It looks like another scandal is rearing its ugly head for the Duggars, and this one could have lasting and far-reaching consequences for the entire family.
Newlyweds Joy-Anna Duggar and Austin Forsyth have been linked to a couple with some very extreme views on the use of physical discipline to raise children.
Austin works for his parents, who are proprietors of the Fort Rock Family Camp and Retreat Center.
And it seems that the facility will be hosting two highly controversial guests later this year.
According to its website, Fort Rock will feature appearances by Michael and Debi Pearl in June, and again in October.
The couple travels the country offering seminars on child-rearing, and their critics accuse them of encouraging abuse.
The Pearls advise their followers to strike children as young as 6 months old with switches in order to foster a disciplinary environment.
They go into great detail regarding the materials and dimensions of said switches, advising parents to hit their children with a quarter-inch flexible plumbing line.
In cases in which plumbing line is not available, the Pearls offer alternatives that are also less likely to cause visible bruising and scarring.
In 2011, the Pearls’ controversial book To Train Up A Child was found in the homes of three separate victims who died from child abuse.
For obvious reasons, Duggar fans are not thrilled that Joy-Anna, who’s currently pregnant with her first child, has been tied to the Pearls and their controversial teachings.
But it doesn’t look like her in-laws will be removing the Pearls from their appearance schedule anytime soon.
“Michael and Debi Pearl of No Greater Joy Ministries are nationally renowned ‘practical family-living’ teachers and authors of books such as To Train Up a Child, Created to Be His Help-Meet, and Jumping Ship,” reads a description on the Fort Rock website.
“This dynamic couple has dedicated their lives to educating families on basic principals of cultivating Godly relationships within the family so that their relationships with God and others can be infinitely more fruitful.”
When Joy-Anna and Austin got married back in May of 2017, little was known about his family, but insiders claimed the Forsyths were every bit as extreme in their views as the Duggars.
Now, it looks as though that may have been a massive understatement,
Watch Counting On online for more from reality TV’s most controversial family.
