If this article is correct, then the Roy Moore scandal regarding under-age girls and child brides is the NORM in evangelical "Christian" circles:
https://boingboing.net/2017/11/12/early-courtship.html
When Alabama GOP Senate nominee Roy Moore was accused of sexually molesting children as young as 14, his fellow hardcore evangelicals shrugged at the scandal -- it was "common knowledge" that Moore had a fondness for young teens.
Moore isn't alone in liking very young girls as sexual partners. The grooming of children to marry adult men is a common practice in American evangelical circles, and infamous child-bride advocates are celebrated on the lecture circuit, especially among home schoolers.
It's a widespread view among the hard right evangelical world, mainstream enough that Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson has publicly advised his fans to marry 15- or 16-year-old girls, because "you wait until they get to be 20 years old, the only picking that's going to take place is your pocket." This view was defended by mainstream Republicans, and Robertson has continued to enjoy success in right-wing media, with a new show on CRTV.
Another article on this issue by someone who grew up in those circles:
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-brightbill-roy-moore-evangelical-culture-20171110-story.html
The allegations against Roy Moore are merely a symptom of a larger problem. It’s not a Southern problem or an Alabama problem. It’s a Christian fundamentalist problem. Billy Graham’s grandson, Boz Tchividjian, who leads the organization GRACE (Godly Response to Abuse in a Christian Environment), believes that the sexual abuse problem in Protestant communities is on par with that in the Catholic Church.
The evangelical world is overdue for a reckoning. Women raised in evangelicalism and fundamentalism have for years discussed the normalization of child sexual abuse. We’ve told our stories on social media and on our blogs and various online platforms, but until the Roy Moore story broke, mainstream American society barely paid attention. Everyone assumed this was an isolated, fringe issue. It isn’t.
view the rest of the comments →
Justin_TeroG8 ago
First off "garouwarrior", your name hints at a possible motive in writing this long divisive piece which attempts to stereotype evangelicals. A garou is a white werewolf in Gaia's apocalyptic legend. I'm left wondering if you are a wolf in sheep's clothing, full of false concern shilling, and using this inflammatory post to divide and/or distract us from the main investigation. Or are you an individual who has your own bitterness issues with Christianity? Secondly, you are mistaking what you think is an evangelical trait, with an "Old Southern Culture" trait. My Grandparent were married after WW II. He was a young 19 year old Kentuckian when he enlisted and she was a strong willed 15 year old church girl who was sweet on him when they met at church. Dating was different in that Southern Church culture. "Dates" were sitting on her porch together with her father (and his shotgun) close by in the front room, or going out on group dates. This was to protect them both from each other and to protect her reputation in a small southern town. They married when he returned from the war and were together 60 years until his death. Dating today on the other hand is way too carnal, kids regularly have multiple sex partners, and girls are expected to "put out"- matter of fact Teen Vogue wrote an article encouraging teen girls to have anal sex this year. Teen Vogue's staff would have been arrested in those days- or worse, tarred and feathered! Even poor Hillbillies didn't tolerate their daughters being messed with before marriage (Where do you think we got "Shotgun Weddings" from?) Lastly, no evangelical dad I know, including myself, wants underage marriage for their kids. Donald Trump is an evangelical, and he calls for death sentences for anyone who traffics a child! Evangelical parents know Jesus's words of woe and warning for any fool who would cause a child to sin or do evil. He said it would be better for those men to tie a millstone around their necks and to be thrown into the sea!
So whether intentionally or unintentionally, your article is divisive because it unfairly attacks an entire religious culture. I'd imagine there are a lot of evangelicals and Catholics on this site investigating Pizzagate. As well as Jews, Buddists, Wiccans, Agnostics, and Athiests, We are united in one driving passion- to save all of our kids from these Monsters.