MSNBC - [link]

“They always ask, ‘Don’t you know what causes this? Are you Catholic or Mormon? Are they all yours? Are you a school group?’”

The Duggars are none of the above. They are members of an evangelical Christian movement called Quiverful, which holds that children are a blessing from God and that husbands and wives should gladly accept all the children they are given.

Couples in the movement also believe that the husband is the head of the household and the wife is submissive to him, while the children are submissive to both. The girls wear long dresses or skirts and tops, while the boys wear slacks and polo shirts.

The article and interview softpedal the full Quiverful philosophy, which is as bon describes.

ETA: An older article but one from the Quiverful movement itself: [link]

Sorry for the linkspam:

Quiverfull takes its name from Psalm 127: "Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.

Quiverfull advocates Rick and Jan Hess, authors of 1990's "A Full Quiver: Family Planning and the Lordship of Christ," envision the worldly gains such a method could bring, if more Christians began producing "full quivers" of "arrows for the war": control of both houses of Congress, the "reclamation" of sinful cities like San Francisco and massive boycotts of companies that do not comply with conservative Christian mores. "If the body of Christ had been reproducing as we were designed to do," the Hesses write, "we would not be in the mess we are today." Nancy Campbell, author of another movement book from 2003 called "Be Fruitful and Multiply," exhorts Christian women to do just that with promises of spiritual glory. "Oh what a vision," she writes, "to invade the earth with mighty sons and daughters who have been trained and prepared for God's divine purposes."

Newsweek: [link]

What's everyone doing this weekend? t /Perkins

Tomorrow I have a family thing with out-of-town relatives, and Sunday I have to try to do most of my Christmas shopping, with any luck between Lord & Taylor and Barnes & Noble. I only like two-named stores.

If the body of Christ had been reproducing as we were designed to do

But . . . but . . . but Christ didn't reproduce at all, at least according to all but the Gnostic texts. Isn't the body of Christ supposed to be Christ-like?

Pssst, Jesse loves ampersands!

I'm doing some Girl Scout thing with Casper tomorrow, and we will probably all go downtown to shop and have lunch (it is lit up and pretty). We're trying to get a sitter for Sunday so we can Christmas shop without the children. Bake cookies. Acquire almond flour someplace.

Isn't the body of Christ supposed to be Christ-like?

Oh, don't we wish.

yeah...from what I understand, early Christians prized celibacy, not your own football team.

This weekend I will write, write, write, write, Girl Scout outing to nursing home, write, write, write, write, and then write some more.

Spending weekend w/ KBD: Tonight - Dollhouse, tomorrow - my friend and her husband coming over (!), Sunday - Hanukkah at my parents'. Deer loward I hope their presents are waiting on my doorstep at home.

This weekend I am skipping my group's holiday Christmas party, hopefully finishing Christmas shopping, and writing my Yuletide story.