vyckie No Longer offering MY blood for God’s binge drinking ~ I’ve sobered up!
by Vyckie Garrison @ No Longer Quivering
When my daughter saw the cover of my copy of “Drunk With Blood: God’s Killings in the Bible,” she asked, “So are you becoming a Satanist now?”
Drunk With Blood really is a horrible book ~ and what makes it such a horror is that it enumerates the sheer number of people whom God either killed Himself or else approved of their deaths ~ straight from the Bible!
From the back cover: Who has killed more, Satan or God? (Biblical numbers only, no estimates.)
Satan 10
God 2,476,633
That’s slightly less than 2.5 MILLION people killed by God in the bible, folks.
In the introduction, author Steve Wells, explains how he came up with the numbers ~ he only uses the actual #s from the bible. For instance, in the story of Job ~ God gave Satan permission to kill all of Job’s children & servants. The bible says he had 10 children. Since he was a wealthy man, Job probably had more servants than children ~ but “Drunk With Blood” doesn’t count the servants’ deaths. Which means that these numbers that Steve Wells came up with are actually under-representative of the # of people killed by God.
Steve explains that he also didn’t include FUTURE killings ~ those promised by God in Revelation ~ since they haven’t happened yet.
The promised End Times killings are ~ Wow ~ a horrendous # of dead people ~ to be killed by Jesus, himself! Rev 14 foretells “one like the Son of Man” swinging his sickle & “reaping” enough dead that their blood fills a huge winepress. Wells calculates that the amount of blood needed to fill this winepress would require the death of 24 TRILLION people ~ killed by JESUS!
‘Cuz ~ as we’ve been told ~ the first time, Jesus came as a Lamb ~ next time, He’ll come as a Lion ~ wreaking vengeance upon the enemies of God.
Quoting Steve Wells, “there are many other verses that say similar (batshit crazy) things in the Bible, & they’re not all in Revelation …”
Ch 1: The Flood of Noah ~ est. # killed 20 Million ~ Everyone on earth except Noah & family.
Ch 2: Abraham’s war to rescue Lot ~ est. # killed: 100
Ch 3 Sodom & Gomorrah ~ est. # killed: 2000
So you get the idea ~ “Drunk With Blood: God’s Killings in the Bible” quotes verse after verse where God killed the creatures He made in His own image.
When I was a Christian, I generally skimmed over those barbaric killings ~ I figured God must’ve had a reason ~ even if I didn’t get it. Or I would say, “Well, that was the old covenant” Jesus came to be the ultimate sacrifice ~ so Christianity is different.
Quoting @AlmightGod: To most Christians, the Bible is like a software license. Nobody actually reads it. They just scroll to the bottom and click “I agree.”
“Drunk With Blood” includes God’s killings in the New Testament too: Ananias & Sapphira, Herod Aggripa, and of course, Jesus. “God killed his son in order to stop himself from torturing people forever after they die…”
It’s impossible to see all God’s killings ~ clearly enumerated ~ chapter & verse ~ & not conclude that the bible God is EVIL.
So here’s the thing ~ for all the talk about God being LOVE & the value of human life ~ the bible God relishes the death of His enemies … and He also glories in the deaths of his chosen people (martyrs get a crown) and even His own Son!
As a former Quiverfull believer, I saw this devaluing of human life ~ esp. for women ~ for mothers who risk their lives producing “arrows for God’s army” (See Kathryn Joyce, Quiverfull: Inside the Christian Patriarchy Movement) Mary Pride ~ a Quiverfull leader, says that women who die in childbirth are to be honored as martyrs! Quiverfull moms who die in childbirth are just so much collateral damage in the war for the advancement of God’s kingdom.
After reading “Drunk With Blood” I am not at all surprised when I think of the callous attitude re: maternal deaths among the “pro-life” and “pro-family” ~ biblical family values camp.
I used to identify with Job ~ “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him” was my life verse ~ ugh! I feel betrayed by this “Creator!” I was willing to die for Him ~ yet, the bible God thinks nothing of wholesale slaughter of men, women, children. What the hell was I thinking? Such a monster God is unworthy of my devotion & self-sacrifice.
And my oldest daughter ~ she very well could have become another victim of this Killer God ~ as a “Quivering daughter” (see Hillary McFarland, Quivering Daughters), following His ways drove her to attempt suicide.
When God says, Love me & serve me or burn forever ~ that’s not a choice ~ that’s an ultimatum.
Thanks, Steve Wells for “Drunk With Blood: God’s Killings in the Bible” ~ this book is an awesome contribution to HUMAN SANITY!!
vyckie What if God hates Quiverfull? How would Jim Bob & Michelle know?
by Vyckie @ No Longer Quivering
In the latest issue of People magazine, Jim Bob & Michelle Duggar say they are ready to consider a 20th child.
The only thing that surprises me about this statement is the fact that Michelle is not already pregnant ~ I was predicting that she’d make an announcement when she received that “Mother of the Year” award at Vision Forum’s Baby Conference last month.
Since writing the latest NLQ FAQ: Which of Your Kids Would You Rather Had Never Been Born?, I have been thinking more about confirmation bias and Quiverfull.
Specifically, I wonder, “What if God hates Quiverfull ~ what could He do to communicate His disapproval of prolific and indiscriminate reproduction to the Duggars, who claim to be “following [their] convictions”?
Let me explain what I mean.
When I first began to hear about the Quiverfull conviction of trusting the Lord with my family planning ~ leaving my reproductive life completely in His capable hands ~ I convinced my (ex)husband, Warren to have a vasectomy reversal. The surgery was successful and I immediately got pregnant ~ confirmation that Quiverfull was indeed God’s will for our family.
Everything that could possibly go wrong during that pregnancy did: gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, polyhydramnios, emergency c-section ~ that’s just the short list ~ the full story was an absolute nightmare.
Afterward, friends and family came to visit me in the hospital and all of them asked, Are you really sure this is what God called you to do?
In trying to explain to myself how that pregnancy ~ in which I had fully trusted in God ~ could go so wrong, I imagined the following scene in Heaven:
God to Satan: Have you considered my servant, Vyckie? She is completely faithful to me ~ even risking her life to be obedient to My calling.
Satan: Well, of course Vyckie serves You and loves You ~ look at all You have done for her ~ You’ve blessed her beyond measure. Take away Your protection and blessing ~ and watch her curse You to Your face!
God to Satan: No ~ Vyckie would never deny Me ~ “Though He slay me” is her life verse. Go ahead ~ check it out ~ do your worst ~ only don’t kill her ~ and see how she continues to love Me.
So it was a test ~ and God obviously was so pleased with my sincere and wholehearted devotion to Him ~ He had me in the same category as Righteous Job, in whom He had full confidence. This to me was confirmation that Quiverfull was indeed God’s will for our family.
Baby number five was born at home ~ an almost unheard of HBA4C (home birth after 4 cesareans ~ Google that and see how many stories come up besides mine ~ none that I know of) ~ obviously, I had proven myself faithful in being willing to conceive again even after coming so close to death with my previous pregnancy that I actually felt my spirit being sucked down that long black tunnel that you hear about. And now, God was blessing me with my first vaginal delivery ~ a victorious home birth! Wow ~ of course, this was confirmation that Quiverfull was indeed God’s will for our family.
Many good things happened in our family life during our Quiverfull years. We started a “pro-life, pro-family” newspaper which grew into a profitable business/ministry which supported our growing family quite comfortably. The governor of Nebraska presented us with the 2003 “Family of the Year” award at the Nebraska Family Council’s Salt & Light banquet. We were able to have our home remodeled ~ completing our full basement and adding an extra bathroom and two more bedrooms. All these blessings were confirmation that Quiverfull was indeed God’s will for our family.
When my seventh pregnancy ended in an emergency c-section due to partial uterine rupture ~ the doctor recommended that I never get pregnant again. However ~ he did not perform a hysterectomy ~ so I still had my uterus ~ how could I know what the Lord wanted me to do with it? “Seems to me that God’s made it very clear what He wants,” the doctor told me. But to me, it wasn’t clear at all. If God wanted me to stop having babies ~ He could have arranged it so that I did not have any choice about it. Obviously, He wanted me to continue to trust Him.
About that time, things were getting more and more overwhelming and intense at home ~ Warren’s personality disintegrated to the point that he was driving us all crazy ~ I could not keep up with the homeschooling or the home business ~ Angel was in Nashville, involuntarily committed to the psych ward after a failed suicide attempt ~ during this time, I constantly had a mental image in my head of a huge black and white target on the roof of our home ~ all our efforts to advance the Kingdom of God had caught The Enemy’s attention and now we were in the midst of his evil frontal assault. Naturally, this was confirmation that Quiverfull was indeed God’s will for our family.
So here’s the deal:
As a Quiverfull believer, whenever anything that could be considered good or positive happened in my life ~ I took it as proof that I was doing right and therefore, God was blessing me.
Conversely, whenever anything occurred which wasn’t so great ~ trials, tragedies, hardships ~ these I considered as evidence that I was doing right and therefore, Satan was upset and he was determined to make me regret having chosen the Quiverfull path.
Either way ~ I *knew* beyond a shadow of a doubt that my Quiverfull ideals were God’s will for me.
I see that same confirmation bias in Jim Bob and Michelle’s recent statements with regard to their conviction to trust the Lord with their family planning.
“Our family is stronger than ever,” Jim Bob, 45, tells PEOPLE in its new issue. “We made it through the storm.”
So here’s what I’d like to ask Quiverfull believers: What if God hates Quiverfull? What if He’s embarrassed by the poor witness to “the World” which only sees irresponsible and narcissistic parents building their own little fiefdoms? What if God thinks Quiverfullers put too much emphasis on the “be fruitful and multiply” part of the Dominion Mandate and not enough on stewardship and “tending the garden”? What if God (gasp!) actually values women for more than just their ability to get pregnant and have babies? What if the Lord cares about little baby Josie ~ and wants her to have all the benefits of her mother’s loving, undivided attention? What if God wanted to tell the Duggars to stop?
What could He do to get His message across?
Obviously, preeclampsia and a micro-preemie baby didn’t convince them ~ in fact, the challenges seem to have strengthened their determination to follow their Quiverfull beliefs.
“People think we are overpopulating the world,” says Jim Bob. “We are following our convictions.”
vyckie TLC’s 19 Kids & Counting: The Duggar Family on How To Prepare For Courtship & Marriage
by hopewell for No Longer Quivering
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“Helpmeet” is such an odd-sounding word to modern ears! But it resonates well in the lingo of the King James Bible. Girls born to Quiverfull families begin their training for the life’s calling as a Helpmeet [aka wife and homemaker] almost at birth.
Girls are born for one and only one reason: to serve a husband. In that capacity, as his helpmeet, she will bear and raise his children, feed as many children as God sends on whatever income he earns, may raise a garden and animals or run a home-based business [with his approval], may home birth and will certainly homeschool all of her children.
Becoming a successful, multi-tasking helpmeet is not something you just “do.” Something that important cannot be left to chance. The training starts almost at birth with “child training.” Moms have a number of helpful “ministries” to turn to for child training guidance. For infants and toddlers two of the best known are Ezzo and the Pearls—both of whom are very controversial to the secular world. We’ll briefly look at each.
Gary and Anne Marie Ezzo developed the popular and often criticized programs “Babywise” and “Growing Kids God’s Way.” As with any program there IS some good and helpful information as well as a lot that many people find abhorrent. “Babywise” teaches new parents to adhere to rigid schedules and rules for bedtime, breast feeding on a parent-friendly schedule and bedtime rigidly enforced with few, if any, interactions with parents after “lights out” no matter the tone of the child’s cry.
“Growing Kids God’s Way” is a huge undertaking for parents. Both parents must attend each session and both must complete weekly homework. This program met tremendous success in conservative churches and megachurches during the late 90s and on. [They also do offer a single-parent version now.] Parents are taught to take back their lives by having a parent-centered, rather than child-centered home. [For the gist of the controversies see www.ezzo.info, but please note this IS a biased site.]
Michael and Debi Pearl of “No Greater Joy Ministries” are some of the most controversial child training advocates in the world today. Several deaths have occurred in homes following the Pearls advice. [NOTE: I am NOT saying in any way that the Pearls are responsible for the deaths, just that the parents were known to follow their methods.]
Their book, To Train Up a Child, advocates corporal punishment to a degree seldom seen today. The idea is to compel instant, willing and cheerful obedience at all times from even the youngest children. Failure to comply results in physical punishment. Parents are taught that children are born with a sinful nature and that they must begin early to “train” the child in the “way he should go” as is taught in Proverbs 22:6. Therefore, it is appropriate to even “chastise” babies with a switch—even one made of plumbing supply line. Parents are told
“Training does not necessarily require that the trainee be capable of reason…”[Pearl & Pearl, Chapter 1.]
With this background in mind we can now try to piece together the “training” of a future helpmeet. In her infancy the girl we will call “Jerusha Faith” may be enticed with a toy and swatted for reaching for it. She may be fed only when Mama says and not when her tummy says she is truly empty and hungry. She may be left in the throes of colicky insomnia to cry it out alone for hours on end. In short, she is learning, like a Nun, to deny her “self.”[Note: it is important to remember that ALL families are different not all my use these practices and some may even agree with the critics!]
This dying to self will include seemly innocuous phrases like the one the Duggar family uses which is summed up by the acronym “JOY”—Jesus First, Others Second, Yourself LAST. (Duggar family website, FAQ) Even in infancy little Jerusha Faith is learning that she is not important as herself. She is merely important when she is doing the will of her authority figures—in this stage her parents.
As she grows older, should she dare to be “wayward” in any way she can expect to be chastised with the rod or, in more humane families, may be “tomato staked” meaning she is expected to stay right with Mama and do only what she is told to do for a set period of time.
The next stage of training begins at about school age. It can be summed up as “the cult of character.” For Quiverfull families, like the Duggars, who belong to Bill Gothard’s Advanced Training Institute homeschooling program, “Character” will be the focus of education throughout the school years. Jerusha Faith and her siblings will likely take 3 complete trips thru the famous “Wisdom Booklets” which teach each of the Gothard-defined character qualities. So much focus is placed on these qualities that other educational subjects are often severely neglected. Some mothers are more creative in this training than others and one book they may use to enhance creativity is Marilyn Boyer’s Fun Projects for Hands-On Character Building.
For girls one character quality receives even greater emphasis begining just before puberty: Virtue or Purity. Beginning with books such as “The Princess and the Kiss” by Jennie Bishop:
“On the day she came into the world, the royal couple gave their daughter a very special gift from God—her first kiss” (Bishop, 1999, p. 2).
From that moment on she will be surrounded with an odd mixture of encouragement and suspicion all aimed at keeping her not only technically a virgin, but totally untouched by any man’s hands or lips until her wedding day. [Of course, her Father may kiss her….]
Some families may have their Jerusha Faith and her Father participate in a Purity Ball. Her father will accept her promise to remain pure and give her a “purity ring” as a reminder of her promise. Her mother may do a study with her (and possibly other like-minded mothers and daughters) of Stacy McDonald’s book “Raising Maidens of Virtue” . Mrs. McDonald cautions parents that“certain yearnings [can be] awakened too early [and] can cause all kinds of temptations and trouble.” (McDonald, pp. 161-162). This study teaches girls the importance of her “purity:”
- Part of your [parents'] responsibility to God and TO YOU is to guard your purity and insure you are faithful to your future husband EVEN NOW…..Emotional purity involves saving your romantic feelings for your husband…You will be able to offer him your WHOLE HEART on your wedding day—not just bits and pieces that are left. (McDonald, p. 162) [emphasis added]
McDonald also cautions girls not to read romance novels which may lure them into fantasizing about a “perfect husband” (McDonald, p. 162), citing Hebrews 13:5 which reads in part “and be content with such things as ye have….”
On her own, or with a sister or mother, Jerusha Faith may read Beautiful Girlhood—a classic for Chrisitan girls. Her parents may, however, remove or censor some material in Karen Adreola’s revision of this book since it advocates completing your education and being able to support yourself and a family if the need should arise later in life as well as the chapter about boys.
A little later in her teens, just before courtship “season,” Jerusha Faith may be found reading “Before You Meet Your Prince Charming”—a book recommended to elementary school children by one of the Duggar girls.(“18 Kids and Counting,” TLC, “School Daze” episode. See Youtube for complete episode.) Her parents may allow her to read specially written “courtship stories,” such as those written by the Castleberry family, which emphasize parental approval, waiting on God and trusting the Lord and your father. Mostly, this pre-courtship and courtship phase will be spent as a daughter “at home” serving her own father in any way she can. [See: Return of the Daughters (check Youtube) and So Much More by the Botkin Sisters.
With her character trained, her mind directed to thoughts of others and her purity guarded what’s left for Jerusha Faith to do? Plenty! While still in diapers, she will begin learning to help with simple household chores. She will definitely have chores to do almost from the moment she learns to walk. Like Mrs. Duggar, her mother may use the Managers of Her Home or Managers of Her School to schedule her day and may pin a Chore Pack on her children to remind them to be diligent in doing their chores!
Naturally, all of these chores can be “supplemented” with corrective chastisement as necessary. Jerusha Faith will need to model cheerful, willing, and immediate obedience to her siblings—some of whom she may be assigned to help with their own chores or with other tasks like getting dressed. By early elementary school she will be very experienced in the care of infants and toddlers thanks to her mother’s need for help and the consistent arrival of new siblings.
About the time she is in her “tween” years Jerusha Faith will be expected to begin formally learning the housekeeping tasks, social skills and other practical knowledge she will need as her future husband’s helpmeet and mother of his children.
While it is important to remember that all families are different, one popular “program” for training girls and teens in these skills centers on Ann Ward’s huge Training Our Daughters to Be Keepers At Home. Ward, who styles herself “Mrs. Craig (Ann) Ward,” on the title page offers a Ph.d. in housekeeping, practical nursing, child care, practical handcrafts and much more.
Each of the SEVEN years of this program has a very strong spiritual development component—usually featuring a classic Christian book. (For supplemental materials see the Unofficial Training Our Daughters web site.) Should Jerusha Faith marry a missionary to the 3rd world or a backwoods homesteader, once she graduates from Ward’s program she is good to go—even free birthing her own child if necessary. This book uses the “holy grail” of cookbooks—the Sue Gregg whole grain books which fueled the “grind your own wheat” to bake your own bread movement among right-wing Christian families.
Jerusha Faith is now ready for the next stage in life—the ultimate stage—marriage and motherhood. She and her parents will be reviewing Mrs. McDonald’s advice to be sure she is “ready:”
- …be well prepared for your groom when he comes. He will find you well-equipped to your position has his honored helpmate with your lantern filled, radiating purity. You will ease into motherhood with confidence, grace and an eager desire to serve. And, if you continue in your diligence serving here at home, you will be a much more organized and prepared homemaker….” (McDonald, p. 163)
During her years as a daughter at home, Jerusha Faith will be a sort-of “helpmeet in training” for her father. Non-quiverful, non-Patriarchal families often find this very odd—after all Dad has a wife. She will run errands, provide child care, do chores, plan and cook meals, help on the farm or in her father’s business if appropriate. If her father approves she may even start a home-based business. Basically she is to “serve” her family in any way she can—Jesus First, Others Second, Yourself forgotten by this time in her life. (See the Botkin Sisters, above, or blogs such as Firmly Fixed on the Father or Aspiring Homemaker.)
Finally the day Jerusha Faith and her parents have been praying for: God has sent the man who wants to marry her! With her father’s blessing, the courtship can begin. It will likely be long and --rarely, if ever, will the couple be alone. One of the foundational books of the movement, A Full Quiver by Rick and Jan Hess sets the tone of what Dad will be looking for in a future son-in-law:
- Strive to build Christian discipline and habits before marriage…..Another thing, especially for men, finish your education and training as as much as God allows, get established in your law firm, assembly line or home business, then get hitched to your sweetie” (Hess & Hess, 1990, p.) 137
A Godly man who is able to fully support not only a wife but a rapidly growing family are the only men who need apply for Jerusha Faith’s hand. Whether she likes the man or not, or has even met him, is not always very important—she is to trust God and her father in this matter. She will spend time in prayer as will her parents who have been praying about this man since her birth. It may be at this time, too, that she fully learns the “facts of life” and what will be expected of her in marriage.
Let’s leave Jerusha Faith for now and see what went on in a real Quiverfull Courtship—that of Joshua Duggar and his wife, Anna. The Duggars, as a Quiverfull and Patriarchal family, view their family in terms of a chain of command with God at the top and the father of the family as the “head” of the family. Bill Gothard’s ATI &IBLP teaches this as the father’s “umbrella of authority” over his family.
- The use of an umbrella to symbolize protection is commonly understood and accepted. In the insurance industry, an overall coverage of protection is referred to as an “umbrella policy.” In the Bible, similar symbols teach the concepts of provision, protection, headship, and leadership.
- The use of this symbol in relation to the family is to give special encouragement to fathers to protect, instruct, lead, and provide for their wives, sons, and daughters. (http://billgothard.com/bill/teaching/authority)
When Joshua Duggar, met Anna Keller in a concession stand line at an ATI-homeschool event, he felt sure that she was “the one” God had chosen for him. He “knew” because he had been taught since childhood to be on the lookout the future wife God hand-picked for him.
- I was taught to wait for God’s best in my life partner. But as time went along and I grew older it was harder to keep my heart only for the one that God had for my life partner. (Josh and Anna Duggar blog)
Josh spoke to his father about courting and was first counseled to pray, to listen carefully to God to be sure he was hearing God’s message correctly. After a visit by the Keller family to the Duggar home, Anna’s father asked her if there was any one man God was leading her to. Was she called to be someone’s wife? When she said she thought it was Josh, her father agreed. After the visit, Josh too, told his father he was sure. This resulted in a “virtual” courtship—supervised phone calls or Skype calls etc. Anna remembers her parents’ teachings on courtship:
- Like Joshua I was raised in a Christian home, and my parents encouraged me to save my whole heart & purity for the one that God had for me. As a young girl, my parents told me that it was normal to have desires & thoughts, but that it was my responsibility to commit my future to the Lord and trust God to lead me in His timing. (Josh and Anna Duggar blog)
On their show, and in their book, Jim-Bob and Michelle and their children return time and again to the discussion of not giving “pieces of your heart” away by dating. Choosing a spouse is the single most important thing after accepting the Salvation of Jesus Christ.
The Duggars teach their children to “guard their heart” in many ways. Courtship, not dating is one such way. Another is being very careful of the images and words the put into their brain. Limiting TV and Internet, and parental approval of reading material and music are another way the children are taught to “guard their hearts.”
Not being alone with a member of the opposite sex and only very limited touch is a very visible way of keeping pure. The Duggar children were also encouraged not to think “wrong thoughts” –which Joshua confesses was as hard for him as for any other young man. (Josh and Anna Duggar blog) As parents Jim-Bob and Michelle take time to help their children deal with such thoughts and encourage them with Scripture and prayer. (20 and Counting by Jim-Bob and Michelle Duggar and the Duggar family website and TLC’s 19 Kids and Counting).
Like most Quiverfull couples, Josh and Anna had a longer courtship than their engagement, the thinking being that courtship is “getting to know you” and engagement is “all but married” so “temptations” come into play and must be fought off. During this time Josh focused on becoming a provider. On TV we were shown how they re-did an old rental house to live in and how Josh was developing a used car sales lot to support them. Another difference between the Duggar courtship and other even more Conservative families was when Josh proposed to Anna he was allowed to slip the engagement ring onto Anna’s hand himself. This is not always the case. Since the ring symbolizes the coming “transfer of authority” over the young woman from her father to her husband-to-be [and is only final at the wedding] the father sometimes places the ring on the woman’s finger (see the blog Kristina’s Keepsakes).
More from Hopewell:
A FULL QUIVER OF INFORMATION [my information only site]http://quiverfullmyblog.wordpress.com/
Personal Blog http://hopewellmomschoolreborn.blogspot.com/
