Anyone can believe whomwever they want, but there are two very important things a lot of folks are missing:
- Josh has seemed to have repented. That may not count for much among Christians (in which case, the shame is yours and such arrogance and pride could cost you–-not Josh— greatly on Judgement Day) regardless of whether or not one has been abused. We all have our crosses to bear, and it’s sickening to see people using their own personal situation or political cause to try and take away the freedom of others.
There is nothing new or special about their situation, either. I’ve seen the exact same psychology with 9-11 victims and victims of police shootings.
And doubting someone acting in good faith is a cheap shot to say the least. :slapfight: Between this thread, the Family Life Forum and the complaints I’ve received from other users, I know I won’t be referring anyone to this site for help anytime soon for spiritual or emotional needs.
- Jail time, punishment ect. are determined by the courts. I realize a lot of Americans these days are shunning “innocent until proven guilty” for their own selfish desires, but there’s a reason why mob justice doesn’t work.
There are some people replying to this thread who don’t seem to realize that sexual crimes, particularly ones of a prolonged, serial nature, are a lot different than other offenses. Despite a claim to the contrary earlier in the thread, sexual abusers have a high recidivism rate, particularly if they were also the victims of abuse and if they do not receive qualified, professional therapy. The fact that Josh repeatedly abused so many of his very young sisters over a long period of time would certainly lead one to believe that he may well have been the victim of abuse himself. The fact that he and his sisters didn’t receive any (or any qualified) counseling means this is a case of generational abuse just waiting to happen.
As far as receiving treatment, Jim Bob claimed he received counseling; Michelle claimed he didn’t. Based on their statements, I’m more inclined to believe Michelle. Josh can repent all he wants but that doesn’t address the underlying issues that led to him abusing his sisters. (And please try to keep in mind that four of his five victims were his much younger, flesh and blood sisters.) No amount of repenting can replace him receiving counseling from a legitimate, licenses therapist.
To put it in a different light, I used to work for a guy who was a certified Evangelical born again Christian minister. He was going to save the world single-handedly. His mission in life was to hire as many down on their luck ex-cons and degenerates as he could and shepherd them back to a life of productivity and prosperity. Every night at the end of their shifts he’d pull them into the back room where he’d pray with them and tell them to sin no more. The only problem with that is that it wasn’t therapy. He wasn’t addressing any of their problems and he was putting the rest of at risk. Garrick ended up back on heroin and back in jail. Ronnie started drinking again and died in the alley out back from alcohol poisoning. Carl, who quit seeing his actual therapist since was getting his Christian counseling, followed a customer home where he raped her and slit her throat. The three of them got all the mercy in the world. What they didn’t get was the professional help they actually needed. Sound a bit like Josh?
It’s true that jail time and punishment are decided by the courts, but you know what? That’s done to protect their victims and the rest of society who, frankly, need at least as much mercy and compassion as the offenders. And questioning whether Josh is acting in good faith isn’t uncharitable; it’s common sense. He may be acting in good faith or may not be. Honestly, it’s irrelevant because he never received any sort of genuine, professional counseling for his problem. Like I stated earlier in this thread, I’m not condoning crucifying the guy. He’s a fellow Christian and he deserves compassion. But at the same time, he has never received treatment for what he did. Nobody ever addressed his underlying problems. Therefore, it’s naive and irresponsible to assume that he’s never going to do it again (just as bad as assuming there weren’t other instances/victims). And it’s unfair, unkind and abusive to his sisters to force them to stay in close contact with him and not get them the counseling they need. Not only have they been victimized over and over, but without ensuring that they are mentally and emotionally sound, they’ve been left at risk of becoming abusers themselves. And, no, that’s not crazy talk or jumping to conclusions. Victims of child sexual abuse *are *more likely to become abusers themselves.
Bottom line is that it’s not uncharitable or un-Christian to turn someone in for child sexual abuse or to insist they need counseling. In fact, getting them and their victims the help they need is the most Christian thing you can do. Ignoring it and allowing it to continue and/or go unpunished and untreated is unconscionable.
