They are conservative, Christian, dress modestly, have a ton of kids, and have a TV show. That was all I did know, but now I know more about one of the family members, Josh Dugger.
Thirteen years ago when he was 14, he molested a couple of girls, which consisted of inappropriate touching. The police were involved at least the first time, and it was dealt with. There are varying reports about the others. What he did was wrong, sinful, and a crime. No one is saying it isn't those things, but there is no evidence at all that he ever did it again, and seems to be an upstanding Christian man now.
I thought juvenile records were supposed to be sealed, and what we did as teenagers kept quiet, so what we did as stupid teenagers couldn't be brought up and used against us as adults. Not so with Josh Dugger. His crimes and sins have been brought to light and he is being crucified by the media, liberals, Christians, and everyone else for what he did as a teenager. If you dare defend him in any way, or make it sound like you are defending him, you get nasty remarks. I have read the comments. People saying his kids should be taken off of him and comments slamming the family. Their show has been taken off of the air for something one of them did 13 years ago as a kid.
Here are some thoughts I have on this situation:
1) The crimes are past the statutes of limitations, but there is no statute of limitations on how the victims may feel.
2) The same people screaming the loudest, had no problem with outspoken feminist Lena Dunham molesting her younger sister, or with the with the allegations against Michael Jackson that everyone knows were true, with Bill Clinton molesting women, with Bill Clinton hanging out with a man who has been guilty of sex with underage girls, with producer Norman Polanski, and more. When it is a liberal found guilty of sexual crimes, the media and other liberals don't get excited about it. But let a Christian and conservative be caught, and that is all they want to talk about.
3) There are a lot of female teachers caught having sex with underage boys, and they get a slap on the wrist and a lot of people act like it is a joke......and that is actual sex, not touching.
4) They keep saying the girls were minors.... so was Josh Dugger.
5) This was not an adult male caught having sex with minors, but a minor caught inappropriately touching minor girls, who I am guessing was younger than him, but that information doesn't seem public..... at what age is it still considered molestation - if the girls were 13, 12. 11, 10..... no one knows how old these girls were, and it is still wrong no matter what, but this is different than an adult molesting a kid.
6) Bringing this up is most likely going to bring it back to the girls' minds and cause them to relive it.
7) We have multitudes of boys who have done the same. Whether they be 14, 16, or 17, how many boys pressure girls to have sex with them, only to leave a young girl wishing she had not given up her virginity to a boy she will most likely not marry, a boy who will most likely move onto another girl, and do the same to her..... is that really that much different than a 14 year old boy inappropriately touching young girls?
I can understand the liberals and media attacking Josh. They hate Christians and conservatives, and anything they can find wrong with a popular Christian is like throwing bloody meat to sharks.... but what bothers me is the Christians who are taking up stones and throwing along with the liberals and media.
We all have sinned. Every last one of us, but we Christians tend to categorize sins. Lying, gossip, coveting, jealously, gluttony, etc, aren't bad sins and everyone does them. We even seem to have this idea that there are some sins you can't stop from doing...... sins you don't even have to stop doing (if you're a hardcore Calvinist). Even sex before marriage seems to be something most Christians are OK with and figure people can't help not doing.
And then there are the bad sins: homosexuality, adultery, stealing, killing, child molestation. animal cruelty (at least some people act like it is the worst sin imaginable), etc. Those who have never been guilty of those sins pull their righteous robes around them, pick up stones, and get in line to throw them at anyone caught in them
What would Jesus do? When the adulterous woman was brought before Him, and the religious people of the day wanted to stone her, He told them that whoever was without sin could cast the first stone. And none of them fit that criteria, so they slunk away. He then turned to the woman and told her He didn't condemn her, and to go and sin no more.
If Josh Dugger were brought into the midst of modern day Christians, and we set him before Jesus with the accusations against Josh, what would Jesus do? I believe He would do the same. And all of the Christians with stones in their hands, would have to drop them and slink away.
If you look at the genealogy of Jesus, you'll see some people who didn't commit the "nice sins":
There's David. He committed adultery, then committed murder to cover up the adultery.
Tamar. She dressed up like a prostitute and seduced her father-in-law.
Rahab, a prostitute.
And more.
The Bible is full of people who messed up pretty badly, and yet God forgave them, used them, and put many of them in the line that would bring forth His Son.
It really isn't up to use to forgive Josh Dugger. I assume he has sought forgiveness from those he has wronged, and from God. What is the statute of limitations on when we can stop holding it against him? From what I have seen, there are a lot of people who seem to think 13 years is too soon to offer the same grace that has been extended to us. I for one, am glad God doesn't have a time period of when He offers grace and forgiveness. I can''t imagine still waiting for forgiveness and grace for something I did 13 years ago.
My oldest nephew will turn 14 in October. He is very much still a kid. He is immature, selfish at times, and definitely doesn't make good decisions about everything all of the time. Granted, he hasn't done anything as bad as Josh Dugger, but a 14 year old is still very much a kid. Are we going to drag out the crimes of every other public figure from when they were teenagers? Or is it just conservatives and Christians whose past sins must be brought to life, and whose lives must be ruined?
If you read Paul's letters to the Corinthians, you'll see they had people in their churches saved from and some still dealing with the not-so-nice sins: adultery, incest, homosexuality, idolatry mixed with prostitution.... and most likely sex with children. It went on in the Roman empire, so there is a good chance there were people into that who became Christians.... and God saved them and redeemed them. And He built His church on people who didn't have "nice" sins in their past. They had some bad sins.
This is not a defense of Josh Dugger. He did wrong as a teenager, seems to have sought forgiveness, and it should stay in the past..... where we all want the sins we did as teenagers to stay........or any sins we have repented of and been forgiven of by God.
We have so normalized sex before marriage. Our schools and TV programs encourage kids younger and younger to do it, to experiment even with the same sex....... then we are shocked when a 14 year old boy does something inappropriate like this.
Maybe this wasn't handled right, but I still say the sins of a 14 year old boy belong in the past, not in his adult life 13 years later..... and that the people screaming the loudest about his actions have no problem with others committing similar acts. It just depends on who you are...... and since Josh Dugger is Christian and conservative, he must be destroyed. Sad that many Christians are joining in. May God grant us the grace and forgiveness so many are unwilling to extend to this young man.
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