I am currently reading, "Quiverfull" by Katheryn Joyce. It is, as the title suggests, a look at the Quiverfull movement. The movement takes it's title from Psalm 127:3-5, which basically says having lots of kids is a blessing. If that was where the movement stopped, it might be OK, but it's not. There are so many scary problems with it, I am having trouble knowing where to start.
Being a man, I will start with how it views men. Men are walking hormones, with no self control. They must be in total authority over their family, or g0d will be angry and everyone will be punished. Here is a quote that helps make my point on the self control front,
"...Pearl recounts the complaint of a young man disgusted with his friend's wife for 'dressing so g0dless', that is wearing clothes that have aroused him. She was no 'little hidden treasure', as he'd have his own wife be, he wrote with disgust..."
This is unsurprisingly close to the Muslim view as well. Women have to cover up, dress modestly, because men can't control themselves. This is crap, if you believe thought crime is bad, then it's up to YOU to control yourself. If women walked around naked, the man is still responsible. Jesus said pluck your own eye out. Shifting this to the women, saying, "look, they made me sin because I can see side boob" is reprehensible. Grow up, realize if you have a problem with how women dress, it's YOUR problem. There is no difference between saying how a women is dressed caused you to sin, and saying how a women is dressed caused you to rape her. It's bullshit and needs to called bullshit. If anyone ever trots out that argument, roll up a newspaper, hit them on the nose, and firmly say, "NO!".
Men are also so out of control, that if women don't always feel up for sex, don't behave like the man's personal servant, then it's the women's fault if he cheats or beats her. This is another example of shifting blame, "I am not in control of what I do, it's all your fault."
Of course the men in this movement can justify this with scripture, but the slave traders also justified their actions in the same way. The Bible is not always the best source for personal ethics. Though I do see the teachings of Jesus emphasizing personal responsibility, and the idea that women must cover up was added later by writers adding stuff to Paul's letters.
Another major ideal of this movement, which I have touched on, is the final authority of the man. Men are seen as little kings, granted authority by g0d, who must be obeyed. Women don't dare teach or think in front of men, that's not submissive and might make them look stupid. When you treat fifty percent of your populations like moronic baby producing machines, that's bad. I know they'll say it's because they love women, and it's how g0d intended it. That's exactly the same argument some Muslim men I talked with in Hong Kong had to say. In fact, most of this movement seems indistinguishable to an outsider from how Muslims talk about women. Replace Pastor with Imam, Bible with Koran, and God with Allah, and there's not much difference.
I was home schooled for a part of my education. It was nothing on how this movement sees homeschooling. It's seen as a way to control the children, and keep them from questioning anything. I guess I would be scared too, knowing that my beliefs had been proved false and ridiculous. You want to keep your kids away from that and indoctrinate them, so when they finally are able to think for themselves, they can't. Smother them with lies and falsehoods, so much so that if they ever stop believing, their whole world view is ripped away. It's hard to shake something like that. I mean, if someone told you that everything your parents and those around you brought you up to believe was mainly bullshit, what would you do? If you are constantly told, "This is what g0d wants, and if you disobey him, you are going to burn in hell!", you're going to be scared when someone challenges that. Personally, I think you could make a strong argument that it's abuse.
I am only halfway through the book, I might have some more thoughts when I am done. The fact that people justify what they do by saying it's 'Biblical' really bothers me.
I would point out that Katheryn Joyce's tone in the book is not a condemning one. It reads more like a documentary to me, which is all the more sad. She does not have to say how horrible this movement is, it's so blatantly obvious. Something that has also really bothered me is how much this is mainstream in American Christian community. The pastors, teachers and leaders who endorse and support it are big names. From Focus on the family to John Piper. I grew up thinking they were people I could trust. That illusion was buried awhile back, but this just helped put another nail in the coffin. I guarantee if you run in Christian circles you will run into variations of this type of thinking. If I ever have daughters, my greatest fear would be they choose to marry some lunatic who believes this shit.
Cheers.
