Recently I came across the latest issue of Bitch magazine, which I love, but which scared the bejeezus out of me, at least Kate Dixon's article "Multiply & Conquer: How to have 17 children and still believe in Jesus."
Yes, it's true. The Fundies are very different from you and me. While my partner and I are just starting to plan a family (looking into pregnancy and adoption options, trying to figure out how to legally protect any offspring we have), there are fundies out there having as many kids as possible in order to populate God's Army.
From the article:
The Quiverfull movement... takes its name and its justification for existence from the Bible's Psalm 127: "As arrows in the hand of a mighty man, so are the children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath a quiver full. They shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate."
In other words, don't have kids because you have love to share--have kids because God needs an arsenal. As if the name alone wasn't creepy enough, the idea of babies as weapons ought to repulse anyone interested in parenting. But these moms are living the mission, having 10, 12, yes, even 17 kids. As many as God is sending them, no abstinence and certainly no birth control.
...the push for full quivers is in direct contradiction to much of the legal and societal equality that has (at least purportedly) become the norm. It is a movement deeply antagonistic to women's very autonomy; it exacts a high price from them--no less than an entire life of submission and devotion to "Him," in both senses of the word--in exchange for God's good will and benevolence.
Dixon goes on to outline the threats to women's rights, the racist overtones (apparently, only white babies make good projectiles), the hazards to the mother's own physical and mental health, and they're all true and scary in their own right--but like I said, we're planning a family, too, so this is hitting me much more on a personal, gut level--as in, my partner and I will take great pains to have a family, and do our best to raise a child with all the love, support, and guidance she'll need to grow and learn and succeed--and someday, she'll be shamed or shackled by the 17 siblings down the block as an affront to God.
I mean, 17 kids! How could you possibly feed & clothe them all, let alone make sure they've done their homework and brushed their teeth and not tried drugs? Yet these Quiverfull moms would condemn us as unfit mothers.
This war seeks no place for women except in the home, and ultimately, it seeks to foist that vision upon all of society--and thus the levers and mechanisms of power--through an eventual numerical stranglehold on the population. We--feminists, environmentalists, gay rights advocates, liberals, progressives--are the enemy at the gate. If the Quiverfull movement gets its wish and good Christian breeding continues apace, we will be easy enough to contend with in the future.
Yeah, like motherhood doesn't scare me enough already.
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10 Comments
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As if over population weren't enough of a problem anyway.
It is interesting how we're labeled the unfit parents when there are people doing this. And they sit around and worry about minorities out-populating the whites with their fantasies of welfare queens and anchor babies, and here they go doing this.
I wonder how many families are doing this. But even if they don't call themselves "quiverfull", they can still have a bunch of kids that probably won't be all too nice.
Alex Blaze | September 25, 2007 10:38 PM
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You know the more kids you have the greater the chance of having a gay child especially on the male side..... so.....
Lynn David | September 25, 2007 11:21 PM
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Lynn makes a good point although the quality of life that child may experience would no doubt be less then his or her siblings.
Jen there was a program about this on TV about a year ago and watching it gave me chills.
Just what the world needs more canon fauter.
Take care
Sue
Sue Robins | September 26, 2007 12:06 AM
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Why is it that these same folks espouse the "dignity of life" while at the same time ensuring that these children will have a lower standard of living? In fact, I'd be willing to bet that having 17 kids pretty much ensures that you're on welfare, food stamps or other government subsidy. (What kind of job do you get to pay you enough to feed, clothe and shelter all those kids?! - Not everyone can be a Senator!)
So the very government that they complain is too secular and biased against Christians is the same government that they look to when they need support for their religious choice... Stupid.
Bil Browning | September 26, 2007 8:39 AM
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I really don't see what the problem is. After all, these kids will most likely be home schooled, the parents will be unlikely to afford college, which will limit their job opportunities.
So eventually they're creating our very own cheap labor force so we won't have to outsource it to illegal immigrants.
beergoggles | September 26, 2007 9:22 AM
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Most all of these fundamentalists won't be taking food stamps or living on welfare. These folk are not the type to take government aid. it would be consorting with the devil The real challenge that comes to mind when raising seventeen children is food, we forget that growing food is easy in most of the western and central united states. if you had to buy food for seventeen children it would cost as much as $2,550 a month, that is by itself crazy.
This does ensure that the female of the household is relegated to a life not far from slavery. What a sad life if you ask me.
One thing we have to be grateful for; this is a very small fringe group of the Christian fundamentalists.
Take care
Sue
Sue Robins | September 26, 2007 11:15 AM
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Very glad to hear you all thinking the same things I am (I'm not crazy after all!)--beergoggles is right, most of these kids ARE homeschooled (what's the point of having 17 kids for God's Army if you're going to send them to people who might encourage them to choose for themselves whether they want to join God's Army?)--and Sue is definitely right that these moms must live like slaves. And yet, it's the moms that are carrying the banner for the movement.
I've said it before and I'll say it again--I just don't understand the mindset.
Jen Jorczak | September 26, 2007 3:14 PM
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Category: Oh, that explains it!
There's a theory that kids keep getting more and more short-changed intellectually the further down the birth order they are. I now understand the blank stares of the faithful at those hate rallies at the Statehouse.
Marla R. Stevens | September 26, 2007 10:20 PM
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Jen, look at it this way...
The family down the street that has 17 Tools For Jesus will not have any quality time with their parents. Studies have shown, children in large families do not get the same level of education as families with small numbers of children.
So when your child is confronted by the mob down the street, your kid can outsmart them (then open a business, go on to hire the mob down the street and make everyone march in the Gay Pride parade if they want to keep their job!)
Or not.
Storm Bear | September 27, 2007 10:02 AM
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Thanks, Marla and Stormy, that makes me feel much better!!
Jen Jorczak | October 2, 2007 12:42 PM
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