In a recent interview with ABC’s Juju Chang, Jinger Duggar admitted that the IBLP, the religious organization started in the 70’s by Bill Gothard, was a cult. You would think that considering how big a part of it that the Duggar family was at one point that Jinger would never come out and speak out against it.
Jinger Duggar went onto say that the teachings that were communicated by Gothard we’re hurtful and caused a “trail of pain” that made many people walk away from the faith entirely. The thing is, she’s not wrong.
Jinger Duggar admits the IBLP is a cult
She goes onto say that the teachings of the IBLP create spiritual burdens and that a lot of it is very victim blaming in nature. Like for instance there was a woman who had lost her husband and her two sons at sea and when she asked this one IBLP pastor why they died he said that it was because she had a picture of a ship at sea hanging in her house. How a piece of artwork influenced a ship to be faulty (we’re assuming that is why they died) we will never know.
It’s a bit far fetched why a pastor would blame something as innocuous as artwork, but this is the same branch of Christianity that thinks that victims of sexual assault tempt their assaulter and that the assault is the lesson from God that they have to learn.
We would like to think that a loving, merciful God wouldn’t teach those types of lessons. Jinger was in tears at one point saying that it is really hard to leave the IBLP and she is not wrong. A lot of times people get shunned for leaving the faith by this particular branch of Christianity because it is believed that if you have questions about the faith that you’re not a good Christian and that your faith is weak.
Jinger Duggar has now deconstructed her faith and no longer believes a lot of the IBLP teachings. No matter what anyone says however she is still a Christian and still believes in her faith, a journey that she documents on her new book that is being released today, “Becoming Free Indeed”. Stay tuned!!!
