There have been a lot of negative things said about Jim Bob Duggar over the years — that he's too controlling over his family, that he's withheld the money his children have earned from their popular TLC series, Counting On. But one thing about the patriarch of this oversized reality TV series cannot be denied: He definitely doesn't hold back when it comes to sharing his true feelings on any given subject.
Jim Bob and Michelle and have always been people who hold strong to their convictions, and those convictions are usually built around their faith — and the strict set of rules they've built for their family to follow as they've raised all 19 of their kids. The problem with that is that these beliefs have often led Jim Bob to make a lot of comments that the general public would disagree with … and a lot of times, people had to do a little more than raise an eyebrow when they heard his latest hot take.
Ready for Jim Bob's most controversial quotes? Warning: This is about to be a doozy.
Smartphones Steal Your Soul
In an interview with Covenant Eyes, a software company that blocks websites with potentially inappropriate content, Jim Bob said: “It so important not to have open Internet that you can go see anything, do anything, any time you want. Especially now with the smartphones. They can go off by themselves and take it out in a hurry. It has the potential to steal somebody’s soul.”
Um, there's an app for that?
Biblical Bribes
On motivating his children to learn Scripture, Jim Bob said: "We’ve also put a challenge out to our kids, that if any of them will memorize the whole book of Proverbs, that we will give them $1,000. Our son Jeremiah has taken us up on this; so far he’s memorized the first 26 chapters. Each one of our children are wise, but I think that’s given him an extra measure of wisdom.”
Hey Jim Bob, will you give me $1K if I memorize Proverbs?!
Andy Griffith Ain't Wholesome Enough
“The Andy Griffith Show is a very wholesome show, but when a crisis comes up, they leave God out of the equation,” said Jim Bob when discussing his family's TV viewing habits. “They don’t pray to God asking for his help. Usually they solve the problem with deceit or manipulation. It’s really teaching how to live your life without God. Even though we watch those shows, we usually have a discussion afterward about how things should have been done differently.”
WOW, Jim Bob. We're guessing the Duggars don't watch anything filmed after approximately 1962?
Boys Will Be Boys
"Young men would have more of a struggle seeing bad stuff, so what we’ve done with the smartphones that we’ve had, we’ve actually locked out Safari and any Internet search at all, and then we’ve just had basic apps," said Jim Bob, elaborating on the evils of soul-stealing smartphones. "We have emails and just the basic things on the phones for the guys. But … even on the maps and things there are some ways to see some bad things, and that’s a struggle."
Jesus for President!
Why did the Duggars campaign for Rick Santorum in 2012? Well, because Republicans are "not going to find a perfect candidate, unless it's Jesus Christ," explained Jim Bob, who was not down to root for Mitt Romney that election year — before he officially became the (losing) Republican candidate, anyway.
Girls Don't Wanna Have Fun
Jim Bob had some stellar advice for daughter Jessa and her now-husband Ben before their wedding: "Both of you'll like the physical relationship, but the guy, that'll be kinda the main focus. But, for a woman, communicating is the most important thing."
Way to set the bar low for your new son-in-law, dude.
Jim Bob Went A-Courtin'
Ever wonder what the difference between "courting" and "dating" is?
"Courting is getting to know each other in a group setting, both families spending time together and the couple setting goals together to determine if they are meant to marry," explained Jim Bob. "With dating, a couple will often pair off alone and that sometimes leads to a more physical relationship." Well, that clears that up.
The Big Bang Theory
Evolution, schmevolution. Jim Bob has the creation of the universe thing all figured out: "It was impossible for this world just to happen by chance," he said.
How Jim Bob feels about the creation of the universe was never a secret, though; he did take his kids to a museum that let them know the earth isn't actually that old on 19 Kids & Counting.
Words to Live By (?)
Here's some bizarre, ambiguous advice (lifted from The Duggars' book, 20 & Counting): "Be careful what you're good at doing, because you'll probably do a lot of it."
So, uh, try to be good at courting, as opposed to dating? Or is this a message about being careful what career you end up choosing? Be a little clearer next time, Jim Bob.
Holy Matrimony
Marriage is easy, guys! Just remember these wise words: "The closer a husband and wife get to God, the closer they get to each other. The farther away they get from God, the farther they get from each other."
While faith is important to a lot of married couples (especially the Duggars), there are a lot of factors that go into a successful marriage.
His Thoughts on Rape
According to TV Shows Ace, Jim Bob's now defunct campaign website from his days in politics outlined his opinions on abortion in the case of rape pretty clearly: "If a woman is raped, the rapist should be executed instead of the innocent unborn baby. Rape and incest represent heinous crimes and as such should be treated as capital crimes."
