The Danger of Defending the Duggars

I know that by looking at my FB page it appears that I am obsessed with the Duggar scandal. Well, I am. When I first read that the oldest son Josh had preyed upon young females, including his sisters, I felt a visceral response deep within to the point of nausea. Why do I feel this way even though I have never been molested? It is because I believe in justice. I was never able to face the man that caused my accident, and the person who killed my sister faced zero consequences. My life has been reeled by unjust acts. Ernest Carter took cocaine and valium, but the teenagers who were left mangled and scarred from their skin to their souls are the ones who suffered. Ryan Cross decided to drive recklessly, and three innocents lost their lives in order for him to have fun. He got off free while we buried my sister.

I fully believe in a God who is just, and I believe wrongs will be made right in the next life; however, does that mean Christians should turn a blind eye or even rationalize the wrongs of this life? No. Reading the supportive responses of Christians in regard to Josh Duggar and his parents fills me a revulsion deeper than any chasm heretofore discovered by intrepid adventurers. I feel shame that these naive-or-misinformed-or-archaic-or-misogynistic people share the title "Christian" with me.

Allow me to address some of these responses:

1. "He was just a child!"/"Youthful exploration"
Proverbs 20:11 - "Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right."
For the past few years, I have taught 14 and 15 year old students. I have had male students inappropriately touch girls in class, with and without the girls' permission. When I confront these boys, they fully understand that they were wrong. If he had been playing doctor with a girl his age, I would not have blinked an eye. Both children should have their questions answered honestly and be taught about respecting their bodies. End of discussion. Move on. Unfortunately, that is not what happened. He preyed on much younger children, his own sisters. Every person should feel safe in their own house, with their own family, in their own bed. He robbed those girls of their sense of safety. I especially blame his parents. They did not create a safe environment for their children, namely their female children, When that not-so-safe environment inevitably crumbled, they rushed to protect the perpetrator, not the victims. The victims had to continue to live in world without any sense of safety or protection.

2. "Christians aren't supposed to judge!"/"Let he who is without sin. . ."
First of all, my splinters and Josh and his parents' are vastly different. I see their actions, and I discern them to be evil. If people, especially those who are to be Christ's lightbearers, allow sin to fester in the dark, if we ignore it or dismiss it or rationalize it, we are giving silent approval. We are allowing the next generation of children, particularly girls, to be abused. We are telling them to not speak out because no one will listen.

3. "Forgive and forget"
Galations 6:7-8 - "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting."
There are still consequences to our sins/crimes. Josh never fully faced his consequences because his parents waited until the statue of limitations was up before they went to the police. A few months doing physical labor for a Gothard institution? That is not a legal consequence; that is free labor! I understand that we cannot time-travel, but there are horrible consequences whenever a person tries to cover or forget sins and crimes (sometimes those two are the same but not always). Just ask King David! He was unresponsive when his daughter Tamar was raped. The fallout was one son trying to overthrow him as king, and in the end, he lost two sons.

4. "If the girls can forgive him. . ."

Those girls have been so heavily brainwashed by the cult founded by Bill Gothard.
 Here is a link with an example of how Gothardites are to treat sexual abuse:  http://www.recoveringgrace.org/2013/04/how-counseling-sexual-abuse-blames-and-shames-survivors/

It is disgusting, and my soul aches for any person who has been subjected to this. Sexual abuse is never the victim's fault. This recommends a blanket forgiveness with little to no redemption and rehabilitation for the abuser. Saying, "Ok, I forgive you (because if I don't I am committing a sin that is somehow greater than your sin of molestation," does not magically heal the victim and set the perpetrator on the strait and narrow. Anyone who thinks this is living in delusion.





5. "Liberal agenda . . . harumph. . . . harumph. . ."
This isn't political. Don't have a cranial/rectal inversion. (Psst. . .  It was Fox news that named the victims. . .) If you are only defending Josh and his parents because they have been lifted up as Christian conservative golden calves, shame on you for putting your trust in very fallible men. I am both Christian and somewhat conservative, and I am pleading for fellow Christians to not support evil that is done in the night, no matter who is doing it. Gothard, Grey, Duggar, how many evangelical men will be allowed to abuse children? These men were all given multiple passes before getting caught. Why does the Christian community continue to defend evil at the cost of innocence? And yes, I understand that "secular" and "worldly" men have done the same, but aren't we supposed to be following a higher standard?

Luke 8:17 - "For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad."

I guess Jim-Bob should have read that verse before milking the cash cow that is reality TV.