Shiny Happy Sinners

Shiny Happy Sinners

By Danielle Stephens

Seems like everyone is watching this docuseries about the Dugger family and the cult to which they belong(ed).

I ended up stuck with more time than energy this past week due to a stomach bug, so I succumbed to curiosity and watched it. 

I’m not surprised. I did not grow up in a cult, but I was raised with this maxim often quoted, “absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Show me any family, church, government, etc. that operates under an unchecked authority and I will show you abuse. The fact that this was stated on the show, as if it’s not common knowledge, is more shocking to me than the abuse itself. 

Another maxim I grew up with is “knowledge is power.”

I hope that this docuseries arms more people with the powerful knowledge that all systems under unchecked authority are susceptible to abuse. Unfortunately, I know that is a vain hope. From the little I’ve seen of online comments, it seems more of people’s biggest takeaways are shock and disgust that this happened. People who are opposed to authority and submission are seeing their suspicions confirmed: authority is evil. Those are terrible takeaways. 

My biggest takeaway from the show is this: be wary of looking for answers and solutions instead of truth. Cults thrive on humanity’s drive to have all the answers. This particular cult appeared to offer a prescriptive approach to how to live as a “godly family.” Rather than being satisfied with the reality that we have freedom in Christ and occasionally exercising that freedom will result in mistakes, people accept arbitrary rules hoping they can avoid the pitfalls of being human. This sounds sad on the surface but a close look reveals that people who want to avoid mistakes are not lacking self-esteem. On the contrary, they believe to their core that they are capable of being flawless if only they had the right tools. And this cult fed that idol of pride.

Who to blame?

I need to back up a bit here and be clear. I am not blaming the people who joined the cult as if they were intentionally seeking to do wrong. The drive of pride to have all the answers is a deep-seated motive that is difficult to unearth and fight. I can hardly expect most of those who fell into this cult even knew what drove them to it. I am absolutely blaming the people in leadership for intentional harm. The only responsibility the followers bear is to the degree they were aware that the instructions they were receiving were not biblical. I’m afraid many people aren’t taught how to use their Bibles, or how to think critically.

However, even a critical thinker and truth lover is prone to wander. Pride has led me down many destructive paths. Some of those paths have looked nice and clean, even to onlookers. My biggest, most glaring sins are applauded both in the church and the world. Sin doesn’t have to look ugly on the outside for it to be destroying us on the inside. That is what is on full display in the docuseries “Shiny Happy People.”