Eldest son of 19 and Counting admits to molesting girls when he was a teenager. Let’s look at the system that enabled him.
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In 2002, Jim Bob Duggar of 19 and Counting fame, ran for the Arkansas State Senate. He, as a fundamentalist Christian, took a very strong and stern position on abortion, incest and rape, stating, “Rape and incest represent heinous crimes and as such should be treated as capital crimes.”
And then, in that same year, Jim Bob’s son, Josh, molested his sisters.
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Rather than submitting Josh to capital punishment, Jim Bob simply asked Josh to pray for forgiveness, stating on the family website, “That dark and difficult time caused us to seek God like never before. Even though we would never choose to go through something so terrible, each one of our family members drew closer to God.” Josh was sent away to help renovate a ministry building and, later, confessed to a state trooper. Coincidentally, that same state trooper was convicted of possession of child pornography and is currently serving a 56-year prison term. (He recently said that only one incidence of molestation was reported to him, and he was unaware of others stated in the police report, or he would have turned Josh over to the authorities.)
The Duggars Biblical home-school training curriculum has surfaced. It represents many Christian fundamentalists’ position on sexual abuse. Bill Gothard, well-known in fundamentalist circles, developed the curriculum and suggests that if someone is sexually abused, it is somehow their fault. It’s possible that “God let it happen” because of the victim’s “immodest dress, indecent exposure, being out from protection of parents,” or “being with evil friends.” The way to resolve the problem of the sexual abuse is to pray, forgive the offender, and dedicate one’s body to God.
The only recourse for the offender (which, by the way, is never assumed to be the reader of the book), is to simply pray and ask God to forgive him. It’s no wonder then, that the Duggar’s dismissed Josh’s problem as a sin problem. After all, he wasn’t the terrible person Jim Bob was talking about that deserved the death penalty; he was his son.
Michelle erroneously equated transgender females with child molesters, while literally ignoring the problem at home with her straight son.
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In a twist of fate, just 12 years later, Josh’s mom, Michelle Duggar, opposed an anti-transgender discrimination bill saying, “I doubt that Fayetteville parents would stand for a law that would endanger their daughters or allow them to be traumatized by a man joining them in their private space (emphasis mine).” Michelle erroneously equated transgender females with child molesters, while literally ignoring the problem at home with her straight son.
There are many problems and inconsistencies here. In the heated exchange between Conservative Christian fundamentalists and those of us who are not, let’s not forget the girls that were molested. Interestingly enough, in the Duggar’s press release about the situation, Josh was mentioned once, God was mentioned four times and their daughters and other victims were conspicuously absent from the conversation.
But, in all fairness, Josh is also a victim. He was raised to believe that his desire to molest girls is nothing more than a sin problem. Sin can be easily wiped away with a simple prayer asking for forgiveness. That’s what he did.
Additionally, he was raised to believe that men are more important than women. The postulation isn’t nearly as overt as it sounds, but it is certainly implied by Scriptures that tell him he is the head of his household (Ephesians 5:23), that it was the woman who was deceived by Satan (1 Timothy 2:14), and that women are to remain silent in church (1 Corinthians 14:34). Fundamentalist Christianity thrives on authority and hierarchical order, where man is the head of his family as Christ is the head of the church.
What we don’t know is why Josh molested those girls. Studies show that between 40 – 80% of children who sexually abuse are more likely to have been sexually abused themselves, and 20-50% have been physically abused. Therapist Robert Longo said, “As I think back to the thousands of sex offenders I have interviewed and the hundreds I have treated, I cannot think of many cases in which a patient didn’t have some history of abuse, neglect, family dysfunction, or some form of maltreatment within his or her history.”
As a long-time member of evangelical Christianity, and ordained evangelical minister, working in several churches in several states, I know from experience things are never as they appear to be. I knew stories of alcoholism, sexual abuse, extra-marital affairs, drug addiction and parental abuse, all hiding behind Sunday morning’s praise and worship. I knew of closeted gay men who were choir members, board members, deacons and pastors. The more pious someone appeared to be, the more he or she seemed to have something to hide. I’m not simply trying to call out the hypocrisy of evangelical Christians. There is a deeper problem.
Fundamentalists can’t live up to their ideals. Their doctrines squeeze the humanity out of people until they snap.
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Fundamentalists can’t live up to their ideals. Their doctrines squeeze the humanity out of people until they snap. Fundamentalism is a belief that the literal interpretation of the Bible can’t be wrong. It contains all truth, and solves the “problems” of mankind. It defines gender roles, sexual orientation, and sets up hierarchal authority. If there is a difficulty, it’s usually an issue related to “sin.” Concepts of psychology, biology, neurology and even social environments are generally left out of the conversation, particularly if they don’t fit neatly within the fundamentalist world view. Josh actually molested five girls on two separate occasions about a year a part, according to the police report. It was after the second one, where he was caught, not confessed, that sent him away for “treatment” for three months. This is a red flag for psychologists, but just un-confessed sin to a fundamentalist.
When people don’t fit the fundamentalist version of narrowly defined behaviors, they are shamed into submission, or cast out of the group. It’s no wonder, then, that Josh and his family swept the issues under the rug. Admitting it, besides the legal ramifications, would risk admitting their family was not able to uphold the ideals they so firmly believed to be true and portray unswervingly on their reality TV show.
At all costs, to a fundamentalist, the principles they believe are nearly on par with who they believe God is. Remove one brick and the system begins to fall apart.
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At all costs, to a fundamentalist, the principles they believe are nearly on par with who they believe God is. Remove one brick and the system begins to fall apart. The mantras of “All things work together for the good…” (Romans 8:28) and “God’s ways are higher than our ways” (Isaiah 55:9) quickly dismiss deeper reflection and the personal experiences of others. Many will spend decades in internal conflict over what they feel to be true and their ingrained religious doctrines. Fundamentalism is an automated and circular machine that points questions back to the answers that condemn and constrain human behavior and sound reasoning.
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Let me make a clear distinction that though I believe Josh Duggar is a victim, it does not release him from personal responsibility as a perpetrator. Regardless of his upbringing or motivations, his actions are solely his and are likely to have long-term consequences to his victims. Fortunately, as Dr. John Hunter points out, “While sexual aggression may emerge early in the developmental process, there is no compelling evidence to suggest that the majority of juvenile sex offenders are likely to become adult sex offenders.”
Given what little we know about the circumstances surrounding the molestation incidences, it is difficult to make ultimate determinations about Josh Duggar and his life choices. What is clear, however, is that his fundamentalist influence will be perpetuated on his own children, making them all victims to a poisonous system of beliefs.
Photo – Josh Duggar Instagram
Jackie, maybe they should be. As long as pedophiles are forced to hide there’s no possibiity of treatment. As long as advocacy groups mischaracterize the crime for political reason there can be no solution either. The current situation is so badly broken that the people that are supposed to be helping these children are as big of a problem as the people who actually do the abuse themselves. Where do you think these children get the idea that they’re to blame? What do you think it does to people when they do come in for treatment and are given the… Read more »
I understand what is being said here, and for the most part agree, but I would be *very, very* careful about declaring Josh Duggar a “victim”. Someone is going to be empowered by that. Someone will see that, go and literally feel up some little kid, and then cry that they are a victim of their religious up bringing and “it’s not their fault”.