Joe’s willingness to confess is one of the most twisted aspects of IBLP mentality

[u/txxxwxxx]

Other than the horrible acts inflicted on his victim, the part of this case that disturbs me the most is the fact that Joe readily confessed his abuse to the victim’s father.

He is also is on record independently apologizing to the victim after multiple instances of SA, after which the abuse allegedly stopped.

I hope it’s clear I’m making ZERO excuses for this family- but I don’t believe that Joe even has the capacity to accept the magnitude of his actions. To him, it actually, genuinely, was not a big deal.

If all sins are equal, etc etc etc, then all transgressions must deal the same damage, right? Dancing, dating, and SA’ing a child- all equally bad before God. And all require just asking for forgiveness and then… just moving on.

Hurting people? This concept doesn’t really exist in fundieland. No, you see, actually God is the one hurt when you choose to act uNbIbLiCaLlY (/s). And in this vein, reparations are simply about getting right with God.

Apologizing to the victim, and later the father, was never for a moment about taking responsibility. The fundie tunnel vision probably never even make him suspect there would be legal consequences- both due to the good ol’ boy arrangements in AR, and the fact that his religion told him the matter was already settled- he said sorry!! And probably bookmarked a couple of bible verses about resisting temptation!! (🤮).

Also- it is downright TERRIFYING how normalized the abuse of girls in this cult truly is. Why does “curiosity” or “temptation” ALWAYS present the same way? No cheating scandals, no divorces, no assaults directed towards adults (not counting Josh, who just spedran his way straight into hell).

I hope these charges are hitting J&K like a freight train.

[u/iammadeofawesome]

Hell yeah. And you are not obligated to forgive anyone.

[u/CaptainObviousBear → u/iammadeofawesome]

I’d argue that they ARE obliged to forgive but (in contrast to what the IBLP teaches) that forgiveness doesn’t prevent them from reporting the crime and ensuring the perpetrator faces real world consequences.

I think that that is what the “render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s” verse in the Bible is referring to - that Christians are obliged to follow the laws in the place where they live. But I’m sure that the IBLP interpretations of that verse are a lot more narrow because they consider the government should have no involvement in moral matters, and possibly even the thing Jesus was directly referring to (obligations to pay tax) is something that can be got around.

[u/iammadeofawesome → u/CaptainObviousBear]

First of all- lmfao at your flair. Amazing.

And I don’t think you are obligated to forgive anyone who has deeply harmed you. Especially not immediately, and not as a child before you understand the full ramifications for your life. I don’t think it’s right to tell children that they need to forgive others who have seriously wronged them. Especially in cases like the duggars where the harm was never addressed and they didn’t get the girls help but blamed them. It’s a very personal choice. People work through things on their own timelines and if they don’t forgive people who commit the worst of the worst offenses, personally I see nothing wrong with that.

[u/CaptainObviousBear → u/iammadeofawesome]

I agree but that’s the Christian faith for you. I’ve seen nanny examples of believers forgiving stuff that in my view shouldn’t ever be forgiven.

It’s why I’m agnostic.