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Question:
Can
you elaborate on the experiences you've heard from survivors of the
QF cult? The lack of healthcare, emotional and physical abuse, risks
of so many pregnancies and births, girls being robbed of their own
childhoods, shame surrounding bodies and sex et cetera. It would be
great to flesh those as a little so the readers can really understand
the terrible impact of these on the women that you've helped.
Please
allow me to address this history first which will put the devotion
that mothers have to the ideology into better perspective. For
specific stories, I will refer you to some exemplars that have
already been documented online, particularly articles written by
Kathryn Joyce who has been an expert and compassionate journalist who
has written about QF/P more respectfully than I possibly could have,
preserving the misplaced dignity of those true believers of the
movement. Tess Willoughby’s account includes a notable connection
to the contemporary patriarchy movement through Vision Forum by way
of Geoffrey Botkin who originated in the same cultic Evangelical
group from the early ‘70s. I would love to see her details
featured, partly because they are so horrible and typical of what
I’ve heard (but rarely see published), and because of the
connection to both her husband and Botkin/Vision Forum to the Great
Commission International cult.
Mary
Pride: The Matriarch of Patriarchy
As
previously noted, the QF/P lifestyle coalesced from among different
groups of homeschoolers who gathered together for support in the
early years of the Christian movement, creating their own unique
culture. Theonomists who seek a grass roots effort of taking
dominion over society for Christ in order to reestablish Old
Testament or Mosaic Law to govern all areas of life including civil
law showed special interest in the homeschooling movement. Because
it was felt that Christians had abandoned their presence in civil
government which resulted in greater secularization of the US,
homeschooling became one of the many “theological innovations”
that Theonomists and others within the Christian Right could employ
to recapture their lost influence.
Though not all those who followed Theonomy ascribed to these ideas, in the mid to late 1970s, individuals like Gary North began teaching what constituted a strategy of social engineering. If Christians could breed more voters, they could elect and enact the government sought by the Christian Right. Those these types of fringe elements in the homeschooling movement did not represent the majority, their ideas seemed to many to parallel the pro-life and pro-family ideals that were believed would rescue society from secularism.
Though not all those who followed Theonomy ascribed to these ideas, in the mid to late 1970s, individuals like Gary North began teaching what constituted a strategy of social engineering. If Christians could breed more voters, they could elect and enact the government sought by the Christian Right. Those these types of fringe elements in the homeschooling movement did not represent the majority, their ideas seemed to many to parallel the pro-life and pro-family ideals that were believed would rescue society from secularism.
Among
other activities, the well-educated Mary Pride who boasted both
undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering from Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute emerged within the movement and addressed the
problem of a growing disdain for motherhood within society which did
affect some sectors of Christianity at large. Mary claimed feminism
before she converted to Christianity in 1977, and she did bring some
astute observations about how many Christians were affected by some
of these changes in the culture.
However, in her 1985 book, The Way Home: Beyond Feminism, Back to Reality, along with her true observations which carried powerful convictions for many devout Christians, she merged the good with social engineering concepts, fear inspired propaganda about contraception and social service agencies, many of her own personal preferences, and notably cruel disdain towards those who did not or could not measure up to what she presented as the only viable Christian lifestyle for those of childbearing age.
However, in her 1985 book, The Way Home: Beyond Feminism, Back to Reality, along with her true observations which carried powerful convictions for many devout Christians, she merged the good with social engineering concepts, fear inspired propaganda about contraception and social service agencies, many of her own personal preferences, and notably cruel disdain towards those who did not or could not measure up to what she presented as the only viable Christian lifestyle for those of childbearing age.
~
Cynthia Kunsman
The
view of Quiverfull from my vantage
August
2015
