Right away let me qualify that in no way do I believe that most Christians in any way support a grown man’s dating and marrying girls as young as 13. This is sick and abhorrent as most responsible adults agree. The problem that the Roy Moore news has revealed is that, (and quite disturbingly so) way too many folks of a certain mind-set actually have no problem with it, and in fact even encourage it. The clues indicating that this is in fact the case began with the bizarre defense of Moore from State Auditor Jim Zeigler that “Mary was a teenager and Joseph was an adult”.
But a more telling clue as to how insidious this mind set may be was accidentally revealed in the NYTimes article, For Alabama Women, Disgust, Fatigue and a Sense Moore Could Win Anyway, wherein:
Susan Remick, 48, a principal at an elementary school, said: “This all happened many years ago, correct? I honestly think we’re paying too much attention to it.” Ms. Remick, a Republican, said there were many more pressing problems. And the fact that the allegations were so old bothered her. “I’m a little disappointed in society right now,” she said. “It ultimately hurts somebody’s reputation. If it were true at the time, it should have been addressed at the time.”
Did you note that Ms. Remick is an elementary school principal? Well, so did a lot of other readers because her apparent lack of concern on the matter got her into quite a bit of trouble (she is a mandated reporter after all!) and she was forced to issue a clarification of her statement and position on child abuse. Her story was picked up by AL.com, where for now it is reported that the school district is standing behind her. We will see.
But back to the overarching subject here: Ms. Remick and State Auditor Zeilger very much appear to be the tip of an iceberg, indicating a disturbing tolerance of this man-on-girl predation, a problem which is laid bare by Kathryn Brightbill in a sobering op-ed published in the LA Times: Roy Moore's alleged pursuit of a young girl is the symptom of a larger problem in evangelical circles, where after ticking off a depressing list of guilty parties including the notorious Duck Dynasty creep, she closes her article:
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.
Comments following this article appear to confirm the immensity of the problem, here’s just 2 of over 130:
… The author is describing a reality. I attended an evangelical church and was stunned when the principal of the church school announced his engagement to a high school senior at his school. I was a teacher in the public schools at the time and I was shocked when the church announced their engagement. No principal in a public school would ever think this was acceptable behavior. The church I attended is the largest evangelical church in Southern California. — einsteingirl
"The evangelical world is overdue for a reckoning," and you're absolutely right that it's far from a fringe issue. Not only do Independent Fundamentalist Baptists have a serious problem but so too does the Southern Baptist Convention, which is the largest Protestant denomination in the land. Even the SBC's president has a well-documented and much-reported history of having mishandled and essentially covered up a clergy child molestation report in his congregation -- and nothing about that documented history precluded other Southern Baptists from electing the man as their president. The obvious message? Clergy sex abuse cover-ups? No big deal in Baptistland. — christa_b
Again, this is frightening and disturbing stuff. But hopefully now begins the end of it.