Now with a renewed faith of personal conviction, Becoming Free Indeed shares what it was like living under the tenants of Bill Gothard, the Biblical truth that changed her perspective, and how she disentangled her faith with her belief in Jesus intact. Product Details Over the years, the Duggar family has weathered many storms in the public eye. “I’m still surprised the show lasted as long as it did,” Jinger confessed in her book. “In the early years, my family assumed the show would last no more than a season or two. It didn’t seem possible that that many Americans would be interested in a family with our conservative values.” My actual critique comes from the fact that I wish I knew a bit more about Jinger's disentanglement and how it affects how she interacts with culture today. That is, like her, there are ways I interact with culture that are not specified either way in the Bible, but that I can still feel guilty or anxious over based on what other Christians do or don't do. For instance, I have been in prayer circle with older ladies who, if they knew I listened to Hamilton, Newsies, and Six: The Musical, would probably have coronaries. I have, as an adult, read, relished, and found Christian messages in Harry Potter. I disagree with Christians who have banished Disney wholesale from their homes. I am a disabled and autistic woman who wants to speak of systemic ablesim but hesitates to do so for fear of being accused of being "woke" (same for systemic racism, by the way). I disagree with corporal punishment even though 90% of my fellow Christians claim it's biblical and that my disagreement is mild to moderate rebellion in and of itself. In John 8 Jesus exhorts His listeners that if they abide in His word they would be truly His disciples, they would know the truth, and that truth would make them free (John 8:31–32). They were a bit surprised to hear that because, as they were descendants of Abraham, they thought they had never been enslaved (John 8:33). Jesus then explained that, if a person is committing sin, that person is enslaved by sin, and slavery is not fitting for sons (John 8:34–35). But if the Son—Jesus says, referring to Himself—makes us free, then we “are free indeed” (John 8:36). He is the Son who remains forever, so what He determines shall stand. When He gives the recipe that we are “free indeed,” it is a reliable recipe because of who He is. The condition for becoming “free indeed” is that His hearers should abide (or dwell) in His word. He later explains that keeping His word results in eternal life (John 8:52), and He challenges His hearers that they need to believe in Him (John 8:46).

I wasn’t expecting (or desiring) this to be a theological treatise, but early on the author refers to this book as her theological journey. Something she (rightly) calls IBLP out on is proof texting, or only using a verse or two without context to prove a point. However, she continues to reference a verse or two here or there, falling into the same trap of proof texting. It is clear that Jinger has no real grasp of the deconstruction movement or the real reasons people left IBLP and Christianity. Jinger’s definition of deconstruction is disappointing. It’s fine if she wants to use the word disentangling, and the visual of pulling out dried putty from your hair resonated with me. But she has a very narrow understanding of deconstruction. And while I don’t want to say she hasn’t “deconstructed enough” because everyone is on their own journey, I am concerned about a few of her beliefs. She has disentangled from extreme fundamentalist Christianity (can I say cult?) to very conservative evangelical Christianity. She attends John MacAurthur’s church and quotes him and John Piper. She states that suffering is from God and he causes our suffering. She believes love means giving all of yourself and being selfless and other focused. And she obviously still believes women are to be submissive and men are “servant leaders”. There’s nothing new here beyond what every evangelical heard growing up. The couple faced several challenges together, including the 2021 cancellation of Counting On. TLC officially cut ties with Jinger's family after Josh was arrested for receiving and possessing child pornography. (He is currently serving 12.5 years in prison following his May 2022 sentencing.) This really just reads like a promotion for Masters Seminary and Grace Community Church, but using Bill Gothard's teachings as an easy punching bag, given the widespread criticism of his theology.Jesus came offering something very special, and if we take Him at His word then we are free indeed. He is “the truth” (John 14:6), and He desires that we abide in Him and walk in Him. As He expresses in John 15:5, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” Jesus wants to set us free from the curse of sin, shame, and death. He gave His own life so that we could be “free indeed” and asks us simply to believe in Him. I spent a lot of time watching the Duggars as a young mom and in early marriage. Seeing a large family on tv was something I connected with. I was in a time where I was finding my own way in faith and fell into some teachings that led me down paths that were similar to the Duggars’. I spent a handful of years only wearing skirts, as did my daughters. While I never believed wearing pants was sinful, I did believe becoming more “feminine” was an essential piece to growing closer to God for my own journey. It was actually my oldest daughter growing prideful and judgmental towards others over the skirt wearing that opened my eyes. I also spent some years feeling like I had to be meek and quiet to be a good wife. Can I just start this off by saying, go Jinger! As a longtime watcher of 19 Kids and Counting and Counting On, I've followed many of the older sisters for years and years. I always appreciated that the Duggars were Christians, but I knew there was something a little...off with the IBLP stuff their family followed. Jinger made her reality TV debut in 2008 when the show was called 16 Kids and Counting . After multiple additions to the family over the years, the show was eventually renamed 19 Kids and Counting . However, after eldest brother Josh Duggar ’s child molestation and cheating scandals, TLC pulled the plug on the show.

My determination to guard my heart made it difficult for Jeremy to figure out whether I liked him. ... He, of course, assumed that I'd shared these things with my sisters. But I hadn't," she wrote. "I hadn't told Jessa or any of my other siblings how I felt about Jeremy." Jinger and her siblings were raised under the teachings of Bill Gothard, a conservative minister who founded the Institute in Basic Life Principles. Among those principles are strict guidelines regarding purity and modesty — but Jinger began to question the teachings as she grew up and started a family of her own. (While speaking to Us this month, Jinger referred to her childhood spiritual practice as “cult-like in many ways.”)

When Will Jinger Duggar’s Book Be Released?

Jinger stands by her family. This is evident throughout the book. She blames Gothard for the abusive teaching she grew up under and avoids blaming her parents for the toxic way she was raised. When Jinger Duggar Vuolo was growing up, she was convinced that obeying the rules was the key to success and God’s favor. She zealously promoted the Basic Life Principles of Bill Gothard,

I'd be remiss to say she also mentioned abortion being a sin which as of March 8, 2023 is a little ironic considering her sister had one a few weeks ago in a red state where she had to go before a board to justify it (don't argue with me, it will be listed as such by insurance.) It’s been definitely a challenging process to write this book, but as I’ve said before, it’s the most important thing I’ve ever done,” Duggar exclusively told Us Weekly before the book hit shelves, adding that she hoped her words help “even just one person” find freedom. “I think in this book I’ve been more open and vulnerable than I ever have before.” It takes a lot of courage to call out a man who was both your childhood hero and who dominated your religious life. This is a good start to publicly calling out an abusive leader who ruined many, many lives. So yeah, Jinger and I were not "abused" as such, or living in abject fear, but I empathized with her and applauded her honesty and straightforward yet gentle presentation. She challenged me, but without saying, "It's your fault for falling for this stuff" or even, "How could you believe what I did, you didn't grow up under Gothard" (because I admit, I sometimes felt guilty reading this book, since I *didn't* grow up that way and thought, "Why do I feel the way I feel?") The message I got from Becoming Free Indeed is not, "Christians are totally messed up and brainwashed," which is what the world's culture wants to tell us and where deconstruction comes from. I think Jinger and Christians like her are getting it right, in that Christians have a valid belief in *Jesus,* we've just let all this other junk get in the way.

Developing an Eating Disorder

The way she shames any person that decided to leave the church completely isn't very Christian in my opinion. We all have different spiritual journeys and clearly the only option she thinks women should have is to just disentangle their beliefs just like her. Instead, Jinger is gentle yet up front about the realities of her life and her faith. I could sense the dilemma that occurred in my own life--her family did what they thought right, she loves them, she embraced Jesus--but yet, that experience, and Jinger's personality and personal bent, led to a lot of anxiety and fear. Jinger knew her Bible in the way many Christian kids, including yours truly, grow up knowing it. We learn it through Bible stories and "sword drills" and Bible trivia (man, I used to *clean up* at that; still can). We were told to read it because it pleased God (subtext: not to read and love the Bible is to make God upset). But we (I) don't *know* the Bible like we should. Jinger knew God as Heavenly Father, but like yours truly, that was more like, "Daddy loves you, but also, don't mess up or there'll be trouble when Daddy gets home." Jinger Vuolo, the sixth child in the famous Duggar family of TLC's 19 Kids and Counting and Counting On, recounts how she began to question the unhealthy ideology of her youth and learned to embrace true freedom in Christ. When I saw that Jinger was coming out with a book about not being in the IBLP anymore, I cried. Seeing one of the big names from the Christian fundamentalist world speak out made me hope that we’d get more voices speaking against this evil.