The Duggar scandal has been troubling me this past week. The family is known for their very religious attitude in a world where religion is quickly dwindling. I have always supported their show, 19 Kids and Counting, because they have always represented Christianity in such a pure and powerful light. However, something was swept under the mat.
About 12 years ago Josh Duggar, the eldest of the 19 children, molested five girls. A few of the five victims actually included his younger sisters. With the help of elders in his church, Josh was sent to a program that entailed counseling and serious physical labor.
His father, Jim Bob, took him to speak with an Arkansas state trooper after his return from the program. The state trooper, Jim Hutchens, is actually imprisoned today because of child pornography. Rather than beginning a serious investigation, Hutchens punished Josh with a “stern talking to."
John 8:7 states: “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." We all sin and make mistakes. And praise the Lord for sending Christ to be so gracious and forgive each and every sin. However, the way the Duggars handled this “teenage mistake" was too dismissive. He committed a crime.
In Arkansas, child molestation can be punished with up to 25 years of imprisonment. During Jim Bob's campaign to be a U.S. senator in 2002, he declared that incest is a crime that should be punished with the death penalty. The family bypassed the law and their beliefs. This hypocrisy is feeding the religious hating population around the world.
I harbor no hatred towards the Duggars. I am simply disappointed in the way they handled their son's wrongdoing many years ago. Molestation is not simply a teenage mistake, but a crime. May God bless the victims and the emotional wounds that they are surely still suffering.
