155 thoughts on “The Company You Keep”

    2. Since you didn’t claim “first” and neither did anyone else, I hereby appropriate today’s non-existent butt cushion.

    2. Ewwww.

      I hadn’t heard about this story, so of course I had to look it up because it sounded funny and also strangely familiar.

      I’ve been the recipient of this sort of thing. It’s always weird; it always makes me laugh after the initial shock wears off, and then I always feel slightly embarrassed for the sender because I’m pretty sure “omg that’s hilarious” was not the reaction the sender was hoping for.

    3. George borked my reply here…

      This reminds me of something what happened when I was in grad school. Just south of the library on the U Oregon camps, and just east of frat row and west of the fieldhouse, there was a graveyard. It was a pioneer graveyard, heavily wooded, with some really old headstones, and it was really lovely with the sun slanting through the evergreens. A lot of us would cut through it through it on our way from one side of campus to the other, and except on Halloween night, it was pretty safe. I was walking through one afternoon, after a long day of classes with tutoring (I was teaching Freshman Comp) on top of them, and I was really tired. There was a bunch of frat boys hanging out near the caretaker’s building, lounging on gravestones and drinking beer, and as I passed, one of them stood up and yelled “Hey Lady!” I looked over just in time to see him undo his jeans and pull out his (flaccid) p3nis. Well, I’d had it with louts like him, and I stopped, put my hands on my hips, and said “Why, that looks just like a p3nis, only smaller!”

      His friends howled with laughter, and I made my way home, feeling peculiarly smug. 🙂

      3. Since you included the descriptive (flaccid) when speaking of the frat boy’s p3nis, I just have to ask, would it have made any difference (in the story, your reaction, etc.) if it had been erect?

        Just curious.

        1. Trollin’, trollin’, trollin’,
          Keep those dogies trollin’ …
          Move ’em on, head ’em up.
          Head ’em up, move ’em on.
          Move ’em on, head ’em up,
          Rawhide.

  3. Having become aware of the fall from grace of another influential church leader (not in the Fundy camp, and this situation has been handled quickly and decisively by denominational leadership), I continue to wonder what dynamics in churches/ministry cause this stuff to happen. My guesses are too much power, influence, ways to hide, and the delusion that no one will ever find out.

    1. Only two or three degrees between the Heir to House Duggar and Polishing-the-Shaft Schaapf.

      And Schaapf himself is only one degree (inheriting the Throne of House Hyles through political marriage) from Hyles (who was pretty blatant about his keeping at least one mistress).

      Trace the connections and marriages, and it starts looking like a genealogy from Game of Thrones, shag scenes and all.

      1. Everything happens twice– the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce.

        I forgot who said or wrote that, but it’s true– except that some things happen more than twice.

  7. RU the cure-all.

    My former boss was seriously mentally ill – I would guess bi-polar – and IMO needed medication, but he never had a full psych eval. Instead our pastor sent him to RU.

    He ended up leaving the facility (without permission), walking to a highway, and throwing himself in front of a truck.

    I’m not saying RU is to blame for his death, but fundamentalist mindset is probably responsible for it, in that he didn’t get the real help he needed.

    I hope Josh Duggar will in full irony bring a close scrutiny to RU.

    The truth will out!

    1. That really sucks. Sorry.
      RU has no business offering treatment to people with mental illness. They do not even have the medical training to identify them. They are unable to offer any medical treatment whatsoever.

  9. From the homepage (among frequent grammar errors):

    “The Reformers Unanimous Residential Schools of Discipleship are an six-month intensive discipleship program for men and women with troubled lives. We provide a reconstructive learning atmosphere where the non-functioning person can be trained in a supportive environment of discipleship consisting of: study, mentoring, Bible education, and work place training. This atmosphere can be referred to as a “greenhouse” effect. We help get the student rooted firmly, so they are able to withstand all that life brings to them.”

    No counseling? No therapy? No treatment? Just Bible study and work?

    Yeah, that ought to be helpful. I wonder what their success rate is? Do they treat drug addiction? Alcoholism? Do they have a medical doctor on staff?

    I’d say Josh Duggar is a relapse waiting to happen.

    1. So, sounds like just go to church x100.
      Unfortunately problems are complex and solutions should be tailored to the individual, not boxed

    2. Yes, that is all there is to RU. It is Awana for addicts. They earn pins and doodads for memorizing bible verses and going to church. And that is all.

    3. I feel the creep wave just reading their “about us” paragraph. Let me guess, their “therapy” consists of telling the ladies to dress more modestly and be more submissive and telling the men to take their gawdgiven role as leader.

    5. White knuckle “training”. IMO those 4 kids are in danger and should be taken away from them.

    6. Dear CaffeinatedSquirrel:

      I wondered what ‘RU’ referenced in the previous post. Now that Darrell made this post, I’m still wondering. Are fundamentalists not experimenting with monasticism but without competence or meaningful curriculum?

      Christian Socialist

  10. Birds of a feather flock together, eh? This story just keeps getting worse and worse. RU really needs to end. It helps no one but the pastors running it as a “ministry”.

    1. “Biblical/Nouthetic Counseling — Just like Dianetic Auditing, Except CHRISTIAN(TM)!”

        1. “with odd old ends stol’n out of holy writ.”

          I saw what you did there…
          (a V for Vendetta reference)

        4. I, for one, am glad that ol’ Hank is taken. Maybe I’ll get to keep my head now.

      2. Dear Headless Unicorn Guy:

        Wasn’t this Jay Adams’ thing? He was a padeobaptist and prof. at Westminster Seminary. To what is fundamentalism coming?

        Christian Socialist

  11. What gets me are all the people who are saying “we are all Josh Duggars.” Yes, “there but for the grace of God go I,” but there is a huge difference between that and identifying with him. RU is a good program, but I am suspicious of Josh in it at this time. He had a chance when first exposed, to admit the Ashley Madison thing and he didn’t. So besides all the other stuff he is dishonest. I am sorry that RU accepted him, but not surprised. Why are fundies enabling him (and others) this way? Josh has problems that are beyond the ability of RU to help. I heard that Mrs. Josh’s siblings are encouraging her to divorce him, hopefully she will listen to their wise advice.

    1. RU probably accepted him because when he is “cured” in their program (and, does anybody doubt that thi$$$ will happen in fundyland where cash is king?) , they will get a boatload of publicity and new clients and money from the new RU poster child.

    2. We are not all “Josh Duggars.” And the grace of God as approved by Fundamentalism Inc.™ does not extend to to Democrats in general, and in particular people who support the rights of others to make their own moral decisions that, despite not hurting other people, do not fall into line with the Wannabe Fundamentalist Religious State’s clerical mandates.

      No, no. In order to have the grace given to Josh Duggar, you must be a fundy hypocrite who professes to believe but does not practice moral behavior. You must be in a position of some influence. You must have money — lots of it. And you must not, in any way, shape, form, or fashion be genuinely repentant of your sin. It must all be fake, partisan and posturing.

      After all, that is what fundamentalist Christianity has devolved to in the US. Why even Bob Jones University has welcomed Ted Cruz into its midst with wild enthusiasm.

      1. Sadly there is a lot of truth in this. Plenty of fundie pastors have kicked people out of church and told them never to come back over some relatively minor disagreement, yet when it comes to a major moral indiscretion of one of their buddies, it’s like “we’re all Josh Duggars.” Does anyone besides me see a problem here??

        1. A crazy double standard for sure.

          And now I am starting to question what my former Fundy pastor’s “medical sabbatical” really was about.

    3. I am sorry that RU accepted him, but not surprised. Why are fundies enabling him (and others) this way?

      “One Hand Washes The Other…”

    4. “There but for the grace of God, go I” is an important and entirely right perspective to have. It helps us approach people with compassion and humility. But it does NOT mean we absolve them of responsibility for their actions. Nor does it mean we cannot speak truth about their sin and call it sin. Nor does it mean we let people off the hook with a simple apology. “But he said he was sorry! It’s all in the past.” was what I heard a lot of Christians (and not just Fundamentalists) say when the first scandal about molesting his sisters came out. It annoyed me to no end. Some problems are more serious than can be solved by a simple apology.

    5. RU is NOT a good program. It is run by fundmentalists who have no qualification, education or certification to run such a program. In addition as evidenced by their history of actions, association and speech the leaders of this program are highly controlling abusive and corrupt.

      Just thought that needed to be clarified.

  12. Just as a side note, I bet there are a whole lotta famous people who are glad that Josh Duggar was the one to get the Ashley Madison spotlight 🙂

    1. Wow I would be sleeping through all the devotional and “personal” time. What work do they do I wonder? They should have built a Parthenon by now

        1. And I’m thinkin’ the lady inmates will be scrubbing the floors of the church and the parsonage.

      2. I’m guessing that they do a lot of labor for local churches, their schools, and pastors.

    2. This RU program doesn’t sound any different from the Gothard program Josh’s parents sent him to when he would not stop molesting little girls. He was helping to remodel a building with some noncredentialed Bible counseling, and prayer.

      Some good all that did.

  14. I haven’t made an in-depth study of Josh Duggar, and don’t plan too, but he strikes me as a typical sociopath.
    That’s a condition that doesn’t seem to be curable. At best, it can be controlled.

    1. Maybe. But there are sociopaths by virtue of brain chemistry, and there are raging assholes who act like sociopaths because they can. Many folks who come into wealth/power without sowing heavily into the outcome fall into this trap – most lotto winners, for example, and it is statistically unlikely that the majority of lotto winners happen to be chemical sociopaths. In Josh’s case, I think an absurd, unnatural, and unhealthy upbringing combined with too much unearned money has contributed to a sense of entitlement which results in sociopathic behavior.

      1. Another contributing factor to this mind set is the patriarchal shit they shovel. My five year old nephew, raised almost exactly like Josh Duggar was, when I told him to clean up a mess he had made. “You can’t tell me what to do. You are a girl. You are supposed to clean it up.” I marvel that I am not in jail.

        1. My late mothering is marveling that this child can still sit down …sheesh!

          As she got older, and times changed regarding the discipline of children, my mom would keep her hands in her pockets around unruly grandchildren so she wouldn’t give them a swat when they were naughty.

          She was never abusive, just old school!

        2. At five these boys are obnoxious, at ten they are condescending and by fifteen, I believe they are dangerous. The one thing I miss least about the cult is the male attitude, and there are plenty of things I do not miss.

        3. I’m not in favor of corporal punishment, but I can’t help thinking that nephew needs a sound spanking.

          If you don’t learn as a boy to (a) respect your elders, (b) clean up your own messes, and (c) treat girls and women as equals; it’s hard to learn those things later. I know.

        4. There is a time and a place for corporal punishment The problem is knowing what the time and place is.

          I freely admit I used corporal punishment much too often in the raising of my children. Fortunately I discovered that in time to correct some of the damage, but not nearly all of it.

          And part of the damage is that children used to corporal punishment often have difficulty restraining themselves without the fear of it. Hence Josh Duggar. Hence the idea that those who don’t believe cannot be moral. If morality is only externally imposed, you have problems.

  15. We all knew he was not going to get help from outside fundy-land. We hoped he would, but all things must be kept in-house or there will be a chance we might lose some to those wolves in doctor’s and psychiatrists and counselors’ clothing. This is sad for him and his family. He will simply learn how to shame and hate himself and cover up his sickness.

    1. “We all knew he was not going to get help from outside fundy-land”
      Neither will Anna 🙁

      1. From what I’ve read on other sites, their pastor preached about how husbands will cheat on wives if they don’t put out. So we know the kind of help she’ll get .

        http://www.inquisitr.com/2364566/anna-duggar-blamed-for-joshs-infidelity-duggar-family-preacher-warns-against-refusing-sex/

        Mind you, his first account was established halfway through a pregnancy. If you have been pregnant before, you know that if there’s any complications, doctors are quick to put restrictions on wifely duties.

        But hey, it’s her fault.

        Sweep the sin. Shame the victim. The fundy scandal mantra.

        1. So sad. And Anna’s father reportedly said “Well, King David had an affair..” Maybe she’ll get out when her kids are older – she’s really stuck right now

        2. From what I’ve read on other sites, their pastor preached about how husbands will cheat on wives if they don’t put out. So we know the kind of help she’ll get .

          I don’t know which blog coined the term “Spread-Your-Legs Theology”…

        3. I hate how people like this save all their moral outrage for people who go to movies or listen to rock music or drink alcohol, etc., but lose nothing but grace and forgiveness toward the wolves in sheep’s clothing who commit adultery or other sexual sin. They always excuse the popular and the powerful, and to me, that sort of behavior is the a pitta me of worldliness. Worldliness isn’t me in a pair of jeans listening to Three Days Grace; it’s demanding the poor and marginalized to be punished and disgraced for failure while pardoning and accepting the powerful people when they sin.

        4. Pastor’s wife: try that again on a PC? The first half came through clearly, and is spot on.

        5. Sorry, but the root cause of this nonsense is not only myopic selfishness, but an incorrect view of sex. But I guess when sex is deconstructed to “colonize, conquer, plant” this kind of attitude is to be expected. Talk about unloving.

        6. Good grief. George got me but GOOD this time. I might need Darrell to come to my rescue.

      2. You are very correct. Anna is trapped in this, will be blamed for this, and live out her own self loathing because of this–without help from people outside of fundy land

      3. Anna’s siblings are trying to get Anna to divorce Josh. Hope she listens to them. By any fundy standard she is within Scriptural guidelines to do so.

    3. When a sociopath gets “therapy,” especially bogus therapy like this, the result is that the sociopath learns more clever and nuanced ways to conceal transgressions and to explain them away.
      Enabling is a good term for it.
      That’s what I expect to see of Josh Duggar in the future.
      Although the Duggars are likely destined for relative obscurity compared to their celebrity status now. Anybody remember “Jon and Kate Plus 8”?

      1. I remember them. Kate had written a book extolling the wonders of their freaky “Christian” family. I saw a copy of it on the dollar store shelf a couple of years after their demise. No, I didn’t buy it although for some it would be a weird souvenir.

        1. I’ve seen a ton of Bill Cosby’s books at bargain book sales lately, including one he co-wrote about how to reform our characters and save society.

  16. In reference to the inviso-text, I actually didn’t know who this was, despite having read about JD in the news.

    Can we address the elephant in the room–namely, his scruffy-looking goatee? What kind of message is that supposed to send? “Hail Satan” or “Yes, I am a redneck”?

    3. It just means Josh is rebelling. But, you know it’s all the little woman’s fault.

      1. She didn’t buy him enough razor cartridges or shaving cream, so he just had do to what came naturally, of course.

    4. Um, I have known 2 different fundy leaders who got themselves in hot water sexually (one was even involved with kids) and both of them grew beards almost immediately after the sordid affairs came to light.

      I am not sure if you are kidding, but there could be some deep psychological significance to this…

      1. Hmmm. My IFB pastor sports a beard. Then, too, so does my Episcopal priest. I have no reason to suspect inappropriate play where either of them are concerned.

        I think beards are a kind of acceptable rebellion against the clean-shaven past. Not much more than that, unless we want to subscribe to the gothardism that any expression of rebellion leads to total rebellion.

        2. Beards have been “in” for almost 10 years now, if GQ is to be believed. In fact, the more avant garde publications are now suggesting to sport a “rebellious” clean shave. The real reason beards and scruff are in? It is a hell of a lot easier on the face, and cheaper to boot. I typically use a pair of clippers to trim my face quite close, only shaving my upper lip (which tends to get a 10am shadow) and neck (which looks like sasquatch’s lair).

      2. Are they trying to disguise their expressions? There’s a lot revealed about your veracity, via your face. It may be conscious or unconscious on their part, growing a beard, but I have to wonder…

  17. I predict in the future we will see JD on a commercial saying, “I’m not a real Christian, but I played one on TV….”

    1. I am thinking more along the lines of……

      No, I’m not a Chrisitan.
      But I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.
      With your wife.

  18. RU means well, but there is no specific counseling or therapy to any particular issues. It’s all just about not “feeding” sin and drawing closer to God. Improving your relationship with God is great but most need more personal help to get them through their addiction.

    A church I knew as a teen ran the program and were sent the poster children from the live-in facility, there were encouragement/victory tracts written about one of them and everything. I suppose the new church was like a halfway house. As soon as they got a sliver of freedom they were right back to using. No one in the church was remotely trained with how to help addicts and they worked the system big time before finally moving on.

    I’m not sure an extended stay is going to help Josh Duggar any more than it helped those people.

    1. RU takes people with serious – including medical and criminal – addictions, and refuses to use any real medical treatment for them. I don’t give a rat’s ass how much they mean well, they are harming real people and putting them in danger.

  19. Can someone explain what the heck that Jack Schapp sermon was even *trying* to say? ?? I couldn’t make heads or tails of it. Even the English words are sometimes hard to make out since he’s freaking out so much.

    1. If I’m too embarrassed to watch this gastly “sermon” I wonder what those deacons are thinking – ROFL! And they didn’t even fire him after it – that church brought everything on itself.

    2. I’m not sure he had any coherent message in that bit– it was just an excuse to show off his “polishing a shaft” trick in front of a captive (youth!) audience.

    3. One would polish the shaft of an arrow to remove any imperfections so that it fly perfectly straight if it was fired correctly. I think the lesson was supposed to be that Christians should be polished shafts and penetrate the hearts of our enemies with the arrow of truth. Unfortunately, all I got out of that sermon was that Jack Schapp does a great deal of polishing and probably fantasizes about having a much bigger arrow.

    4. One day when I was sick at home I listened to the whole shaft speech. Schaap divulged the details of his childhood, quite bizarre. His dad worked him like a man when he was not yet even a teenager, running heavy equipment, etc. , building dad’s contracting empire. Apparently the boy was quite talented with machinery, very smart and, of course, disciplined. Seems one of his dad’s influential friends offered to recommend him to the Air Force Academy to become a pilot. Instead, the kid decided to become a preacher to please his parents. What I see in the now adult crazy wasted life is a man who could have accomplished much but due to the Hyles brainwashing threw it all away to become unfulfilled and inevitably frustrated. Not justifying his actions, just pointing out that the victimizer is often a victim, which he clearly is. I’ve seen this phenomenon over and over among fundy kids, tragically throwing away God-given talent to avoid being “worldly”.

        1. I’m not inclined to believe Schaap’s autobiography without a whole lot of fact-checking. His veracity is not high in those areas where it has been possible to check the truth or falsehood of statements he’s made.

          For example, I have no idea whether or no he was really nominated to the Air Force Academy, but I’d want other evidence besides his say-so before I buy that story.

        2. Many people haven’t had the opportunity to do what they wanted in life, but that doesn’t mean they have to become criminals. Both of my parents, children of the Depression, were successful in their professions, although they were not their first choices. They were also wonderful parents and neighbors.

      2. Well, I wanted to go to music school at Cornish, but my dad said I wasn’t going to college, because I was going to get married and have a family. (Yes, he and mom has already picked out my husband.) Which I did. And I love my kids so much, but I often wonder what my life would have been if I’d found the resources to go to music school…

    2. And because they are not an actual rehab (they admit this on their fb page) or a medical facility, they do not fall under privacy laws apparently.

      “Oh, and our success rate? 80% of our graduates REMAIN successful in their lives to this date”

      Ambiguous, no?

        1. A claimed success rate doesn’t mean anything unless it’s backed up by independent evidence and unless you stipulate how you define “success.”
          A successful treatment for cancer is often defined as one where the patient is still alive five years later. Of course, I’d prefer that it mean I don’t have cancer anymore and it won’t come back.
          By “80% success,” RU may just mean that no more than 20% drop out before the end of the residential program. Or they may not count anyone who drops out in their totals. Again, it means nothing unless we know how they define “success” and upon what information they base their estimate.

      2. “Richardson says the center has an “over 80 percent success rate,” adding, “success defined by being free from destructive habit. Richardson elaborated, “They no longer fall prey to that. Second definition is that they are employed. Third is getting involved, and attending a local church. Local church is God’s support group and that is important to recovery.”‘

        http://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/celebrity/josh-duggars-life-at-christian-rehab-facility-includes-bible-study-community-work-service-and-military-style-barracks/ar-AAdNLm3

    3. When I attended RU at my church I did not do so as an addict, never been an addict. I just went for spiritual growth. I held a professional position with a well-known secular company at the time, and it always made me nervous when they’d go around with cameras snapping photos, unannounced. I did say something about it to leadership, but it didn’t seem to make any difference.

  22. Dar El. You have outdone yourself with this post. Seriously. Well done. Instead of the expected you have focused on something people who do not understand the Fundy system might overlook because they don’t understand how it works. Privilege and connections make the Fundy world go round.

  23. Seriously, this “work program” won’t do a thing for him…trust me, as a young buck, I worked super hard on the farm (like 10-14 hours some days of hard labor. ….throwing hay, working livestock, fixing equipment and fence. ..just to name a few, and all it did was keep me tuned up and keep the testosterone flowing freely. Always hornier than all get out. Got me in some trouble too (unfortunately ). If JD doesn’t get some serious counseling from a genuine counselor, poor Anna is headed for more heartache. … (and of course it will be her fault)

    1. Fundy rule —- it’s safer to blame the ladies for a man’s slipups than to trust an educated trained counselor from the “world” to help a guy get his head on straight. Sadly, they won’t even consult openly Christian trained counselors, writing them off as “apostate”. It’s lose-lose.

  24. So looking at the churches website, the pastor and his wife (who has no name, just Mrs.) have their picture on the homepage. Thought the background looked familiar – it’s the grand staircase from the Titanic – maybe it’s foreshadowing?

    1. Just Mrs. – this reminds me of a scene from Dexter’s Laboratory – “My name’s Jebediah. This here’s my very plain wife. I just call her wife. Down there is little Ezra and his sister. They’re the children. And over here is our senior citizen, good old Grandma. She don’t move much, but she makes one heck of a scarecrow.”

      1. It reminds me of the characters in “The Cradle Will Rock”: Mister Mister, Mrs. Mister, Junior Mister, and Sister Mister.

  25. Just when you think this thing can’t get any stranger; we find out about this rehab place’s ties to the Hyles-Schaap cult in this post.

    In the immortal words of Johnny Bravo: “This won’t end well”.

  26. The IFB has a long and successful history of covering and/or marginalizing the sexual “sins” of it’s members and especially it’s leadership. The response to these situations is, at this point, practically scripted and is primarily intended to ensure that the IFB cult continues to get support from those affected by what happened.

    While this is making national headlines because of their TV show it is much less significant to people within the IFB circles than other recent scandals. Instead of helping people that are indoctrinated into these cultish churches see what is going on, this will just serve to strengthen the hold these churches have on them.

    1. “Instead of helping people that are indoctrinated into these cultish churches see what is going on, this will just serve to strengthen the hold these churches have on them.”

      Maybe. It could also make the mannogawd’s respond with “Look at the world going after this Christian family!”
      More martyr complex.

      What I hope will happen is that people will end up more informed about this crazy sect of Christianity, and be less open to accepting invitations to crazy Fundy churches. This might force some churches to either modernize a bit or die off. It won’t be cool to look and act like the Duggars.

  28. This is what happens when you sell your children’s innocence for filthy lucre. Jim Bob and Michelle created an unhealthy and dangerous environment where everything was about sex, and as soon as they could have it, they paraded that all over tv too.

    Josh is a horrifying and disturbed man who needs immediate psychological evaluation and help. He is a danger to women, and it’s disgusting to me how this has been handled.

    Did y’all read his parents statement? They referred to Josh in terms that seemed to indicate they still see him as a child living under their roof…it was creepy.

    I wrote about Anna on my own blog: I think she’s the modern day Leah: as Rich Mullins so eloquently said, “just there for dramatic effect.” It’s heartbreaking to see how trapped she is, and how she doesn’t realize the trap she’s in. She has no intention of getting out: God would not be pleased.

    How I wish she knew she could see it’s okay to be mad, and it’s okay to get out, but the practical difficulties she faces are mammoth. Her youngest child is just a month old. Let that sink in.

    1. Well said and your blog article is very well done.
      “Anna has two options: either she is to blame, or everything she has been taught, and everything she believes to be true about God and eternity is complete b.s. ”
      How true

    3. Re: Duggars referring to Josh as still at home — Gothard’s theory on resolving “Basic Youth Conflicts” is heavily based on not stepping outside the “umbrella of protection” afforded by one’s biblical authority (i.e. parents or pastor).

      Since the commandment “honor thy parents” does not have a statute of limitations and is interpreted as “thou shalt always obey thy parents even as a legally emancipated and responsible adult especially if thou art a single girl”, the Gothard-logic follows that if one such as Josh Duggar did something bad, a likely cause is that he placed himself outside the umbrella or the parents have been insufficiently authoritarian.

      Solution, ergo, is to bring said perp back under the umbrella, thus the referring to him as if he’s at home. I’m 95% certain this is how Jim Bob & Michelle are answering the “Why did big brother go bad?” question to the rest of the yunksters.

      I’m wigged out that I actually understand this reasoning.

      I’m also only 2 degrees separated from Josh Duggar and only 1 degree from Rich DeVall mentioned in the Patheos article, both through my time at BJU. I’ve already demonstrated I’ve had more exposure to Gothard than can be considered healthy, and I grew up not far from FBC Hammond and Fairhaven (though as fundy-lite we thought they were wacko-birds). With all these connections am I doomed to someday be a resident at RU myself?

      3. Velho,

        I think you’ve pegged the situation correctly.

        Freaks me out that I can figure out some of the rationale behind these people’s actions too. At least now we can see it for what it is.

        1. Remembering who we were, what we thought, and why is not always easy and is always stressful. But it is necessary if we are to properly expose the evil we have been delivered from.

    4. It’s shocking that people are shocked when the stars of a freak show behave in a freakish manner.

    1. “Although DeVall reportedly wrote a letter of apology to the victim asking for forgiveness, he has refused to return to the U.S. to face charges, saying that the matter should be handled by the church “in the Biblical way.”

      What? MY BIBLE says Christians are supposed to follow the law (Romans 13:7). Sexual abuse is not something the church should handle outside the law. Mandatory reporting laws should be more broad in scope, and have more severe consequences if ignored.

    2. “First Baptist Church also operates a chapter of Reformers Unanimous, introduced by Schaap.

      According to the Chicago Magazine,Schaap was “part of what some call a deeply embedded culture of misogyny and sexual and physical abuse.”

      “Kingsbury’s relationship with Schaap—and Schaap’s relationship with Reformer’s Unanimous—raises concerning questions about the culture of Reformers Unanimous,” Patheos adds.”

  30. As someone who was sexually assaulted by someone in authority in an IFB church, this whole situation is disgusting in the extreme. Josh Duggar is no different than many others that live in that cult atmosphere. No accountability, no shame, no apology, no legal action, just ship them off to some other IFB group so he can be counseled by the “man of God”. Then he will go home and do it again. I grew up IFB in Colorado, went to Hyles, am familiar with this whole group.

    Darrell, I love your comments that you post with your pictures. They make me laugh! Keep up the good work. 🙂

  31. Hold on here guys! We’ve been jumping to conclusion. Before starting a new chapter, RU staff is TRAINED !

    For 2 WHOLE DAYS! Well, the first day is only a half day, but you wouldn’t want them to strain themselves.

    http://registration.wpengine.com/basic-training/

    Rest assured, these RU folks know what they’re doing.

  32. So, RU is supposed to cure post-rape depression.

    . . .

    Somebody ought to get sued.

  33. I worked with a different church addictions residential program years ago. But I only recall mainly alcoholics being there, and a few drug addicts. They would not admit those with mental problems, and they stated they were not qualified to address mental illness. Apparently RU is takng anybody, and the acceptance policy sounds more like coddling and enabling to me. And I will add that even the best programs only have a small success rate with addictions. The most successful in RU are in it for life. No one truly “graduates” out of it. If I could think of a way to do it, I’d like to find a way to have them legally prohibited from accepting sexually deviant persons, both in the residential program and local church chapters. It gives me the creeps to think of such persons “graduated” and “released” into the church.

    1. Seems odd that they’d encourage both rapists/molesters or “sex addicts” if that’s what they want to call them and rape victims going to the same meeting.

  35. This article says that Duggar isn’t at RU because he’s not shown at the Friday meeting or the church services at North Love.

    Could it be that they’re making exceptions to the rule for their poster child?

    Could it be that he’s watching a remote feed somewhere ? If so please tell me on a TV and not online.

    Or is he really AWOL?

    But who knows. This could just be a fake rumor story.

    http://www.ibtimes.com/where-josh-duggar-19-kids-counting-star-missing-christian-rehab-source-says-2078094

Comments are closed.