::Boggles:: :eek:
Thanks for the info guys.
You’re welcome.
It’s a quintessentially American institution, like apple pie, oversized SUV’s, and voting for politicians who are trying to screw you.
I gotta ask, the very term ‘Quiverful’; so, your supposed to view your children as ammo?
Yes, essentially. More ammo to fight Satan and his army of darkness. Lock and load!
I’m curious about the beliefs in medical interventions. Just a very quick search didn’t turn up anything definitive. Did your father receive traditional cancer treatment? (I’m sorry for your loss) Is it allowed? Sounds like it depends on how strict a faction one belongs to, as it appears infertility treatment could be allowed by some if there’s a thought as to whether the mother has something bigger medically going on and she’s lucky enough to belong to a less strict group. Maybe.
Is there general mistrust of the medical community? Are the kids vaccinated?
Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD:
and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man;
so are children of the youth.
Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them:
they shall not be ashamed,
but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.
So…you were never actually a Constant Breeder yourself? (thank goodness) What happens to a couple who is infertile, if adoption isn’t an option? are they invited to leave the movement? are they considered bad luck, or “unclean,” or cursed, or does everyone else just feel sorry for them and pray for them a lot?
BTW, I think a full quiver is actually 20 arrows, so that would mean the Duggars can stop now.
Am I out of line for thinking they’re a couple of loons?
Cripes, I’ve spent a lot of time with Haredi (what some people call ultra-Orthodox) Jews, and they are totally normal compared to what I hear about the way-out fundie Christians.
I want to add I’m a Christian and I have alot of acquaintances who are strong evangelical believers and I’ve never heard of anyone in this type of situation. Yes, I’m sure they exist but they must keep themselves pretty much to themselves.
But in a country like the USA with 300 million people I wouldnt be surprised if a few thousand are into nearly anything.
Of course the atheists on this board like to have fun with this and claim all Christians are into this.
How very odd to paint atheists with such a broad brush, in the very act of claiming that they do this to Christians, when in fact, no one has.
My experience with the boards is that people do take swipes at (literal) snake-handling, and things like shooting abortion doctors, or at belief in a deity in general-- but on the latter, that is never especially directed at Christians-- in other words, Christians don’t get taken to task for their sky-daddy, while Jews and Muslims are given a pass. Mostly, Christians get crap for thinking they are a trodden-upon minority when some quirky and scripturally untenable belief is not given government sanction because it interferes with the rights of other people. And even then, it is not generally Christians on this board.
At any rate, so far, you and I are the only ones who have strayed from the topic of ex-quiverfulls. I promise not to do it again.
So any truth to the claims that the Quiverful’ movement is basically a racist/white supremacist one, with the primary reason for the large families is to counter all the growing ‘minority’ populations in the country?
Q: What part of the country did you grow up in? (Not trying to pry; general region would be fine.)
Q: If you had stayed in the movement, how much choice would you have had in whom you married? (That is; I understand that once you’re married you’re essentially a lackey to your husband, but could an eligible man have more-or-less pointed at you and said “We’re getting hitched?”)
Several people have specifically pointed out that yes, Quiverfull movements do keep themselves to themselves. And you are doing to atheists exactly what you’re worried about them doing to Christians.
That’s why I like minorities: they’re confident enough to go out and have way too many kids without having to put a fancy name on it. 
How many siblings do you have?
Many thanks to Robert for hitting the highlights while I was asleep.
I’ll get to this around noon eastern time, and answer the complex stuff, but for now:
Rivkah - Nope, I was never a breeder. I was just on the edge of courtship age when we were kicked loose. Mom tried another group, but I was grieving and bitter and rebellious (hah) and so it didn’t take, and I went off to college instead. Now I’m late 30s and haven’t had any kids yet, and very hesitant to do so.
LavenderBlue - We were a very small family of three kids. Mom kept foster children, but like adoption, that didn’t count. And yes, you were pitied and counseled and prayed for and talked about behind your backs. Medical assistance is encouraged in helping fertility, although the official stance is that God is in charge of the womb, the unofficial practice seemed to be that medical care to help with more babies was totally fine.
Robert- columbia - No, I never wore denim jumpers, thank God. Mom sewed all our clothes, and she didn’t like working with denim, so I wore flowered cotton jumpers instead, and thought they were beautiful. :smack:
Lawoot & OneCentStamp, In my opinion, yes. It isn’t as advertised, but within the movement it’smuch more blatant. Look up a concept called ‘dominion’ and it’s pretty straightforward.
Back in a few hours!
Recant
Please ignore the above 3 word post. Its not funny. 
After reading more about “Quiverful”, I’m so very sorry for your lost childhood. Its sounds almost as bad as being raised as livestock to drop calves “to make the farm more bountiful”.
Over the years, I’ve enjoyed your posts a Lot. You, M’am, are a Lot more than just some chained-to-a-stall baby-making machine.
How are people “recruited”?
I’m a Christian and when my wife and I are looking into a church we simply go and visit or are invited by a friend. I cant imagine some sort of “hidden” church like this. If we would have gone into a church and seen everyone dressed odd and all the women acting like obedient servants to their husbands we would have turned around and run.
I was sorta targeted a while back when I did some charitable work that “they” were also involved in. They didn’t intentionally conceal themselves, but they mostly kept to themselves and getting to their church building requires one to drive out of town, turn right on this poorly-labeled country road, then pull into the gravel parking area outside this building that looks like a historical site or a surplus building off the set of “Little House on the Prairie”. There is a small sign with the congregation’s name and visitors are allowed, but it would be the rare outsider who would dare to intrude on such a phenomenon unless they already had a reason to or unless they already knew someone from the congregation.
The building would be quiet most of the time, with nothing happening, everything quiet (you are, like, in the middle of mostly cornfields and whatnot…) and dark. Between a half hour and 15 minutes before the service, vans would start pulling in and families would start unloading their children.
And there wasn’t really any “pressure” in the cultic sense at all. I got a few free meals out of the pastor and a sightseeing tour of some interesting local sites, but they seemed to believe that they were trying to help people respond to God if and when it is the right time, not to shove Jesus (or “the love that grows”) down anyone’s throat.
Did you ever meet Bill Gothard, the IBLP founder who has been accused of sexual misconduct? Or attend one of his youth conferences like Journey to the Heart?
One of the more bizarre Quiverful beliefs is that dancing is bad. What’s the justification for that? What about only allowing side-hugs between people who aren’t husband and wife? Do they really think a person is going to get “turned on” by giving their sibling a full frontal hug?
I’ve been watching 19 Kids and Counting for a long time and I think the show gives an extremely sanitized version of what Quiverful life is really like, especially for the girls. They are basically indentured servants, first to their younger siblings and then to their husbands and children. And the fact that they don’t believe in higher education or any kind of education besides the ATI-approved curriculum is really disturbing. They are raising armies of children with no real education and few marketable skills.
In other words, they are “hidden in plain sight”. They don’t actively try to deceive people into thinking that they are not there or that they are like you or me, but they don’t make their presence well known. You can find them if you know what you are looking for, but if you aren’t, you aren’t likely to notice them.