Josh Duggar’s family has stood by his side despite his recent scandals, but one family member is throwing in the towel on the reality star, calling him a hypocrite after Duggar’s second sex scandal broke two weeks ago.
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Michael Seewald — whose son Ben is married to Josh’s sister, Jessa — is no longer in support of Josh after reports surfaced that he had cheated on his wife Anna Duggar via an Ashley Madison account.
“In commenting on this I do not wish to add any more distress to a family still recovering from the indignity of the publication of a police report detailing Josh’s sins as a teenager,” Seewald began in a blog post Monday. “Though I have never gotten to know Josh very well, I have great respect for his sorrowing parents and immense sympathy for his dear wife Anna and their four children. I myself have been mourning over the irreparable damage that has been done to many by this whole circumstance, yet the reason I feel obliged to make these remarks is an overwhelming desire to vindicate the name of God.”
“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,” Seewald wrote. “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.”
The 27-year-old has since checked into a Rockford, Illinois rehab center for his alleged sex addiction. Anna Duggar has yet to comment on the scandal.