We’re tempted to judge Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore as a solitary sexual predator, an individual pervert.
That would be a mistake. There’s a Christian context for Moore’s sexual misconduct and the communities that nevertheless support him.
Roy Moore became famous as the Alabama Supreme Court justice who planted a monument to the Ten Commandments in the state Judicial Building and later instructed Alabama judges to disregard Obergefell, the United States Supreme Court Ruling that effectively legalized same-sex marriage. For both actions, Moore was removed from his state Supreme Court seat. Now he’s the Republican candidate for Senate in a special election.
To date, nine women have alleged various improprieties against Moore. Seven claim that Moore, in his thirties and a local circuit court judge at the time, either asked them on dates or outright sexually assaulted them when they were still teenagers. So notorious was Moore’s pursuit of underage dating partners that, according to a rumor at the time, the local shopping mall told him to stay away. Now that’s creepy.
The most egregious accusations involve the sexual assault of two very young women. One woman, Leigh Corfman, has spoken out to say that when she was just 14 years old Moore took her to his house, removed both their clothes, “then touched her over her bra and underpants and guided her hand to touch him” over his tighty-whities. Another woman claims that Moore, under the pretense of giving her a ride home, forced her face onto his crotch while she was still in the car. She was 16 at the time.
Moore denies all of the allegations. I believe the women. There are nine accusations, several of them similar in critical respects, and Moore’s creepiness was widely known at the time.
I further believe Moore’s predatory behavior has something to do with a particular stream of Christianity. I had suspected so for some time, but now there’s a tangible clue.
On Wednesday ThinkProgress reported that in 2011 Moore co-authored a study course with an organization called Vision Forum. The founder of Vision Forum, Doug Phillips, promotes “Biblical patriarchy.” The study guide includes the perspectives that women should not run for public office, Christians should not vote for women candidates, and the women’s suffrage movement was a mistake.
It so happens that Phillips was accused of a long-term adulterous relationship in 2013. He resigned from Vision Forum, which closed. Now here’s the thing: according to ThinkProgress, “that woman, Lourdes Torres-Manteufel, sued Phillips and Vision Forum, detailing an emotionally, psychologically, and sexually abusive relationship that started when she was just 15 years old.”
Maybe there’s a link between patriarchal Christianity and the sexual pursuit of underage women?
This creepy motif first caught my attention back in 2004. Al Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, my alma mater, and a prominent spokesperson for the Religious Right, spoke out on “the sin of delaying marriage.” According to contemporary reports, Mohler appealed to how things were a century earlier, when girls “matured sexually by 14 and married between 18 and 20.” Mohler exhorted young Christians to hurry up and get married.
Amazed that I’d just watched a Christian preacher invent a new sin – it’s hard to invent a sin, y’all – I used Mohler’s teaching as a case study in my book, Sinners: Jesus and His Earliest Followers.
An internet search reveals that Mohler still promotes this view, with a March 2017 blog post arguing essentially the same points. “Delaying adulthood” runs contrary to the Bible, and “the delay of marriage is a primary driver of secularization.”
And don’t we all remember “Duck Dynasty” star Phil Robertson’s advice? Marry girls when they’re 15 or 16, the Christian reality TV star, recommends. “They’ll pick your ducks.” Robertson explained that adult women are less likely make subservient wives who perform unpleasant chores. We should note that Robertson was speaking in a Christian context, a Georgia Sportsmen Ministry event.
Many Alabama evangelicals continue to support Roy Moore despite his abominable behavior. I suspect this bizarre form of evangelical patriarchy explains some of that support. Seeking to understand the phenomenon, the Boston Globe called dozens of Alabama pastors to explore their reactions to the Moore scandal. The Globe reports:
None of the nearly 10 pastors reached by phone said the allegations of sexual misconduct changed their views about Moore. Several said the allegations made them more proud to vote for the former judge.
“More proud” to support Moore, several said. One pastor, Earl Wise of Millbrook, attained internet infamy by insinuating that Moore’s accusers had fantasized their encounters with him: “They must have had some sweet dreams somewhere down the line.” Only intensifying the ick factor, Wise added, “Plus, there are some 14-year-olds, who, the way they look, could pass for 20.”
Highly questionable as an authority on the appearance of young women, Pastor Wise is a disaster when it comes to developmental psychology. And he is a disgrace at moral theology. So it goes when evangelical Christians teach women’s subordination as gospel doctrine.
Wait, there’s more. Alabama reporter Josh Moon tweets:
Prior to Roy Moore speaking Wed night at a church in Theodore, Rev. Bill Atkinson led the music portion. Atkinson was convicted in 2012 of obstructing an investigation into child sex abuse at a Honduras orphanage run by his son.
I cannot prove the degree of Roy Moore’s involvement in this biblical patriarchy business. I’m not aware of preachers in that movement who approve of premarital sex. But Moore’s link with Doug Phillips and Vision Forum invites suspicion. And the evidence is clear: surely Roy Moore does not stand alone as an outspoken Christian man who regards underage women as sexual prey.
For more on the biblical patriarchy movement, I encourage readers to consult Linda Schearing and Valarie Ziegler’s book, Enticed by Eden: How Western Culture Uses, Confuses, (and Sometimes Abuses) Adam and Eve.