Why The Duggar Story Matters

In the week since the revelations relating to Josh Duggar broke, the topic has become more toxic with time. The famous Christian family that filled the televisions of homes across America is now facing a massive backlash due to the parents, Jim Bob and Michelle, covering up their son molesting his sisters.

These are serious allegations.

For a brief moment in time, it seemed like a rumor, until the Duggar parents confirmed it in a statement that seemed to make the issue much worse. In said statement, they confirmed the suspicions and revealed they essentially handled it internally.

If you would like to call it “handled”, which is up for debate.

One Maine talk radio host was thinking aloud on the topic on Facebook regarding the issue last week and it made me think: “Why do we care so much?” Is this about a vendetta against Christanity? Revenge by the LGBT lobby? Or just simple hate towards the Duggars?

I don’t think so. I actually think this matters, a lot, for a number of reasons.

The Duggar family with a simple glance seem like a peaceful, loving family. Their children dress nice and conservatively, are generally well-behaved, and all around are god-fearing people. Right?

Until they stop being the Christlike Christian and start shifting into the Rick Santorum/Mike Huckabee breed of “Christian”, which is based more on hatred and discontent with an obsession over homosexuality.

This is who the Duggars are.

The Family Research Council, of which Josh Duggar was a leader with until recently, has a very clear position on homosexuality. It has blasted the “It Gets Better” project for helping children through difficult times. The project, which aimed to help children struggling with their LGBT lives, exists to prevent children committing suicide over the bullying and depression.

It Gets Better” is harmful to children? Preventing young children from hanging themselves in their closets is harmful? That alone is disgusting. Suicide itself as devastating, but even more so to a young child who has so much to live for.

Family Research Council president Tony Perkins once said:

“But one of the issues that seems to bother them the most, which I’ve had to debate now on a couple of TV programs, is the connection between – and this is what the social science, peer-reviewed data shows – a correlation between homosexuality and pedophilia. That seems to be a real problem for them.”

Really? It’s the twenty-first century and we can’t tell the difference between two consenting adults entering a relationship and inappropriately touching children?

Let me spell it out.

Josh Duggar touched five children. Not one. Not two. Not even three or four. Five. For those of you who can count, that’s a lot.

Is Josh gay? Doesn’t seem to be. Happily married to a female, he seems to be quite happily straight for a man who touched young girls as a teenager.

So where’s the correlation? There isn’t one. Josh’s own perversion proves that.

But let’s move on. Given they’re Christian people, naturally these people would have strong views about how to address issues such as rape, incest, and other things that are clearly against the teachings of Christ. Right?

In response to a question about abortion, Jim Bob wrote as a U.S. Senate candidate:

“If a woman is raped, the rapist should be executed instead of the unborn baby.”

Granted, it’s referring to a specific scenario, suggesting execution for rape is still evident. Continuing on.

U.S. Senate candidate Jim Bob Duggar further stated:

“Rape and incest represent heinous crimes and as such should be treated as capital crimes”

The problem with the perception surrounding modern Christianity is its seen as hypocritical and hateful. Here you have the Duggars communicating an extreme position on abortion. Instead of simply stating abortion is wrong, Jim Bob escalated a policy position to vitriolic rhetoric. For opponents of abortion, this is a real disservice.

The further positions of the Family Research Council make Christian look anything but happy and peaceful people. It makes them look hateful. It makes Christianity look hateful. There’s so much unnecessary hatred.

One does not have to be accepting or even tolerant of homosexuality, just don’t go forcing another human being to conform to your own life. As evidenced by the Duggars, nobody is perfect. The one true judge is up above and that is for a reason. If you’re a true Christian, you know He is perfect and you are not.

Leave your judging to the Lord and live your life. Don’t be a collective of hypocrites like the Duggars.

Chris Dixon

About Chris Dixon

Chris Dixon is a libertarian-leaning writer and managing editor for The Liberty Conservative. In addition to his political writing, he also covers baseball for Cleat Geeks and enjoys writing on a number of other topics ranging on Medium.