495
James Dobson, influential founder of conservative Christian group Focus on the Family, dies age 89
(apnews.com)
sad, he died too old
this post was submitted on 21 Aug 2025
495 points (98.4% liked)
News
31932 readers
2514 users here now
Welcome to the News community!
Rules:
1. Be civil
Attack the argument, not the person. No racism/sexism/bigotry. Good faith argumentation only. This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban. Do not respond to rule-breaking content; report it and move on.
2. All posts should contain a source (url) that is as reliable and unbiased as possible and must only contain one link.
Obvious right or left wing sources will be removed at the mods discretion. Supporting links can be added in comments or posted seperately but not to the post body.
3. No bots, spam or self-promotion.
Only approved bots, which follow the guidelines for bots set by the instance, are allowed.
4. Post titles should be the same as the article used as source.
Posts which titles don’t match the source won’t be removed, but the autoMod will notify you, and if your title misrepresents the original article, the post will be deleted. If the site changed their headline, the bot might still contact you, just ignore it, we won’t delete your post.
5. Only recent news is allowed.
Posts must be news from the most recent 30 days.
6. All posts must be news articles.
No opinion pieces, Listicles, editorials or celebrity gossip is allowed. All posts will be judged on a case-by-case basis.
7. No duplicate posts.
If a source you used was already posted by someone else, the autoMod will leave a message. Please remove your post if the autoMod is correct. If the post that matches your post is very old, we refer you to rule 5.
8. Misinformation is prohibited.
Misinformation / propaganda is strictly prohibited. Any comment or post containing or linking to misinformation will be removed. If you feel that your post has been removed in error, credible sources must be provided.
9. No link shorteners.
The auto mod will contact you if a link shortener is detected, please delete your post if they are right.
10. Don't copy entire article in your post body
For copyright reasons, you are not allowed to copy an entire article into your post body. This is an instance wide rule, that is strictly enforced in this community.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
Rest in piss
In case you weren't sure how to feel about reading this obit, here's a handful of this guy's impact on the world...
- Dobson viewed marriage as a transaction in which women exchange sex for protection: "The natural sex appeal of girls serves as their primary source of bargaining power in the game of life. In exchange for feminine affection and love, a man accepts a girl as his lifetime responsibility-supplying her needs and caring for her welfare. This sexual aspect of the marital agreement can hardly be denied." — James Dobson, Dare to Discipline (1970)
- Dobson opposed sex education curricula that were not abstinence-only and supported private school vouchers (taking funding away from public schools) and tax credits for religious schools.
- Dobson contended that tolerance and diversity are "buzzwords" that were being misused as part of a "hidden agenda" to promote homosexuality. (citation)
- In 2012, Dobson said that the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary (killing 26 people including 20 children) was a judgement by God because of American acceptance of gay marriage and legal abortion. (citation)
- Dobson flip-flopped on his views on abortion, opting for silent support early in his career before changing course to be obstinately anti-abortion, insisting that abortion invites women to reject God, diverts women from their natural role as mothers, and prevents more Christians from coming into the world. (citation)
- Dobson encouraged "daddy–daughter dating" in which fathers and daughters set aside time for special activities together. Because he believed heterosexuality must be cultivated, Dobson intended these romanticized attachments to model proper heterosexual partnership to girls age six or younger. (citation)
- He viewed the gender binary as fundamental to humanity and waxed lovingly about historical periods where being transgender in a bathroom could get you killed. (citation)
I could go on, but I'm feeling the sudden urge to go dance in the street.
Update: for further reading, please have a look at the obituary written by Erik Loomis on the Lawyers Guns & Money blog. It's outstanding.
The more I learn about this guy, the less I care for him.
I am pretty sure my Mom have me a copy of Dare to Discipline when my kids were preschool age. I never actually considered reading it though.
If your mom is still alive and relying on you in her old age, you should read it and apply the lessons to her care.
load more comments
(1 replies)
load more comments
(1 replies)
It's a real shame when they go old like that.
Sometimes I honestly wish heaven and hell actually existed and that I could see the look on the faces of people like this when they find out they aren't in the one that they expected.
If they did exist, they probably would go to the one they wanted. That's kind of the problem. They invented them to assert whatever fucked up ideas they have of the world.
That's the beauty of this religion, especially in America. It's the best excuse book to hide behind. No matter which way anything goes, it was always God's will.
And, as my dad once said, I'll have to answer to God one day, but ONLY to him.
How fucking convenient you abusive pile of vomit.
load more comments
(1 replies)
load more comments
(1 replies)
Will there be a public coffin defecation ceremony? I'd like to attend please.
load more comments
(1 replies)
Oh man, terrible news today! I'm broken up.
I can't find my favourite pen.
Edit: Oh wait, here it is. Silly me. All is well.
Shame he didn’t die decades ago.
Damn, came to make the same quip.
That's a shame, why not sooner.
Good fucking riddance.
Obligatory:
Good.
Anyway, anybody seen the new Naked Gun movie? I hear it’s pretty good.
I've heard that as well but haven't seen it yet, I opted for nobody 2.
Is the first one any good? I don’t like to jump straight into sequels without the obligatory background from the first ones.
Yup, really good. Like if John wick is a scalpel, this guy is a rusty machete. And John wick started over a puppy and a classic car, well, this guy starts his rampage over a "kitty cat bracelet" it's on Amazon prime.
I have to say that is the most interesting critique of a movie I’ve seen in quite some time. You’ve piqued my interest.
load more comments
(3 replies)
load more comments
(8 replies)
load more comments
(1 replies)
load more comments
(3 replies)
RIP
Rot in piss
Technically correct, as his grave will also be a public toilet.
I wish I had citations for this, but I seem to recall reading one of his books about preventing divorce. It could have been another god awful Christian couple book, though. I did read a few of his books.
If a hetero couple is married, and the man wants to leave his wife for another woman, the wife needs to just take it and do nice things for him in order to convince him to stay.
If he is not treating her right, she cannot outright say it. (If she makes him feel bad, it is her fault if he finds someone else!) No, instead she needs to lead him to good examples.
As a wife, a woman must cook delicious food. If she is a bad cook, she is a bad wife.
I don't remember if it was in another book, but if a man disciplines his daughter too harshly, the wife should not stop him. Instead, she needs to talk to the daughter separately, try to make her feel better, and not make the dad look bad. Because if you stand up for your child, you are emasculating him or something. (Enabler much?)
The only positive thing I saw was him seeing bisexuals as distinct from homosexuals. Not that he had anything good to say about either, but... No bi erasure?
This dude really fucked me up as a youth, rest in piss.
Another piece of shit who lasted way too long before being flushed into hell.
Maybe he can influence the rest of them to fuck off somewhere
I hope his passing was painful and slow. Genuinely.
John MacArthur and now Charles Dobson.
But there’s a horde ready to take his place.
RIPiss
Rest in Piss
Wasn’t he supposedly pro-life? Fucking hypocrite.
May he rest in agony.
May his memory and legacy rot as quickly as his corpse.
🎉
Interesting day in hell today. So much confusion except for everyone there but him.
OH HAPPY DAY! Hope he suffered when he took his last breathe.
I've got the perfect inscription for his tombstone:
Rest in piss, motherfucker.
May he rest in all the piss he deserves.
Too bad it wasn't sooner before more damage was done
Oh thank god.
No idea who that is, but that title tells me it was probably some sort of oxygen waster.
Look up Focus on the Family. This motherfucker is partly responsible for the Handmaid's Tale fetish some of the US has right now.
view more: next ›