In the World – June 25, 2017

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NOT AS HE SEEMED

The sexual assault trial of Bill Cosby ended a week ago with a hung jury. From 1984 to 1992, Cosby played the role of lovable Cliff Huxtable, named by TV Guide as the “greatest television dad.” In contrast, the comedian was portrayed by the prosecution in the trial as a sexual predator. Although Cosby has admitted to being an unfaithful husband in real life, he denied the charges against him during the classic “he said, she said” trial.

EXACTLY AS THEY SAID

When the angel told Manoah’s wife that their child was to be a Nazirite, they agreed to raise him according to that command. Their words were followed up by parental actions congruent with their promise. What they said was what they did. Unfortunately, Bill Cosby’s show-business portrayal of a good father did not mesh with the flawed person he was in real life.

1. We may have opinions about the Cosby trial verdict, but is it appropriate to make judgments about his guilt or innocence (as many are doing) when we did not hear the evidence personally? Why or why not?
2. How could Cosby play the role of Cliff Huxtable in good conscience when his personal life as husband and father did not measure up?
3. If Cosby was otherwise a good father in real life, do his admitted serial infidelities diminish his stature as a father?
4. Is Cosby different than the rest of us when it comes to having proverbial skeletons in the closet? Explain.
5. What place, if any, do “vows” like Samson’s mother made have in parenting today?

—Charles R. Boatman

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