Holy Status Update, Batman!

This may be a record for blogging twice in one day. At least for me. I accidentally caused a ruckus on my Facebook page this afternoon when I posted the following:

"Dear Duggars, Maybe instead of confusing fertility with holiness, you could adopt a child that needs a family. Children are a blessing, yes, but there are literally thousands of abandoned blessings sitting in their own filth while being trapped in their cribs/cages. But you go ahead and claim godliness while having baby #20. I'm sure the 147,000,000 waiting orphans understand."


The Duggars are a part of the Quiverfull movement. This is based off the verses Ps. 127:4-5 "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. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate." They also site Gen. 1:28, "God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."

There are lots more verses they use to defend their beliefs. You can easily find things on the Internet for yourself, and I quite frankly don't have time to go into every single verse and what-not here.

People who know me, know I am opinionated. If you have known me for more than 5 years,  you will know I am also much more open minded and accepting now that I used to be. I rarely debate things. So I was surprised at my reaction when people reacted in favor of the Duggars and the Quiver full mentality.

Let me state a few things that I didn't get to this afternoon. People were commenting so fast, it was hard to keep up.

This next bit may shock you:

I was raised in a family that adopted the Quiver Full belief system. They joined a homeschool organization that was ubber strict, like the Duggars- in fact- the SAME one the Duggars are (or at least, were members of. (No music with a beat, no pants for women, and you willingly had all the children God gave you.) I went to countless meetings and get togethers. For hours and hours on end, I listened to this teaching. I promise it's not an exaggeration to say I spent at LEAST 9 weeks of my life listening to them teach about Full Quivers and other topics.

So, yes, I while I never bought the no dating/no pants, I DID buy into no birth control. I was going to trust God and accept His will. I had lots of heated debates where I defended my position. I was RIGHT. I was RIGHTEOUS. I had Bible verses to back me up.

Then there were a few years of 'real life' and maturing. I began to realize that not everything I had been taught was true. And it was very upsetting. I had to systematically look back at all the brainwashing (sorry- there's not a better word) that I had been thru all my teen years and into my 20s. Some things stood the test of study and research, but the Quiver Full beliefs did not.

You cannot pick and choose what verses you want to believe and use. You cannot look for Bible verse to back up what you already believe....you believe what you believe based on the Bible. There is a HUGE difference.

There were some times during my 'reshifting of beliefs' (as I call it), that it seemed like my whole life had been a lie. There were days when I was depressed and wanted to walk away from 'religion' all together. Growth hurts, and in the midst of it all the pastor that I had grown up with admitted to a 25 year affair. More angst.

I don't have all the kinks worked out of my thinking yet, but I am willing to study the Bible for MYSELF and not just believe what comes out of the pulpit on Sunday morning.

I have a great group of friends, and we think a lot alike, and even on the topics we don't, we can spar with each other and walk away friends. So even though the 90+ comments on my status may be astounding, I know they still accept me and I still accept them.

At least until I find out they are really serial killers, or something.

****If you are interested in what changed my mind about following the Quiver Full movement, you can read my friends blog HERE. She set up a whole blog dedicated to breaking down the beliefs. And she was raised almost exactly like me- same homeschool organization. In fact, it's how we met. And she is the only one from that time of my life I still talk to and wish I lived near.