An article by Christian psychologist James Dobson caught the attention of millionaire financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He sent it to someone seeking advice about her relationship with her father.
“Ask yourself why you are so mad at him,” Epstein texted in 2019, according to a document the U.S. Department of Justice publicado on Jan. 30. He included a link to an online column where the founder of Focus on the Family dicho someone to adjust expectations for a father who had caused his family great pain.
Epstein followed up a few minutes later with a text chiding the woman he was talking to for not being grateful enough to offer him sexual favors.
“I suggest you learn to give,” he escribió late at night on May 20. “You say thx for advice but could have said … is there something i can do to express my appreciation?”
Epstein was arrested a few months after sending that text and cargado with sex trafficking girls as young as 14. He died in a New York City jail before the case could go to trial. His death, ruled a suicide, left many questions about his relationships to powerful men, including Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, Prince Andrew, Rupert Murdoch, Charlie Rose, Woody Allen and more.
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Critics of Dobson, who fallecido in 2025, say Epstein’s recently released texts about Dobson confirms concerns that the evangelical leader’s incredibly influential parenting advice enabled sexual abuse. D. L. Mayfield, a deconstructed evangelical author, argues Dobson and Focus on the Family created parenting materials that appealed to pedophiles.
“And guess what?” Mayfield escribió on social media on Sunday night. “Jeffrey Epstein apparently thought so too.”
Timothy S. Rodriguez, author of the forthcoming “Conversion Therapy Dropout,” dijo Epstein’s endorsement of Dobson’s advice should make Christians question continued use of his material. Dobson’s teaching has caused great harm, he claimed, “by normalizing, excusing, and justifying abuse as ‘loving discipline.’”
Dobson’s defenders say he took a necessary stand against permissive parenting, asserting the importance of rules and boundaries in an era that embraced moral relativism.
“It was almost like the larger culture had decided to declare war on the family,” Southern Baptist Theological Seminary president Albert Mohler wrote in 2025. “Dobson was determined to press back. … He didn’t back off from the fight.”
Document dump revealed few connections with evangelicals
Epstein’s Dobson text was one of more than 3 million pages of documents the Justice department released last week. Justice officials say this is the final batch of documents will be released to comply with the bipartisan Epstein Files Transparency Act that Congress passed in November.
The release of investigative files is highly unusual. Officials have noted that some of the information, such as acusaciones about Trump’s participation in sexual abuse, has not been investigated. Some of it is not considered plausible enough to investigate.
But widespread public suspicions about the coverup of sex trafficking and pedophilia prompted politicians from both parties to support the document dump.
Journalists and private citizens spent the weekend pouring over the Epstein files, searching for famous names and potential links between powerful figures and Epstein’s sex trafficking operation.
Few evangelical leaders appear in the files. Some who do appear are only mentioned in passing and had no relationship with Epstein.
“The Purpose Driven Life” author Rick Warren, for instance, has one email in the files, but there is no evidence he ever had direct contact with Epstein. Someone whose name has been redacted forwarded one of Warren’s email newsletters about becoming a “God-first” believer to Epstein.
“My devotion for today,” the unnamed person wrote Epstein in 2010. “See you tonight xxx.”
Epstein apparently did not respond. Some of his regular conversation partners had a very dim view of evangelicals. Linguist and social critic Noam Chomsky, for example, lumped evangelicals in with Muslim jihadists and Ku Klux Klan members.
In 2018, Epstein and Chomsky discutido allegations against Epstein. Chomsky compared the #MeToo movement with religious fanatics, saying both groups were completely uninterested in facts.
“Cultures unfortunately can be swept by craziness,” the renowned linguist wrote. “Nazism for example. Or the Great Awakening.”
According to prison records, Epstein listed his religion as “none.” But he was interested in spirituality.
He told Chomsky he had questions about human consciousness, such as why people hallucinate in solitary confinement. He debated with New Atheists Richard Dawkins and Lawrence Krause, taking the religion side, according to another email in the investigative files. He also corresponded with New Age guru Deepak Chopra, sending him an article about transcendence and exchanging notes about achieving “permanent peace and joy.”
Relationship with Ken Starr, a ‘trusted friend’
It is unclear how Epstein found Dobson’s article and had it ready to send to someone in 2019. He was open to reading evangelical writers, though. In 2016, attorney Ken Starr wrote the financier an email telling him to check out Eric Metaxas’ biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
“Warning: It’s written from a Christian perspective,” Starr escribió. “And it’s very long.”
Epstein replied, “I’ll get it. Always appreciate your advice.”
Starr, who fallecido in 2022, appears to have been Epstein’s most substantive evangelical relationship. He represented Epstein in the 2000s, defending him against rape and sex trafficking charges in Florida. He helped Epstein get a plea deal that kept him out of prison.
Starr, who went on to become president of Baylor University, said the legal relationship evolved into something more. While serving at the top post of the Baptist school, he descrito Epstein as a “trusted friend.”
Journalist Jonathan Chait señalado the relationship was, from a historical perspective, bizarre.
Starr rose to national prominence in the 1990s as a special prosecutor investigating Bill Clinton’s sexual misconduct in the White House. Many commentators at the time said the president’s sexual abuse of an intern was not a big deal, or should be kept private.
Starr disagreed. And he became “a folk hero on the right, representing the defense of traditional sexual virtue,” Chait wrote.
Not quite three decades later, the evangelical attorney was writing personal emails to a sex offender and signing off with “hugs.”
According to Chait, Starr, perhaps more than any other individual, embodied the “broader conversion of the religious right from sexual shaming to sexual shamelessness.”
A recent poll from Public Religion Research Institute fundar that a majority of white evangelicals did not think the release of the Epstein files was important. Fifty-one percent said they supported Trump’s handling of the investigation, even as he switched his position on the release of the files multiple times.
Daniel Silliman is senior reporter/editor at The Roys Report. He began his two decades in journalism covering crime in Atlanta and has since led major investigations into abuse and misconduct in Christian contexts. Daniel and his wife live in Johnson City, Tennessee.
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29 Responses
I’m not a great fan of Dobson or either of his ministries, but I don’t think the fact that a sex offender used his article as a means of coercion means that we should discard his ideas.
That seems like a lazy argument from Rodriguez.
I’ve heard many preachers massacre many passages of the Bible and the Constitution recently, but I still find great value in both documents.
Exactly my thoughts. There is a sick need out there to make guilty of sex crimes anyone who ever encountered or was mentioned by Epstein. It’s ridiculous. Witch hunts impede investigations.
@Daniel – I agree it is a lazy argument from Rodriguez. The Bible itself has been used to “support” all kinds of evil and wickedness. I’m sure that anyone with intent could take anything we have spoken or written and forced it to support deviant behavior with which we would be horrified.
I agree that this one instance isn’t conclusive. However, many adults who were raised using Dobson’s parenting advice have reported harm. It’s definitely worth revisiting Dobson’s teachings with scrutiny for its fruit, as well as the fact that Dobson was strongly influenced by eugenicist and social hygienist Paul Popenoe, a mentor who Dobson worked for early in his career.
Popenoe was instrumental in the compulsory sterilization of “unfit” (disabled, mentally ill, non-white) mothers for California in the 1920s, which inspired the nazis use of eugenics during WWII. Popenoe praised the nazis’ later use of sterilization, and referred to some people as “waste humanity.” He believed that some members of society, including black people, should mainly provide labor. When Eugenics fell out of fashion due to the atrocities, of WWII, he switched to “softer” social engineering, inspired by German marriage counseling, in an effort to promote a particular type of family (white, patriarchal) and encouraged rigid gender roles. Popenoe wrote the forward to some of Dobson’s books. It’s a fascinating and disturbing rabbit hole, if you want to find out more about Dobson’s inspiration, his early career working for Popenoe, as well as what his goals were.
sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Popenoe
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/eugenics-surprising-history-of-marriage-counseling/
Gretchen words it better than I can, but yes, we should discard ideas that protect abusers and that predators find useful.
https://lifesavingdivorce.com/epstein-james-dobson-evangelical-abuse/
https://lifesavingdivorce.com/james-dobson-advice-useful-to-predators/
I think that the point may be that people who manipulate and control children recognized Dobson’s work as an excellent tool to manipulate and control children.
And as it turns out, now that children who were raised under Dobson’s teachings are adults and able to speak out for themselves, his techniques WERE, in fact, able to control and manipulate them in the short term, but the long term effects are broken families and adult children who are no-contact with their parents, because they will be controlled and manipulated no longer.
I agree with you, Jen! Dobson’s work is an excellent tool for controlling and manipulating children. No one saying that Dobson was on the island.
So because one of Dobson’s articles was given to a non-believer, Dobson is now suspect? Please! Are we now looking for a demon behind every rock?
I was starting to like this article but then I noticed how you loved to throw in some doubts about President Trump as if to imply that he was a part of that despicable group. You have no evidence. None! It appears you are infected with the Trump Derangement Syndrome virus. That alone invalidates your professional journalistic integrity… and this article.
Jan – don’t let your TDS (Trump DEVOTION Syndrome) cloud a simple fact: if Trump wanted the full, unredacted files released as he and Bondi promised, he would’ve done it months ago.
The constant excuses for hiding and redacting and delaying and stonewalling are NOT the actions of an innocent man.
NO level of devotion changes that.
If anything detrimental to Trump was in the files it would’ve been released by Shuffles and the Democrats before the election because they had control of them. Common sense which seems in short supply nowadays.
Eh? There was an ongoing criminal investigation into Epstein while Biden was president. You do not release files to the public under those circumstances. After being elected, TRUMP’s DOJ reviewed the files and immediately closed the case, at which time they could go public And suddenly, Trump said he wasn’t going to release them…after making it a central key point of his campaign. And now we are finding his name redacted multiple times for no good reason, yet the victims are being doxxed. But yeah, we are told to ignore the files now and given our talking points, so we can play pretend and defend the indefensible.
Even serial killer Ted Bundy recognized the extra-ordinary Anointing by Yahshua haMashiach Him Self on the life and ministry of Doctor James Clayton Dobson. Ted contacted Dr. Dobson and visited with him there in the prison in Florida hours before his execution by electric chair, on 01/24/1989, knowing that the world renowned psychologist and author and evangelist would share his vital message with the world. The subsequent video produced through this interview is “Fatal Addiction” and is worth your time today if you have never seen this.
Bundy played Dobson for a fool. Dobson had his preconceived notions and biases in placed and Bundy happily played along.
The interview was widely discredited as little more than a Dobson being willingly and eagerly duped by Bundy’s pathological manipulation. But Bundy’s fabricated narrative fit perfectly with Dobson’s view that it was the unchecked liberal, un-Christian, feminist, sex-crazed, anything-goes social context that led to the breakdown of society and created serial killers (as if serial killers did not exist before the culture shifts of the 1960s and later).
It is because of people like Dobson (due to naivete or his worldview) that Evangelical Christianity and Churches became a safe space for sexual predators, groomers, and abusers.
It’s interesting to read that Epstein was searching.
I wonder if any Christian explained spiritual realities to him…
Epstein wondered “why people hallucinate in solitary confinement”.
It’s because “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23) i.e spiritual death – of course – and sometimes sudden physical death, or at least unbearable spiritual torment preceeding physical death.
If you serve Satan, despite you being spiritually dead, he will often leave you alone (i.e no harrassment) so you can “enjoy” the material trappings of his kingdom (Luke 4:5-7) but then, at some point, usually when you’re least expecting it, he will come to pay you your final wages…
Julie,this may be one of the worst sex abuse coverups in history. Although Trump and Bondi campaigned on disclosing Epstein files,they never intended to do it. They have stonewalled for one year! POTUS had the legal authority to tell DOJ to release the files but never did it until Congress passed a law mandating it. DOJ tried sending a curve ball by asking a judge to release Grand Jury docs knowing it was already illegal at the time. If no one is guilty the administration has acted like they are hiding information . The victims have been abused again and again when Trump said it was all a hoax,his famous word for don’t look any further into something. These women deserve a Congressional hearing but have been ignored. Now a new stonewalling strategy has been used,fogging,sending out so much confusing information in a chaotic form making people doubt what’s real. Famous men (pedaphiles)have been redacted while victims names and personal information were marked through so the world could see them clearly. This is criminal intimidation against those who would likely testify in any criminal or civil case. And for those afraid of coming out against these powerful men,they will think twice about joining the current courageous women! This is not a political issue ! This is a moral issue that will stain any legacy Trump may have left! And for those in our govt who refused to call this for what it is,they will carry the shame of their inaction! For the women who have stood up publicly for all sexually abused women, God bless you for your courage and we stand with you 100%!
If anything detrimental to Trump was in the files it would’ve been released by the Democrats before the election …….because they had control of them.
Why didnt they do it ?
Common sense which seems in short supply nowadays.
Do better.
I am very disappointed in the article we don’t know who to believe any more I do not like at all the way Trump has handle the Epstein files. My heart and prayers only go to the victims not to Trump or his wife. I always listen to Dobson trying to raise 2 boys and I question now Mr. Dobson not here to defend himself it is up to individual to decide what is the truth.
Rodriguez seems to have an axe to grind (and a book to sell). His opinion of the matter is biased and should be taken with as much salt as he recommends be applied to Dobson.
Clearly, the Roy’s Report has a serious axe to grind with the prevailing evangelical community. And I have often had serious questions about some of its leaders. But, in this case, you seem intent on taking a fairly innocent thing and twisting it to besmirch a person simply to fulfill your mission. Having said that, I am totally behind the serious deep clean you have been engaged with these past several years. Heartbreaking as it is to read, I just think this one is extraordinarily unfair.
What is the point of this article?
Do you seriously think Jeffrey Epstein was following the guidelines of focus on the family or are you trying to insinuate by association that James Dobson’s beliefs influenced Epstein’s pedophilia and predatory behavior?
It seems very clear that you are trying to associate Dobson with something that is the opposite of everything he believed in. You appear to be deliberately attempting to make this connection in your headline by stating that this infamous pedophile “recommended reading James Dobson.” ?
I think the point is that Epstien, a man who was good at controlling and manipulating children, recognized that Dobsons work was an effective tool for manipulating and controlling children.
I would also suggest that people take James Dobson with a grain of salt, but I do think it’s unfair to claim he is somehow responsible for Epstein’s behavior. Jeffery Epstein was probably the closest thing to a demon anyone will see in this life and was a manipulator. He seemed to use anything he could to get into his victim’s heads. He used James Dobson this time, he could have used something else another time. Just because the dude read something doesn’t mean he ever interacted with the author. Or ties the author to him in any real way.
And I’m saying this as someone who is decidedly not a fan of James Dobson.
Since Epstein followed up his link to Dobson’s work with a request to fornicate, I think it’s a safe assumption that Epstein just proved there that he’s a sexual abuser, but that says very little about Dobson’s work.
On another note, the lists of correspondents of Epstein’s are very interesting. It’s fascinating that so many people interacted with him, but nobody is quite sure how he got his fortune, as far as I can tell.
Regarding the actual article of Dobson’s, my take is that Dobson regrettably mixes a number of factors that could lead to resentment and anger–sin, cultural differences, blind spots–and Biblically speaking, the reconciliation process differs based on what those details are. You’ve got sin punishable by the government, sin to be dealt with by the church, understanding of cultural differences & blind spots, and more. So it makes the mistake of applying a very broad brush to a fairly complicated set of issues, IMO.
This is such a nothing burger. Why even post this article on this website. (Andrew)
This was a good article about Ken Starr. The Dobson part was a bit like throwing shade on the Olympics by pointing out that Hitler hosted the Olympics.
I continue to be perplexed by those who insist Trump has nothing to hide in these files. Hush money? Stormy Daniels? Where is this absolute blind trust coming from? Anyone? Hello?
Someone recommended Eric Metaxas’s book to Jeffrey Epstein? Somehow that involves Metaxas in the story so much that his picture needs to be posted? Am I supposed to be outraged or something? Why is this noteworthy?
I guess it’s the old guilt-by-association strategy? I’m not a fan of Metaxas’s writing style: I read his biography of Martin Luther with more than a few eye rolls but still, “writes sophomoric prose at times” and “Epstein crony” are two vastly different categories.
While I truly appreciate the reporting you all do and do not agree with many of the principles James Dobson has taught over the years, I don’t think this article makes a compelling case. The piece hinges almost entirely on a single mention of Dobson’s writing showing up in newly released Epstein files — essentially that Epstein sent a Dobson article to someone in a text exchange.
That fact by itself doesn’t establish anything meaningful about Dobson’s views, character, or intentions, nor does it prove any sort of connection between Dobson and Epstein beyond the article being available online. There’s no evidence Dobson ever communicated with Epstein, encouraged him, or had any relationship with him. Framing this as more than a contextual footnote feels like a stretch, especially when based on one isolated data point from millions of pages of documents.
If the goal is serious journalism, then it should differentiate between what the files show and what is speculation. As written, the article leans heavily into the latter without sufficient evidence.