Well, yes they are supporting themselves in a way,,,, but look at all they've been given. The appliances, the piano, interior decorating of the home, work on the home, etc... Why should someone be given 6 washers and 6 dryers just because she can and will reproduce non-stop? I homeschooled two of my kids once and let me tell you, unless she has the older onces teaching the younger ones, no way much education is going on. When the kids are young you can kind of get by with a little math, lots of reading and some basic science stuff, but when the kids hit high school age it becomes much more difficult--unless the kids aren't preparing for college.
I had an aquaintance once who had 6 kids. She was a wonderful stay-at-home mom, very devout Christian, (she didn't homeschool, her kids went to a prestigious local school) and she told me that when her second oldest daughter married and left home it was really hard on her youngest daughter and that she (the mom) had not realized how much of a "mom" the second oldest had been to the youngest. So say what you will, the older kids are parenting the younger kids in this family and while that's o.k. to a certain extent, seems to me the Duggars need to slow down on procreation. Why not consider adoption? That would truly serve a worthwhile purpose. They could give a loving home to kids who haven't a thing.
Perhaps they accepted some "help" as payment for the rights to film them while they finished the house and moved in. They DID work on the house totally themselves for 3 years. And I am not certain they were given the appliances either, the kitchen appliances were bought used at auction from a restaurant - perhaps the commercial washers and dryers were bought used at auction from a dry cleaner or laundromat as well???
People are not understanding the Quiverfull movement. They don't adopt children - they feel that the sins of the father and mother (and generations before) are laid on the child - and therefore they have their own children and do not raise other people's children. Their families are limited by how many "home grown" kids God gives them - not by adding other people's kids. If they get NO children then they will have NO children. Despite what it looks like, it is NOT a "contest" to see who has the most children. You get the kids you are supposed to have "naturally" and then you are done - no adoptions - just your own children. 0, 1 or 20 - that's what God intended for you to raise - but NOT someone else's children who are not borne from the consecrated marital womb. I know, seems weird and rather un-Christian, but that's what they believe - the leader of the movement right now has never married and has NO kids at all. One does NOT have to marry OR have children to be a "Quiverfull" believer. The childless couples and the unmarried and the widowed are still considered "Quiverfull" based on their beliefs and lifestyle - it has nothing to do with the number of kids you have.
I personally have many issues with the beliefs and fundamentalist creed of Quiverfull followers. I disagree with almost everything the Quiverfull movement stands for - I do not like ANY religion where someone (a person) tells ME what I am to believe and not believe. I was given my OWN brain, thank you, and I assume God gave it to me because HE intends me to worship and pray in MY way and based on MY experience and learning, decide things for myself. I don't require a husband, a leader, an intermediary or an interpreter to guide me in my faith. If God needs me to know something, being God, I have full faith that HE will let me know personally, not tell someone else to tell me what HE wants. I certainly do NOT plan to EVER give my husband "dominion" over me - we are partners or "we" aren't at all.
That said, I have no issues with how many children people have (whether they have them for faith based reasons or other reasons) - that's personal. To me, having children is intrinsically selfish - we are recreating ourselves for the future - whether it's one or 17, the motivation is partly selfish in nature - it's the way we are wired, all of us. So long as I am not supporting them I do not care if people have 50 kids. I'm not worried at all that we will be overcome by fundamentalists of any sort. I believe in the power of the individual - you can "train" kids every day of their lives, but just as God gives them to you, HE also gives them a beautiful and individual spirit that NO-ONE can control once they have reached adulthood. Each child will grow up and (hopefully) find their way to whatever God created them for - Duggar kids are not excluded, Quiverfull kids are not excluded - it's the same for ALL of us - we are each blessed with a unique and very special spirit and trust me, the same God who gave the Duggars 17 kids has a plan for EACH of them - and it may... or may NOT... align with the Quiverfull beliefs they are being raised with. Somehow God always seems to find a way to lay waste to the best laid plans and "training" doesn't HE? The Duggars are no different. People who planned for 20 kids get none, people who planned for just one more child get quads, people who never planned for any find themselves parenting a family member's orphaned kids, people who have 5 can lose them all in one tragic accident and grandparents who thought they were "done" find themselves raising a whole new family. In my opinion God isn't opening anything but HEARTS and MINDS, and HE isn't closing anything - just sending us in new directions. No matter what - be we sanctified or sinners, HE is always there ready to walk beside us at our request - to celebrate with us the miracles and the blessings and more importantly, to lift us up and help us face and survive the sad times and the tragedies of life. God has a LOT on his plate to be worrying about opening and closing each womb on the planet. I will handle my own womb, thanks - more time for God to save a life or lift up the grieving (like Dr Petit) in their time of need.
See, while we are making all those plans and preparing so carefully...LIFE HAPPENS - and that's just the way it is. A blessing is that we wake up - past that, it's all up to us, with God's help, to make of that day we were blessed with, the most we possibly can.
My Opinion, Really
)) but I love what you said. In fact, I generally always agree with what you say.
