In light of the recent arrest of Josh Duggar on federal charges of possession of child pornography, I am posting this article here again. According to things said and written by some who present themselves as "experts" on being a "Titus 2 woman" this vile behavior could be blamed on Anna, his wife. Oh, they might deny that and condemn him roundly now, after the fact, but based on their general teachings and things that are said outright or implied, the wife is responsible to keep her husband from these heinous sins by making sure he's properly serviced in the bedroom.
There is nothing a woman can do to keep a man from sinning if he so chooses, because this is not an issue of someone failing in their bedroom duties. This is about a wicked heart. This is about a man who was raised in a vagabond "Christianity" that emphasizes works at the cost of salvation and elevates "character" over relationship with Jesus Christ. Josh Duggar may not even be born again. There is nothing that Anna could do to make him a better person or change who and what he is if he doesn't want to change, and it's become obvious that he does not, or that he lacks that internal spiritual power - the indwelling of the Holy Ghost - to make victory possible. This is Anna's sad and hurtful truth. Don't make it harder for her by blaming her for something she didn't do.
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September 2015
The recent Duggar catastrophe that exposed Josh Duggar for having an Ashley Madison account and his subsequent "confession" has caused a lot of discussion. Among other things, there has been speculation about whether Anna, his wife, would feel compelled to share in the blame. This compulsion could be caused by a number of things - the teachings of Gothard on sexual sin, her own misguided conscience, her in-laws, her church fellowship, etc.
I feel badly for Anna, but there is nothing that I personally can do for her except pray, so speculating on her state of mind and conscience is kind of pointless. However, it seems like it would be appropriate to stop and consider how we arrived at the point where women in Christendom are so often blamed either partially or mostly for their husbands' moral failures. How did this unjust balance in thinking come about? Here are some reasons that came to mind. There are probably more.
1. It is the historical norm.
This is not to say that since it's "normal" it's OK. Far from it. Sin is "normal," but that doesn't excuse it. What I mean is that this has been going on in history for a very long time. In fact, it goes back to the very first husband and wife. That's right, men blame their wives because Adam did, and the rest of humanity has tended to follow his lead. No surprise on that since we are told in 1 Corinthians 15:22 that "in Adam all die..." We have been following his bad example ever since he gave it.
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