Complex Numbers

Suffer the Little Children

Wading into sensitive waters today...

Ministry that once nourished Duggar family’s faith falls from grace  
Scandal brought “19 Kids and Counting” to an end, coinciding with the waning influence of the Institute in Basic Life Principles.

I suppose you can call it a ministry. I call it a cult.

When the Duggar family caught the public’s eye in 2004 with its first television special, “14 Children and Pregnant Again,” the lifestyle depicted on screen was alien to many viewers.

As it should be. I suppose I should disclose that I never watched the show in any of its incarnations, so I'm not going to comment on its content.

Yet some Americans recognized their own values in the fundamentalist Christian family, as well as the influence of one man: Bill Gothard, founder of the Institute in Basic Life Principles.

One defining aspect of a cult is a single charismatic leader. The Catholic Church has a single leader, too, but he's not all that charismatic.

But today, the IBLP is losing income, and Gothard, 87, has been forced out over allegations that he abused young women working at its headquarters.

Which is another defining feature of a cult.

And the Duggars’ shows have been canceled: “19 Kids and Counting” in 2015 amid revelations that their eldest son molested four of his sisters as a young teen and “Counting On” last year ahead of his child pornography trial and eventual conviction.

No one seems to want to draw the obvious conclusion, connecting the dots between being a cult member and practicing deviant sexual behavior. And I can't say for certain that A is the direct cause of B, but I can say that one should consider the possibility and perhaps investigate that connection.

The Institute in Basic Life Principles began in 1961 as seminars by Gothard, an evangelical minister from Illinois with a master’s degree in Christian education.

Over 30 hours, he taught attendees how to lead successful lives by following his interpretation of Biblical principles and warned them away from television, popular music, alcohol, dating and public schools.

Well, I kind of agree with the television bit. But that makes it all the more hypocritical that the thing that drew this family into the public eye was being on television.

At the heart of Gothard’s teachings was the importance of respecting “God-given authority.” He preached a strict hierarchy of divine authority, with Jesus at the top followed by church elders, employers and husbands, who are responsible for protecting their wives and children below them.

And that right there sums up a big part of everything that's wrong with society right now, and has been for a long time.

In marriage, a man’s role is to provide “servant leadership” while “the woman responds with reverent submission and assistance,” preached Gothard, who has never married.

I will note here, without condoning or condemning, that while Catholic priests are famously forbidden to marry, Jewish rabbis pretty much have to be married. Because, the reasoning goes, how can one give marital advice as a spiritual leader without any personal experience therewith?

The Duggars’ wholesome image made them a poster family for the IBLP as their TLC show “19 Kids and Counting” became a ratings hit: Elder daughter Jill Duggar’s two-hour wedding special in 2014 drew an audience of over 4.4 million.

Again the disconnect between prohibiting television while participating in its worst excesses.

The IBLP said in a statement that it had “no comment with respect to the claims alleged,” because of a confidentiality order. Gothard has since denied any wrongdoing. He declined to comment when reached by phone.

I'm also not going to comment on whether Gothard is guilty of those particular charges or not. Not my department. But in a hypothetical situation where a charismatic cult leader gets accused of inappropriate behavior from multiple sources, I'm inclined to take the word of the accusers at face value.

A year after Gothard resigned, the Duggars had their own fall from grace. In May 2015, a leaked police report from 2006 revealed that the eldest Duggar son, Josh, had been accused of molesting five girls as a teenager.

While that never led to conviction, apparently the guy was later convicted on other charges.

Barr, the Baylor University history professor, said Gothard’s fundamentalist patriarchal teachings help create environments where abuse is more likely to go unchecked.

“As a man, they have more authority than women,” she said. “Their voice counts more, and women have this propensity to be valued more for their sexual role, so it allows abuse to flourish.”

Okay, so maybe someone is trying to connect the dots. Still, to be fair, that's not exactly scientific evidence.

And also to be fair, they claim to preach Biblical principles, and I don't recall anything in the Bible forbidding child porn. So I guess that, to them, they're still on the right side of morality.

I just disagree with their definition of morality.