The Duggar Family Deserves Criticism Not Empathy

Most people outside of conservative Christian communities didn’t know who the Duggar Family was, but now their names are plastered all news websites. For readers who still don’t know, this family are the subjects of TLC’s reality television program 19 Children and Counting. Similar to the Robertson family of Duck Dynasty, the Duggars have become celebrities in social conservative circles. Jim Bob and Michelle raised their children under traditional family and Christian values. They belong to the Independent Baptist denomination which has fundamentalist leanings. It’s no surprise their family has gained popularity among religious people who seek alternative role models to those in the secular entertainment industry, at least until controversy arises.

Please No White Knights

A police report from 2006 was leaked to the public about Josh Duggar (eldest son) sexually molesting five young girls between 2002-2003. On May 21st 2015, Josh admitted that to these acts, but his family asserts that he has moved beyond his problem. There will be an interview with Megyn Kelly on Wednesday (June 3, 2015) to shed more light on these events. Of course this news had a devastating effect on the Duggar’s future. Executives at TLC are weighing their options: whether to continue the show or cancel it. Either way, the Duggar’s television future is uncertain.

Hypocrisy follows the famous like buzzards follow the dying. Not one day goes by without a famous person not walking their talk and not surprisingly the Duggars have fallen into this trap. Along with the 2006 report, additional information emerged stating Jim Bob and Michelle waited more than a year before reporting Josh’s action to the police. They waited long enough that statue of limitation kept Josh free from any legal consequences.

We have come to crux my issue with this situation. Prominent social conservative figures, like Mike Huckabee, have come forward to defend this family; yet, they haven’t done anything worth defending in regards to this specific circumstance. Josh’s father-in-law wrote a rather nice blog post about why we all should dismiss this news, but it’s not that simple. The Duggar family has built their fame and fortune on promoting Christian values. Part of walking one’s talk is transparency and honesty. Scripture prioritizes public confession of sin (1 John 1:9, James 5:16, Proverbs 28:13) and receiving consequences for one’s actions. Josh did not openly confess this sin before taking his position at the Family Research Council. Jim Bob and Michelle did not handle that situation properly.

Authorities should have been contacted in close proximity to Josh’s repeat offense. If he only did it once, then their actions would be understandable, but he molested girls on five separate occasions. They hid this information away, probably trying to avoid legal consequences (my own opinion). They should be rebuked for this, not defended. A fourteen year old boy has enough understanding to know that touching young girls is wrong. Humans are sinful and Christians should readily forgive, however, avoiding consequences is another matter entirely.

I can’t help but think the emergence of support for the Duggars and Fox New’s silence on this scandal stem from the family’s connections. Their wealth and finical endorsement of many Conservative organizations and candidates give them a special status. Christians and other conservative folk, stop trying to downplay this incident. People were hurt and a molester escaped punishment. Josh’s past and his family’s involvement should not be blithely dismissed. To his credit, he has stepped down from his position. The Duggars hid a skeleton in their closest and someone found it. Whatever happens to them now, then brought it upon themselves. This what hypocrisy looks like.

On a final note, this post is harsh. Non-Christians look at scandals like this and think, “This proves that Christians don’t really follow their teachings.” That’s problematic to our witness. If the Duggars were honest about this incident before they were famous, then I wouldn’t be critical of them. For extra clarification: I would be content with how they handled the situation regarding Josh. Under no circumstances do I or any rational person endorse child molestation. This information was reluctantly forced from their hands. Instead of blindly defending their actions, let’s learn a lesson from this scandal. We should walk our talk (God’s commandments) and when we don’t: let’s honest and upfront about our sins.

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Culture War Chronicles

Gay marriage should be legal in all fifty states, yet I believe homosexuality is a sin. To some Christians, this statement is an oxymoron. If God views it as a sin, then surely Christians have a responsibility to keep our world from becoming more sinful. After all, allowing gay people to marry each other destroys the institution of marriage and perpetuates corrupt morals. Think of the children! The modern Christian must protect the moral fabric this great country was built on. Arguments opposing gay marriage are generally more rational, but this caricature illustrates my frustration with the “religious right” or fundamentalist Christianity.

This particular social issue, like abortion, has two heavily entrenched sides that both believe they have moral superiority over each other. One side claims “progress”, the other “defends” traditional values; however, the fundamentalists are losing ground fast. On April 28th Supreme Court Justices debated whether gay marriage should be considered a civil right. Their assessment was based on existing historical instances of other civilizations institutionalizing same-sex marriage. While most ancient civilizations endorsed homosexual relations in many forms, institutional marriage wasn’t one of them. Despite this historical observation, gay marriage will be legalized. The past can provide guidance, never should it dictate our future.

In my experience, arguments against gay marriage fall into three categories: traditional, religious or a combination of both. Traditional marriage, as we envision it today, is an extremely recent concept. Depending on the period and geographical location, institutionalized marriage had a plethora of different meanings. Too often we project our values onto older civilizations without any context or evidence. Secondly, defending “tradition” implies that humanity was more noble or pious in the past. That’s bull-hockey. Our nature hasn’t changed significantly since our conception as a species. Just because a practice or ceremony is old, shouldn’t warrant its an immediate defense.

As a Biblical Christian, one would expect my opposition to gay marriage. Exegesis: there are theological and hermeneutic based arguments that suggest the Bible either doesn’t address homosexuality or actively endorses it. All of these notions reside on thin ice, but I’ll address this topic later in another post. I believe homosexuality and the lifestyle choices that ensue are wrong in God’s eyes. However, that has no bearing on the legality of gay marriage. Religious freedom and separation of church and state are foundational ideas that governed this country’s conception. American culture has been heavily influenced by Christan morals, but never has our society been genuinely Christian. Enforcing traditional marriage based on Biblical texts goes against religious freedom and has no legal relevance. Past precedence for using the Bible in court doesn’t justify this practice. Furthermore Scripture establishes a clear divide between Kingdom work and secular politics.

Both Paul (Romans 13:1-7) and Peter (1st Peter 2:13-15) write about submitting to governing bodies on earth. Jesus made a similar statement regarding taxes (Mathew 22:15-22). These texts were probably speaking to believers who wanted to entice rebellion against Rome, but these words are still applicable today. God called us out darkness into marvelous light to be humble servants, not arrogant authoritarians (Titus 3:1-6). Does this mean Christians should always obey earthly governments? No. God’s will for us still supersedes the laws of men (Act 5: 29-32). Paul addresses this topic as well (Romans 14: 7-9, 2nd Corinthians 5: 14-15). Therefore, we can peacefully resist our governments, but only when they demand that we break God’s commandments. Let us look no further than the lives of the disciples and early Christians. Despite severe persecution and brutal executions, they didn’t rebel or try to create a physical “Christian” nation.

To me these passages and most of the New Testament provide deeper insight into how Christians should act towards each other and the world. We are citizens of God’s Heavenly Kingdom; therefore, our focus should be Gospel-centric. Making disciples and spreading the good news should be priority number one (Mathew 28:16-20), yet fighting with the lost appears to be our actual focus. This culture war is damaging our witness. It’s one of many factors that drive homosexual people away from our churches or towards churches that are “open and affirming” where heretical Christians sell people half-truths. Non-believers look at American Christianity and they don’t see Christ’s light.

I’ve heard convincing arguments to oppose changing marriage’s legal definition. An elder in my community believes the push for legalization is a spiritual attack from dark forces on God’s intended image of marriage. I reject this notion. The legal institution of marriage hasn’t reflected biblical marriage in centuries. Divorce, adultery and other factors separate marriage from our creator’s ideal. The Father of Lies doesn’t need to “corrupt” marriage because Christians and non-Christians alike have already done it. However, I see legitimate concerns.

Portions of Christan people fear that once gay marriage is legalized, LBGT activists will directly attack the rights of religious institutions. Given the current political climate in the United States, that is a possibility. These two hypothetical situations are similar, but not the same. Allowing homosexual people to marry legally doesn’t infringe on anyone’s ability to practice their religion. Certainly it would make some people semantically uncomfortable, but is our comfort worth more than other people’s rights? No. Understand that I laugh when people make claims like, “Barring people from Gay marriage makes them second class citizens” or people who conflate the LBGT movement to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s. The first is idiotic and the second is straight-up offensive. Regardless, legally refusing to marry two people of the same sex is discriminatory and that practice should end. Let’s not dig our heels in on an issue that doesn’t directly affect us.

If LBGT activists and other “progressives” petitioned for legislation demanding that all religious institutions must marry same-sex couples despite their convictions, that is a problem worth fighting against. This is the circumstance that most of our brothers and sisters through out the world live in every day. Not being able to practice my faith as God commands is scary, but let’s trust in Him and oppose such legislation with grace and kindness.

My friends, I know older Christians—maybe some young ones as well— will be hostile to my words. We should not be concerned about how our government defines marriage. There’s no tacit endorsement of sin. God doesn’t punish the United States for “allowing” gay marriage. Telling people the truth and encouraging them to accept God’s free gift of salvation should be our primary goals. Some people will hate us by virtue of being Christian, but many people aren’t that narrow minded. They see our actions and turn away because we can’t be bothered to show love to people who need it the most. If they see us letting go of this pointless social battle, then homosexual people might view us differently. If we invite them into churches and lives, not to judge them, but to show Christ’s love; think of how many lost souls will be saved. Trust in the convicting power of the Holy Spirit to heal us of our sins. Let homosexuals legally marry and God may give us more opportunities to love on these folks. Pray on it and thanks for reading. 

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