pornography - 11 years old.

8-16 year olds having viewed porn online - 90%.

7-17 year olds who would freely give out home address - 29%.

Source: internetsafety.com

This is the real pain! At a 2003 meeting of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, two thirds of the 350 divorce lawyers who attended said the Internet played a significant role in the divorces in the past year, with excessive interest in online porn contributing to more than half such cases. Pornography had an almost non-existent role in divorce just seven or eight years ago. Source: divorcewizards.com

I guess all of that means that I'm in good company; sorry, bad joke. What I should say is that I've got lots of company… did I tell you that I haven't looked at pornography, been in a chat room, masturbated or had sex outside of marriage since 2:30 PM on November 7, 2003? In September of 2003 the very thought of giving up my addiction would have made me sweat; I was completely controlled by my need for adoration, my need to avoid any real feelings. It is literally true that my heart rate would increase dramatically whenever I became near a computer in anticipation of my 'score'. "What's so wrong with it anyway? I just want to have some pleasure. Why do you care?" Those are actual quotes from yours truly. Aside from the question of sin and morality, it turns out there are a few biological reasons that extramarital sexual pleasures are harmful.