Josh Duggar was a spokesman for Faith and family values that he wasn’t himself living. He was leading a double life, and perhaps, still is. The enemies of the family, the pro-abortion, pro-pornography, pro-homosexuality, pro-divorce crowd are wild with delight to see a spokesman for family values destroyed.
They are going to crucify him in the media, and ruin his entire family if they can. They hate him, and now that they have him, they are going to finish him.
Yet, I’m not here to defend Josh; I don’t know him, never watched his show, can’t tell you what type of person he really is, and only God knows if he is truly repentant or just sorry that he got caught.
But the media isn’t really after Josh, are they? Since when have they cared about porn? Since when have they cared about adultery? When their own Lena Dunham admitted to molesting her sister, they came in droves to defend her (for the record, I think both were wrong, but since they were both “children,” I don’t know that it is fair to call either a “child molester”).
Josh is being nailed to the wall by these people, not because of what he did, but because of what he stood for – Faith and family values. In ruining Josh’s reputation, they hope to further erode the faith and family movement.
But Josh was right and his story proves it! Josh went around the country claiming that adultery, pornography, child-molestation are evil, and lead to destruction. Isn’t that exactly what has happened to him? His secret sins and lusts have devastated his family, and ruined his reputation. Had he lived the family values he was preaching he wouldn’t be in this terrible situation.
However, as far as discrediting his Faith, the opposite is true. I do not know a Christian in the world who claims perfection. The Apostle Paul writes, “It is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.” (Romans 7)
Josh is a Christian man, raised in a Christian home, admitting he is addicted to porn. That is how powerful and dangerous pornography is.
Now, if men raised in Christian homes were the only ones addicted to porn, then the media would have something. They could say “See, those values lead to lust and adultery.” But that isn’t the case. Pornography is rampant in the US, and around the world. Christians rally against pornography precisely because we see that it is a dangerous temptation for us, our spouses, our sons and daughters, and our neighbors and their families.
It is not hypocritical to profess a “moral ideal” that we know we can’t keep, but it IS hypocritical to claim a “moral ideal” doesn’t exist simply because we can’t keep it. To the world, lust is an indulgence, to the Christian a temptation. Still, our society loves to fling temptation into our faces, and then condemn us when we join them in their indulgences.
Now, as far as the media’s attempt to discredit our Faith because of Josh’s moral shortcomings, nothing could be more sinister and dishonest. Christianity has never claimed to be a religion of morally perfect people. In fact, it makes the exact opposite claim. It claims that all of us are sinners in need of a Savior. Josh proved that!
Christians already knew Josh was a sinner from the beginning. We certainly didn’t need the media to tell us that. Now we know to what extent, but our message remains the same: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:23)
There are consequences for sin, and Josh is going to suffer those. Yet, what he has done proves all the more that America needs to embrace “family values,” and that we all are in need of a Savior, Jesus Christ, who paid the penalty for all sins, even terrible ones like Josh has committed.
To the Christians who are crushed by Josh’s shortcomings, perhaps you have created an idol of him? You were right to expect better, but Josh is not our spokesman – Jesus Christ is. And Jesus will not let you down!
Quite agree..I think people were putting the Duggars on too high of a pedestal, which I am definitely not a fan of doing to any celebrity.
Seriously? The man did this TO HIMSELF! So typical to blame others and not take responsibility.
Obviously, he grew up repressed and couldn’t be himself. Now he is being himself and you don’t approve. Too bad for you.
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Al, I never said Josh was a victim. I never said he didn’t do this to himself. It may have seemed that way in the beginning of this post, but if you read it entirely through you would see that this post was about family values and how Josh proved that when we reject family values it can destroy us.
In fact, I specifically said that this post was not a defense of his behavior. This post is in defense of family values (which Josh doesn’t have or isn’t living). But I reject people’s claim that this proves his pro-family message was wrong.
We’re all sinners, there’s no doubt about that. We all need forgiveness, and that’s why we’re called to forgive. What does it profit a man to gain the world and lose his soul? Proverbs 5 makes a direct link between adultery and poverty…it’s a consequence that one is wise to avoid.
The Body of Christ should remove Josh Duggar from the public eye for the sake of the Lord’s holy name, and for the sake of the Gospel. Those Christians who would be leaders must be above reproach, lest the Lord’s name be sullied. That is the Biblical way to handle this. Josh and his family should be given pastoral care, but they should be removed any form of leadership that bears our Lord’s name.
Everyone demanded that Catholic priests who committed grave sins be defrocked and even incarcerated. That has been happening under the current Pope, and even happened under Benedict. Should Protestants do no less?
I certainly agree that Josh Duggar should be removed from leadership (which he has). I not sure that the parents should be though, only because Josh is no longer under their authority and I don’t see this as their fault. Also, I don’t know that they are in Church leadership. That said, it is probably best for all, including them, to take a step back and focus on their family right now.
While I agree with most of the writers points in this article I must take issue with the statement that Josh committed “terrible sins”. As Christians don’t we confess that sin is sin? Is one sin more terrible than the other? That is the trap we involve ourselves in when we start defining degrees of sin. Jesus never spoke of degrees of sin. He didn’t die for one sin over another. He died for ALL sin. To define sin by degrees leads us to minimize the blood of Christ and the power of it. Further, it leads us into a spiral of ‘pride of degrees’. Example: I only lied…I didn’t kill someone…therefore the person who killed so eom is a greater sinner than me.
Just a thought.
Mike, I appreciate your thoughts and concerns, and I can see that you are being sincere.
This post was not about the doctrine of sin, but I did say that Josh committed “terrible sins,” implying some are worse than others.
The idea that all sin is equal has really taken hold in our society over the last century, and is part of the relativism movement. Many well-meaning Christians have accepted what I strongly feel is a false doctrine.
The Bible does not teach that all sins are the same. They have similarities, but they are not same before God. They are similar in that all sin, big and small, makes us sinners in need of a Savoir. And they are similar in that all sin, big and small, can be forgiven by God, through Jesus Christ.
However, there are many examples in the Old Testament and New that claim all in is not equal, and some sinners are bigger sinners than others. If you look at the Old Testament Law, for instance, God shows us how He wants us to weigh and punish sin, with greater punishments for greater sins.
Paul calls himself “chief among sinners,” and lists all the great sins he committed before receiving God’s grace. (1 Timothy 1:15) Paul can call himself “chief among sinners” because it committed the worse sins, murder and blasphemy. Yet, he points to his great sins, to illustrate how much greater God’s grace is!
Jesus said, “Nevertheless I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you.” He claims there Judgement will be greater because they had seen signs and wonders, and yet still rejected him.
God leaves the Israelites in bondage in Egypt because “the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.” In other words, they weren’t bad enough for God to bring a judgement on the entire nation, yet. However, that day did come.
There are many other examples, but I think if we just use common sense and the moral compass that God gave us, we know that some sins are greater than others. I mean imagine if a man jaywalked and we executed him because “All sin is equal and we execute murderers.” Or if a man committed murder and we just fined him $25 because “All sin is equal and we fine jaywalkers $25.” In both cases, there would be public outcry for justice, and rightfully so.
And certainly, if, say my wife had an affair, I would feel more injured and grieved than if she was just grumpy with me one morning.
Josh’s sins are great; He admitted to committing adultery. That doesn’t diminish “the blood of Christ,” because His sacrifice is for all sin, great and small.
Hope that helps clarify my thoughts. There is so much more to say on the topic of sin, but it probably deserves its own post. Thanks for reading!
Thank you for a great explanation of greater sins. I’ve always thought that some were worse than others . Excellent examples. I think that some sin is more addictive and harder to shake than others. My heart goes out to this family but I do know that Hods Grace goes further and deeper than any sin can take us. This is probably the best and worst things that could happen to Josh. Worst because the world now knows, best because…the world now knows and he no longer has to live in a place where he us afraid to get gel. Prayers to him and all concerned.
Oops. Gods grace.
BrittonL – really nice job and great to see men being men with the power of discernment and the ability to rightly divide the Word of God in his generation. Keep it up and may God gift America with many other men willing to do the same in their generation.
I don’t think anyone questions whether or not porn and the like are wrong. I think the question is whether or not the way he was raised, the “purity” lifestyle, provided sufficient protection from the temptations of the world. And I think the answer is no, there is no magic bullet that can keep someone from that sort of sin. Is Josh worse than the average person? That’s merely gossip and none of our business.
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I agree that there is no magic bullet. Every one of us has a sinful nature. But I don’t think that Josh’s failures are a sign that his parents failed. They may done everything right, but he still has the freewill to choose wrong.
Josh is a hypocrite! He didn’t “confess” he was outed and made up excuses when he was outed. A same sex committed couple of 20 years is wrong? But a man who molested 5 children, cheats repeatedly on his wife and God only know what else is ok because he speaks God word and says he is wrong and sorry when is caught? If that is Christian values, I don’t want any part of it. The God I love wouldn’t accept Josh Duggar but condemned a loving same sex couple or a transgender child.
Reading this, and knowing now what has happened since, I can’t help but remember something my minister once said: “The devil will tell you what you want to hear”. You want to hear about family values and pro-life? That’s what the devil will give you. Christian values and family values have been used interchangeably for far too long. We need to follow what the bible says because the Bible says it. Ignore all others, even if they preach the same message. We can’t know what their heart is.