^Ben Seewald (Jessa’s husband) with his father, Michael
The Duggar family is not the only crazy hyper-Christian family in America. In fact, the Duggars are often marrying into families that are equally crazy, if not more so. Jessa Duggar married Ben Seewald last year and all we really knew about the Seewalds was that they were pretty close in ideology to the Duggars. The above photo in Ben with his father Michael Seewald. Michael has a blog where he expounds on all things faith-based, interpreting the Bible to make sense of the modern world, if you will. Well, Michael Seewald – Jessa Duggar’s father-in-law, remember – took to his blog to chat about what went down with Josh Duggar and the Ashley Madison hack.
It’s worth noting that this is not the first time Michael Seewald has used his blog to discuss the family his son married into. I think Michael likes his daughter-in-law and he likes Jim-Bob and Michelle, but it’s clear that he’s not above throwing Josh under the bus. He previously wrote about Josh’s molestation of five young girls, where he half-defended Josh and half-slammed the “leaking” of a police record which was public record. Anyway, you can read Michael’s newest blog post here. The gist? Real Christians do more than talk the talk, they need to walk the walk. Meaning Josh Duggar is not a “real Christian.”
It distresses me to say that Josh Duggar’s greatest sin is a byproduct of the sum total of his secretly sinful lifestyle. That is, that by his hypocrisy, he blasphemed the name of God. He claimed to be a Christian, but by his deeds he has suggested otherwise. With the name of God on his lips he lived a covert and extensive lifestyle of evil. While proudly saying things like, “Our family is like the epitome of conservative values”, he was looking at porn and soliciting affairs. He took a job at the Family Research Council that exists to promote the traditional family, all the while undermining his own family by violating his marriage covenant.
He flourished in the fame of his family and the success of their television show, all the while betraying their trust and Christian values. The thing that is so hurtful is that he was a loud voice endorsing Christian ethics and he has been shown to be a fraud. I am profoundly grieved that he attained such a platform only to bring shame on God’s holy name and the Christian faith. After hearing of Josh’s scandal when he was a teenager, I publicly stated that Josh appeared to be a changed man, was walking above reproach, and living out the faith that he professed. I stood in solidarity, encouraging him to use the scandal to build humility and grace. Sadly, he had deceived us all. The name of God has been blasphemed and God is jealous for his name.
To the person reading this, I want to caution you. Josh was a pretender. True Christians fail often, but their lives are truly being conformed to the image of Christ. Do not look at Josh and justify your own sins by dismissing the reality of genuine faith and a holy God. When you stand before God, you will not be compared to hypocritical Christians. You will be judged by God’s holy law. When you are found guilty, you will not get to say, “But what about Josh? I’m better than he is”. God’s wrath will burn against you because of your own sins.
I’m a big believer (I almost wrote “belieber,” hand to God) in judging people by their own standards, which is what I think Michael Seewald is doing here. Josh and his family claimed that they were everything a good, conservative Christian family should be. And now we know that Jim-Bob and Michelle covered up Josh’s criminal acts and likely further victimized Josh’s victims. We know that Josh was carrying on affairs all while working at the Family Research Council and claiming that gay marriage would destroy the country. It’s no secret that Josh is a hypocrite, child molester, adulterer, liar, and pervert. But should he also be shunned by his own wingnut community? Hm… it honestly feels like they’re shunning him as a way of not examining their own sheltered lives. Basically, is Josh an outlier or is he the natural product of this kind of wingnuttery?
Photos courtesy of the Duggars’ and Seewalds’ social media.
I just can’t with these people.
Molesting is ok, but cheating is not😱😱😱😱
I want all of these creepy American Taliban sharia law muhfuhs to disappear. Who is watching them? What’s the interest? To see hypocrite criminal skeevy behavior go unpunished and excused? Watch creepy man make clown car of wife’s womb, watch them raise more clown car incubators.
Agree with both of your comments. And I agree that he seems more worried about the sham these things have brought to his people than he is about analyzing whether or not there’s a culture of victim-blaming, unhealthy and unreasonable attitudes about sexuality, and misogyny within their little cult that can facilitate things like this (the rest of us have already figured out that the answer to that is yes). He also seems unable to reconcile the fact that being a Christian does not mean someone that they’ll be morally superior.
So this guy wasn’t all that fussed about the molestation and the coverup, but NOW Josh is a bad Christian? Whatever.
Right? Gosh, I wonder why a boy grows up twisted when these are the values espoused.
I
I think they entered a state of denial and thought his age was a factor in the molestations. “Dumb kid being curious. Young boy being stupid. He grew out of it.” If he had been older I guess the reaction would’ve been worse. They trusted him because he was young when everything took place, not because molestation is not a big deal. They didn’t want to believe he was truly a pervert. But now that all of this is coming out, of course they are angry and feel betrayed.
I honestly think Jim and Michelle are livid. I don’t think that behind closed doors they’re patient at all anymore. He killed their livelihood! And their public image.
It’s really simple – distant acts can be covered and even used in these groups as ‘proof’ of how amazing a repentant soul can be shown off to be. “Look, we took this young broken thing and made it into a perfect shining light, look how amazing our ability to transform your life through our rules can be”. But Joshy-boy went and made more ~PUBLIC~ and embarrassing acts after the machine left the building cleaning up his first caught out past sins. Leaving everyone who thought they had the spin managed hanging around with their pants around their ankles looking foolish. They didn’t know about the porn, they didn’t know about the affairs. They can clean up one mess and shine it like a star, but he had to throw a monkeywrench into the works and didn’t let them know in time to bundle it all up making their efforts pointless and worse – publicly even more humiliating for THEM.
And for THAT (and not the sexual predatory horrors, not the crap he dumped on his marriage and wife, not the lies, not the abuse, not the real evil in the dark) he will be not just tossed under the bus – they will make sure to back up over him, forward, back, and then dump a load of fertilizer over him in efforts to shine themselves back up.
I need a shower just thinking about this mess. Gah.
And for THAT (and not the sexual predatory horrors, not the crap he dumped on his marriage and wife, not the lies, not the abuse, not the real evil in the dark) he will be not just tossed under the bus – they will make sure to back up over him, forward, back, and then dump a load of fertilizer over him in efforts to shine themselves back up.
This made me laugh and then a wave of despondency hit me when I stopped to analyze how depressingly right you are.
Bingo. This EXACTLY.
Insomniac: you have to take the positives. Yes, clearly this cult views adultery as worse than child molestation. It’s beyond belief to you but it’s SO not beyond belief to them that they’re quite happy to out the priorities they hold to. Shout them to the rooftops in fact. And they forget, as they expose themselves, that WE ARE WATCHING. And we won’t forget what we have seen. Sunlight is the best disinfectant and these people, idiotic as they are, aren’t worried about giving us sunlight. Let them put it out there. Let them be seen.
I love it! Judging people by their own standards. That’s a great way to look at things. Okay, I am not going to comment on any more Duggar posts. (detest them too much)
Maybe it’s self preservation. The fact is the Duggers and their base have called anyone who doesn’t believe in their rhetoric, deviants and worse. So I feel comfortable in calling them out on their BS .
So apparently this guy is following the ‘he who is without sin’ stone-casting edict, eh?
They are all obnoxious. And there is something weird about slavishly adhering to a collection of texts, half of which originated in the Bronze age.
Wherein “holier than thou” takes on a whole new meaning …
The latter, absolutely. Josh is the byproduct of generations of twisted repression and moralization.
Agreed. That certainly doesn’t give him a pass – especially not on the molestation – but he is quickly becoming the poster-boy for all that is wrong with this cult.
Well, I think a lot of the nutters truly live what they preach. Not that it makes them good people exactly, but at least sincere in their douchery.
What I do think they encourage is rampant lying. Much of the religion is extremely self-excusatory. Oh, God told me to do this. God told me he forgives me. God wants us to be like this.
Really?
I bet God is sick of a$$holes using him as an excuse for their bullsh*t.
If you want to be a sexist, homophobic, racist, misogynistic lunatic, at least own it! Don’t blame it on God!
If I remember correctly, he blamed all his failings on Satan. *lol* Then turned around and said “God forgives me”. How convenient to have imaginary friends! One to blame for his own bad behavior, another to pat him on the head and tell him he’s a good boy & all is forgiven.
The whole first paragraph in this post gave me life!
+1000 .
If I was God I will quit so I won’t have to listen to the endless excuses… Wait,wait ..Maybe he/ she did !!
But, you aren’t G-d….
@Judd – Belindaya never said she was God. Did you miss the”if” in her post? If not, what exactly are you trying to say? Or are you just one of those people who like to pick apart a post in hopes of causing conflict? Either way…it was rude.
Word.
I totally agree Lara K. Josh obviously has had uncontrollable urges for a long time, however, he confessed he let Satan build a house, or some other inexcusable hogwash. It would not surprise me, after a few months of s̶u̶p̶r̶e̶s̶s̶i̶o̶n̶ rehab, he’ll come out as cured from his sins with a speaking tour or book deal, with his family singing his praises.
I feel he stops short. WHY is Josh like this? WHY is he doing these things? It is not enough to simply say that he did them and denounce his actions. It’s good that Michael is not apologizing for Josh or blaming the media, but he doesn’t actually go very far down the path. Essentially he’s saying, “This guy sucks, he brings shame to his family, and he’s making us all look bad.” Which is true, but there’s nothing about how the ridged system and oppressive belief structure might have failed Josh. No questioning of the system, no wondering why, no inkling that perhaps Josh and his victims need real help. It doesn’t solve anything to simply kick Josh out of the club and carry on like nothing bad happened. How many other Joshes are there? I mean, they have protocol for molestation in their homeschooling program for pete’s sake!!!!!
More like, WHY are Christians always the last to spot the Christian fraud.
Next time, ask a sinner, reverend!
Those two faces together (the Perv and Cruz) FREAK ME OUT! If there is a Devil, that’s what he looks like.
My eyes! My eyes! Eewwwww!!!
Lol !! We really need a” like” button .
Cults.
As someone who lost her cousin recently because of her choosing to become a member of an ultra-conservative Christian cult I just don’t know how to sympathetically view someone who willingly signs up for this nonsense.
The hypocrisy alone drives me up the wall, then coupled with the tendency to shout down how others are going to hell…ugh. This whole family/religion needs to crash land on the Island from Lost.
Sorry for you and your family’s loss xo
Thank you. I wasn’t close to her but I have seen what her being in that group did to her and her mother’s relationship and health. It frustrates me to think normal healthy people sign up for this willingly and let it control them so completely.
Great point. It seems these crazy wingnut Christians refuse to look at their own lifestyle as a contributing factor in the indiscretions of people like Josh.
Like, no duh.
Jessa’s husband is 20. They are pregnant with their first child. She said they want 20.
How are they going to support them?
with the money from the tv show they will undoubtedly get because Americans like to watch stupid fake reality shows.
Their TV days are over. For all of them. They might actually all have to get jobs now…crazy thought, I know. Well, the men will work while the women stay at home and procreate. We wouldnt want the women forming their own thoughts and opinions now would we?
Of course they want twenty. That’s like the ultimate goal, isn’t it? In the front hug Olympics? And it would mean beating mummy dear.
They will undoubtedly push for their own show, as Meme pointed out. That is why Jessa is still pushing her preggo selfies as a means to garner interest and stay in the spotlight. She likely wants even more media exposure than Jill got with her baby. It amazes me how this chick is hooked to social media … isn’t that a sin?? 😉
Unless they get real paying jobs, they will never be able to support a large brood. I never bought into Jim Bob’s “debt free” lifestyle, even when they were living in their original small house. Something was fishy.
It was easy to remain debt-free when the other people from your church dropped off money, food and clothing donations to your front porch every month, and receiving free health care from serving in the Arkansas State House of Representatives. TLC paid for the big house to be completed in time for the show, and the furniture and appliances were all donated. Except for the 2nd (industrial) kitchen, which they purchased for a song at auction. If they really did continue to live debt-free while banking all the money they made from the tv show, then NONE of the adults in that family should be hurting for money for many, many years to come. Jill and Derick begging for donations from their fans to support them in C.A. is just greed, which is one of the seven deadly sins. As “Christians”, they should know that.
I agree with judging people based on their own standards. I do take offense to the “well what did you expect to happen” string of logic we tend to have as outsiders. There are plenty of people who make f-ed up choices and hurt their families in the same way who aren’t raised in this sheltered environment. Just my two cents.
True, but those “plenty of people” aren’t out making public statements of how much better, holier and “Godly” they and their lifestyle are, and wanting to change laws to make everyone else conform to their views.
These people’s brand of Christianity is synonymous with hypocrisy.
I wouldn’t even call it Christianity, it’s so far removed from what Jesus Christ taught and stood for. They follow the Old Testament more than anything, and little or nothing of Jesus.
Where do people get the idea that Jesus, assuming you believe in him, ever disavowed the OT? He was Jewish, the NT quotes him (though even the first parts of it were written hundreds of years after his death) as saying he came not to change Gods law, not one word of it but to enforce it.
The problem with anyone claiming to actually follow Jesus is that we have no idea what he said or did. His alleged deeds were written by people who never met him, translated and edited numerous times over the centuries and what is left in the old or New Testament has plenty for the peace/love & understanding type Christians and plenty for the fire & brimstone types to cherry pick from. It’s not possible to live according to a book that repeatedly contradicts itself. ALL Christians ignore some parts of it.
It does seem like all this guy and Anna’s family are just distressed because they thought their children were hitting the jackpot by marrying into this clown show, and now it’s all imploded.
You hit the nail right on the head! They thought they hit the jackpot and now they’re trying to distance themselves/sulk.
Funny how the other Duggar boys gf split the second the scandal broke (not that I blame her)
Is it just me or is anyone else noticing the hands on these guys, especially the dad’s. It just stands out to me that their hands do not look like they have seen a lick of hard work EVER. Dad – I dunno his 411 – but Ben is a 19-year old kid supposedly “working/learning a trade” for the Duggars and their family enterprises, such as they are…. Just something I noticed.
A career as charlatan probably doesn’t rough up the hands much.
I didn’t write this but it did make me think.
https://godsgirljulia.wordpress.com/i-am-josh-duggar/
Barf.
“Basically, is Josh an outlier or is he the natural product of this kind of wingnuttery?”
To ask the question is to answer it…
Michael Seewald’s wife has that same trapped, dead-eyed smile of the Duggar women and their ilk. It’s more of a rictus than a smile and always makes me think they’re captive women told to smile or else they’ll get the hose again.
I think it’s time for Jessa Duggar to wipe that prideful, smug grin off her face. I’m glad the spotlight is finally being taken off her and the rest of the clan. They didnt deserve the money or attention they have been getting all these years in the first place!
Michael Seewald looks like he could be Steve Carrell’s twin. OT, but just noticing this.
Kaiser, you rock!! You know why.. 🙂
I think this would fall under the “no true Scotsman” fallacy, wouldn’t it? I also seem to recall that Ben S. (Jessa’s husband) was bashing Catholics not long ago.
I agree with the poster who said that there are plenty of super-Christians who walk the walk, but clearly a lifetime of repression is harmful.
I can’t believe how proud these people are of themselves. Warning us not to judge ourselves by Josh’s form of Christianity. They take themselves way too seriously. I think a whole bunch of us can see what they are and it’s laughable to think we would think “well Josh Duggar did it so it must not be so bad”. I think his son has a huge problem too. He’s out there telling people the errors of their religion and is proud of it. Does he think there is a religion in the world without error. Many people try, but religion is a product of man and I think he would agree no one is perfect and a group of people trying to define perfect is even more unlikely.There’s no doubt God understands this and living by someone’s set of rules is not how he judges us. I hate to even bring it up, but that day he was pushing Ben’s sled into the cat and they were giggling like little girls still makes me sick.
These kind of insulated religious groups breed predators by teaching men that they have to control a woman’s inherently evil sexual nature. It places men in positions of complete power. I’m hesitant to call them a “cult”, but the Diggers and families like them exhibit the same traits as some. Just take a look at The Children of God and Jesus People USA who have a documented history of child abuse and molestation.
It’s the “No True Scotsman” fallacy.
I know I’m in the minority but I do feel a tiny bit of sympathy for Josh. There is no excuse for molesting his sisters. But it is important to remember that he was born into this cult and is just as brain washed as the women. It’s probably overwhelming for him. I’m thinking he didn’t want to get married, he doesn’t want kid after kid. What he needed and likely wanted was to have sex. He probably can’t see a way out either, feels pressure from dad to “be a man”. Got the same shitty education as his sisters. Dude is probably seriously depressed and miserable. I’d have him on suicide watch at this point.
Damn. These are some cold-hearted, compassionless people! The thing that hurt Michael was Josh was ‘shown to be a fraud’ ?! So now that you’ve been made a fool of and lied to you say Josh isn’t a real Chiristian? But you glossed over the harms done to the children he sexually assaulted — including your daughter-in-law — and talked about mistakes and forgiveness. You are a hypocrite too you self-righteous POS. Your empty words and fake Christianity won’t hold up on your judgement day.
I don’t buy it that his religious upbringing can be blamed for all the things Josh has done. Cheating on his wife, porn addiction molesting young sisters, males do those things all the time without being raised in a religious home. Of course the real problem with Josh is that he did this shit for years while going on TV a representing himself as a good Christian father, husband and son. Otherwise I’m not seeing how he’s any different than any other man with those issues. I think Josh’s real problem probably started when his naive parents allowed him to use a computer, never thinking that Josh would use it to look up nasty stuff. I can remember in one show years ago they had a computer room that Josh was allowed to use, no doubt in my mind that’s how Josh’s porn addiction got started. So there’s a good possibility that he’s been a porn addict since he was a young teen.