Josh Duggar found guilty in child pornography trial. Another one down!
(www.nwahomepage.com)
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To all those spewing negative comments, have any of you ever watched even one episode of the show? Do you know anything about this family? By all accounts, including mine, this was a genuine, Christian family who had the talent to raise a large family. Has this oldest been a screw up? Yup. Do we know why? Nope. Are the other kids wonderful, functional kids and adults? It would appear so. Parents don't get to choose their kids and control every behavior. We do the best we can, and some have problems and they don't turn out well. This ridiculous speculation and pontificating is just so ... ridiculous.
Alright, buckle up for this.
You do realize that he molested Jill, Jessa, Jinger and Joy when he was 15 right? Joy was digitally raped by him when she was five years old. When that came out...it was found that the sheriff kind of swept it under the rug because they had him go to a religious reformation camp.
Does that mean that him seeking spiritual reformation is wrong, no. It does speak to the parents likely not seeking the proper care for all children, including Josh, involved.
In addition, the IBLP founded by Bill Gothard showed which they follow(ed) shows that Gothard may have perpetuated grooming of young girls.
Religion is equally wonderful and dangerous. Every man (or woman) needs to ensure that every religious leader they follow is acting in a way that meets with the Bible. Just because someone is religious doesn't mean that their moral compass is correct. For me, my Grandmother professing to be a great Christian woman, that was very well respected and involved in our congregation, that had a lot of hate in her heart pushed me away from religion for a long time. I finally did a lot of soul searching and realized that just because someone professes to be something and acts the complete opposite doesn't mean the whole religion is wrong...but it should call into question the congregation and I should look elsewhere.
The Duggars very well may have started with the best of intentions, but the company they have kept or followed has been problematic.
At the end of the day, everyone involved in the Duggar case are in need of support and prayers.
I feel that a religious upbringing needs to be tempered with teaching the children that their bodies are theirs, to create a space in which a victim (typically women) aren't sinful if they incite lust in a man. Please don't confuse me stating that with that women can do whatever and men have to keep themselves in check. There has got to be a middle ground in teaching modesty/respect for yourself without the burden of the lust that happens in teenage years and the curiously that comes with it in a way that still enforces the beliefs you interpet from the bible with a healthy way to understand that sexuality is a thing. Controlling my last and sexual acts is on me and me alone. It isn't for everyone else around me to be responsible for it. When that isn't done, than it isn't impossible to think that a child/teenager tries to figure things out on their own.
What I am getting at is please look further than the surface on this. Just because they are religious doesn't mean it is a religious persecution. I do not necessarily think that everything is wrong with the Duggar's, but I also think there is a lot going on under what they want you to see that may surprise us.
I like your post, very balanced. I grew up in a church that used the IBLP method. I was too old to be homeschooled thru it. There are a lot of problems with it. I couldn't watch the show because it brought too much back.
There was grooming going on and it came from the top, Bill Gothard himself. They set the organization to look holy and Biblical but there were many flaws that were hidden.
What is really great is that we all get to raise our own children with the best intentions and knowledge that we can muster. Parenting is the hardest job I ever had and I made many mistakes and I have many regrets. Hindsight is 20/20. I don't condemn this family because they are not perfect...I will just leave it to the Lord to judge their souls and to the courts to judge their crimes. I don't rejoice at the pain and sorrow that this family has gone through. I just wish there would be justice for all the crimes and criminals that we have been hearing about for so many years.
I agree with you, to a point.
When the good ole boy system swept the initial part under the rug, where was the justice system then? It failed thr victims, and ultimately Josh. Is it possible that intervention, in addition. To the religious, may have kept the future actions from happening? We will never know.
I can speculate that a lack of balance in rearing their children could quite possibly lead to the initial molestation. It could also be said that Josh, himself, may have been molested at some point as well.
My problem stems that after the molestation, it appears, instead of doing some course correcting and adjusting...the dug in further. Brothers couldn't have younger siblings sit on their laps. The boys then couldn't change diapers. Then on top of that, three of the four eldest girls (that were molested) than were put in charge of their sibling teams and were put in charge of rearing young children, while still children...that were molested. Those choices do not look good.
Before everything came out, I was a bit..uh, taken aback by the older children parenting the younger children....but then realizing that was their responsibility, after being molested....and then giving scripted interviews on Fox to protect the image.
You're absolute right, God will judge them. Although, we do a major disservice if we ignore facts because they continued to make choices that were selfish in nature and not based on their family. We would be lying to ourselves if we didn't realize that they made themselves a lot more secular/mainstream. Then trying to be a ministry of Jesus, using their wonderful family, without actually caring for their family.
More than enough sadness for all involved. I just know so many families destroyed by alcoholism, drug abuse, infidelity, pornography, abuse, divorce, neglect...etc. satan is definitely working overtime. I am sure they wish they had done things differently.
And yes, I have watched every single episode, from the original specials, to when they were picked up...to when TLC wanted Josh off and it went to Counting On.
He molested his sisters and another girl. The parents knew and did nothing. Please don’t make excuses for this man or his horrible parents.
So sad no matter what the story is. God is in the business of redeeming lives from the pit, so I pray God will deliver him from the darkness. Only God can make a new creation in Christ.
Do you know how scripted reality shows are?
The real question is "Are the parents condemning their son publicly?"
I checked their website.
Statement from Jim Bob and Michelle
by Duggar Family | Dec 9, 2021
A statement regarding Joshua Duggar’s guilty verdict
https://www.duggarfamily.com/2021/12/statement-from-jim-bob-and-michelle/
Archived link - https://archive.md/ErzNO
The use of the term CSAM seems to be an effort to minimize the severity of what their son did.
CSAM = Child Sexual Abuse Material (for those who have to look it up like I did.)
If Joshua was my son, I'd be lucky if I wasn't in jail after taking matters into my own hands, that I can tell you.
Thank you for the first rational comment in this long list of stone throwing negative comments by people who have never once fallen or sinned. I enjoyed watching this family as they grew and shared their lives. Were they perfect...obviously not...but who among us is???????? These attacks just remind me of Jesus challenging the Pharisees to throw the first stone at the prostitute if they were sinless. The family were home schoolers and the Institute for Basic Life Principles has a very good reputation among homeschoolers. It's very easy to attack people that live differently than the average person but this family has chosen to live differently because of their firmly held religious beliefs. If out of 19 kids only one has fallen so far, I still think they did a good job raising their families. They did a lot of things right. But from the looks of it everyone making these comments are perfect with perfect families. I am sorry but THAT doesn't exist for "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God".
It's different to fall sometimes and sin, which is essentially perpetual in Christianity, but sexually abusing minors and your sisters is not just someone lost in their way or falling victim to sin as we all do most every day. It's on a whole other level, and the family dynamic in that family is very off and weird.
I am sorry but I didn't read in the Bible that there were levels of sin. Sin is missing the mark which is why we are ALL sinners compared to God's holy righteousness. So Josh's sins are not on a whole other level...it is equivalent to the sin that we all commit every day. Sin is sin whether it is perpetual, just once, heinous or just a white lie. I certainly do not condone the things he has done but it is nothing unforgivable...it is the blood of Jesus that allows the unrighteous to be made righteous for all people for all time. This is a tragedy for sure for everyone involved and I am sure there are a lot of regrets that the parents have.
Are you and others on this board forgiving for Eparein, Maxwell, Clinton, etc? That they just need to ask forgiveness amd they will enter and be worthy of heaven? You believe that lying to you friend is the same level of sin as sexually abusing your sister for years? Perhaps theologically there's an argument to be made that all sin is equal, but I really don't believe that's the case.