Can someone give me a Maxwell summary?

[RecoveringFundie]

I've read many of their posts in the "Individual Families" section, but I'd love a few people's takes on their beliefs in a nutshell. They definitely seem to be on the deep-end of crazy. Reading the archived posts only gives you small glimpses at a time and I'd love to read a few bullet points or a paragraph on what you've garnered over the years of following them. Like Stevhovah's beliefs for his family or what not. I want to start getting into them (and have added their blog feed), but I feel like I'm not getting the "full experience" yet because I don't have a handle on them yet.

[HeatherFeather]

In my opinion their beliefs seem to be conservative Christian with the addition of isolating themselves in a way that I would have thought impossible for people living in a suburb/city.

[thoughtful]

viewtopic.php?f=34&t=15254

[treemom]

I would do a search for things like Pepsi, animal crackers, Taco Bell, cheese paper, etc

[albanuadh_1]

cheese paper???

[Eternalbluepearl]

They are conservative Christians who sell the Managers of Their Homes books, chore packs, etc. these are tools that other homeschooling Christians use. They travel around to Conferences selling their wares and giving talks. They have all adult children but only 2 of the adult sons are married. The rest of them stay at home and help their parents with the family business. They keep a blog about their life that is mostly written by their oldest daughter, Sarah. She writes children's books as well called Moody Books. We all feel sorry for her as she is over 30 and has never courted. The family is headed by Steve who isolates his family and doesn't allow any fun.

[Naga Viper]

Also, we know Steve reads FJ because typos get corrected after they're pointed out here and more than one post has seemed like an "FU FJ" response. Thus, the frequent shoutouts.

[Savoring Samsara]

cheese paper???

I don't have the link, but a Maxwell blog post told a very overdramatized story about how Teri accidentally made a sandwich without removing the paper from the pre-sliced cheese she was using and didn't realize it until after taking a few bites and it was THE FUNNIEST THING EVAR.

[mystikchick17]

Alright, I can't promise this will be exhaustive, but I'll try to be thorough. I apologize for not having the time right now to also go hunt down links, but if someone wants to post links to references, I'll gladly edit later.

Family:

Steve (also known as Stevehovah): Family patriarch, used to work for Boeing, seems to have left his job over a refusal to interact with a female coworker. He was the original one to get "convicted" that they should move in a more "Biblically-oriented" way as a family and had a revelation that he should get his vasectomy reversed.

Terri: Wife of Steve, also known as Terrified. Suffered from severe depression, had a love of Pepsi that she consequently gave up because it had become an "idol" to her and she was too dependent on it.

Children:

Nathan, married to Melanie. Has four children, Abby, Bethany, Christina, and (An)drew. Have a preemie who died shortly after birth named Susannah. Melanie's family is far more fundie-light than the Maxwells and they do seem to have a relationship with them. The girls also wear obviously store-bought clothes, ankles are shown, leggings are worn. Scandal! Suspicion is that they may be secretly less extreme than Stevehovah.

Christopher, married to Anna-Marie (also called NR Anna, or non-reversal Anna, because Steve has a thing about nobody sharing the same name as his kids. Thus, Anna Marie's little sister Sarah was renamed on the blog by her middle name, Grace). They have two children: Joshua and Ruthanne. Seem to be SUPERFUNDY. Anna Marie once wrote the most breathtaking thoughts about how her former goat soap business made her think of Jesus washing away all her sins (hamiltonfamilyfarms.com/Soap.html). Christopher is a photographer who will not photograph weddings he finds to be incompatible with his beliefs. Their wedding was livecast and all about DEATH!

Sarah: Last of the pre-reversal kids, had some awareness of the world before they went super-fundie but seems to have had her memories transformed into scary, terrifying moments. Writes the Moody books which are about a duller than dishwater Christian family that learns moral lessons together.

Joseph: First of the reversal kids. Owns a home that was bought for his to-be-bride Elizabeth Munck but then she bailed on the wedding the day of her shower, which was just before the actual ceremony. The Muncks believe in things like FUN! and wearing jeans, so this would never have worked. He "chooses" to still live at home.

John: Not really sure what to say about him.

Anna: Was at one point being trained to take over writing the Moody books in the event of Sarah's marriage, but as the likelihood of Sarah ever being allowed to marry dwindles to nothing, this has never been mentioned again.

Jesse: Not sure what to say about him, either.

Mary: The youngest. Has delayed "graduation" from the SOTDRT for a year due to busyness. Graduation will consist of outlining the whole Bible. Very pretty. Has an unhealthy attachment to her father based on Treemom's interaction with her.

Notable beliefs:

- No participation in sports teams - your family should be your best friend and the competition is bad.

- Very, very limited contact with non-family friends: again, your family should be your primary source of relationships from a purity and shielding perspective.

- All unmarried offspring are referred to as the kids/children. Even 32 year old Sarah.

- No television - it is the beast.

- Park in the backyard called the Aunt's Park for the grandkids. Theory on FJ is that this is to prevent association with ungodly children at the playground.

- Everything should be scheduled using the Managers of their Homes guide.

- There should never be a moment idle. Seriously. Even when you're waiting for your breakfast to microwave, you must be doing something. In the absence of things to do, undertake tasks like dusting the ceiling fans.

- Buttons of contrasting colors were thought to be defrauding.

- Kids forced to play instruments they were not good at/didn't want to play in order to keep them humble.

- Nathan made to give up his desire to be an EMT in order to prevent working alongside women or putting himself under their authority.

- All unmarried offspring "choose" to share a bedroom for accountability purposes. You know, because masturbation would not be ok. So 32-year old Sarah shares a bedroom with her younger sisters.

- Anything that is becoming an idol must be given up.

- They must have daily Bible time for an hour at the crack of dawn before they get about their day. But one must always be reciting prayers or Bible verses in your mind at all times, even in the shower.

- If you own a home debt-free (the only way to own a home, as a man only), you cannot live in it until you have a wife. Nathan and Christopher both did this, Joseph is currently doing this.

- In addition to spending all their waking hours together and sleeping hours together in the name of family togetherness and accountability, the Maxwells go on a yearly "what some might call a vacation" to Colorado where they do things like have Bible time (but an hour early, because they stay on Kansas time), go hiking in the dark, and spend time

together.

- Images and lyrics to songs were censored for the kids in the name of purity. Even innocuous-seeming lyrics/images.

[twin2]

I don't have the link, but a Maxwell blog post told a very overdramatized story about how Teri accidentally made a sandwich without removing the paper from the pre-sliced cheese she was using and didn't realize it until after taking a few bites and it was THE FUNNIEST THING EVAR.

A while back I was making a sandwich. I was using the pre-cut cheese with the cheese paper. I looked at it, thought of the Maxwells and the scientist in me took over. How the hell you wouldn't know after ONE BITE there was a piece of paper in there is beyond me.

[nelliebelle1197]

Definitely read the SODRT article. I came here because I stumbled across the Maxwells completely randomly. That article will give you a good start. I think it is linked above. My boyfriend JohnHugh frequently gets comments past Steve's gaydar, and those are always funny. Look for random pop star names in the comments.

Their beliefs are best described as the Church of Steve. They have made up their own version of extreme isolationist fundamentalism lived out every Sunday with Steve's preaching to a bunch of the "elderly" - nursing home residents who probably aren't terribly ambulatory and therefore cannot make a break for the door when the Maxwell army invades. Unlike a lot of crazed fundamentalists, they are very comfortably middle class and it shows. They like to read the Bible both alone and in groups and employ a brainwashing technique known as Family Bible Time that involves getting up at 5 am to read the Bible together in comfortable chairs in their comfortable living room. Their idea of ministry is attacking "young people" at county fairs and withholding balloon animals until they can administer the "good person test" and selling expensive homeschool supplies to people with too many kids and not enough money. They also, "minister" through Sarah's Moody book series, which is basically her life lived through people named Moody who save every soul who comes to dinner and chase cats into trees, and through Steve's writing on how to make sure your sons stay unemployable and your kids cannot hold a normal conversation. Note also that once a son marries, he is no longer considered "immediate" family, despite the fact that he lives next door.

After the radio silence on the deaths of Steve and Teri's fathers, I am beginning to suspect they are not as austere and isolated as they pretend but rather their blog represents an utterly sanitized version of their lives and it is little more than a marketing game presented by people who do not understand that real, messy lives would sell more products than boring bland perfection.

[treemom]

Also, we know Steve reads FJ because typos get corrected after they're pointed out here and more than one post has seemed like an "FU FJ" response. Thus, the frequent shoutouts.

At minimum we know he knows about us because he told me so.

[treemom]

One correction, Anna was never trained to take over the Moody Books. Instead she was trained to take over the work that Sarah did for the book and conference business so Sarah could write. Sarah did the writing in Uriah.

[treemom]

Also, they have two failed engagements but are protecting their children's hearts.

[twin2]

Also, they have two failed engagements but are protecting their children's hearts.

And I'm sure countless unnamed suitors Steve has turned away.

Yet, they still feel they are qualified to have workshop sessions and write books on courtship.....

[Savoring Samsara]

Also it was Christopher who aspired to be an EMT and was talked out of it by Steve, not Nathan.

[SPHASH]

John: Not really sure what to say about him.

John is really yum-yum and the best looking of all the sons. It's amazing how Steve and Teri produced such plain looking men like Nate and Chris but John is delish. Maybe its in part to Steve getting his "reversal". Teri has also written that John was the most diffult child, so I hold hope for him to escape.

[anjulibai]

One correction, Anna was never trained to take over the Moody Books. Instead she was trained to take over the work that Sarah did for the book and conference business so Sarah could write. Sarah did the writing in Uriah.

Actually, I think the training was done because they expected Sarah to marry.

Sarah did write in Uriah, but considering how big that house is, I'm surprised they don't have an office for her.

[treemom]

Actually, I think the training was done because they expected Sarah to marry.

Sarah did write in Uriah, but considering how big that house is, I'm surprised they don't have an office for her.

It was both, but the immediate need was to free Sarah up to write.

blog.titus2.com/2010/11/13/an-unusual-birthday-a-day-in-the-life-of-anna/

[Jana814]

This thread is great!! All so true!

[Brightonbelle]

Looking at that post, funny how Abby scrunched her nose in pictures at that age like Bethany does now.

[Rebelwife]

snipped....

- Images and lyrics to songs were censored for the kids in the name of purity. Even innocuous-seeming lyrics/images.

Let's be clear - we're talking about heathen and immoral songs like "Row Row Row Your Boat." :snooty:

[uber frau]

The only fact I'd like to add to that summary:a few years ago Steve felt he was getting a bit podgy round the middle so he decided to cut out junk food for a bit, including birthday cake for his birthday. I only prove he isn't completely heartless he allowed the family to have 2 animal crackers each for dessert.

Steve has a strange relationship with food. He enjoys it and that means he thinks he should consider it an idol, but he hasn't worked out how to live on air yet so he can't ban it completely.

Oh, I lied. I have another thing to add: they cook up vast quantities of boiled bean goo to freeze and eat on their weekly burritos (they used to have them with beef but Steve declared the couldn't tell the difference so now they only have beans.) This is a two day operation that involves at least 4 ppl and they produce enough bland brown mush to last them for months. Someone here tried their recipe with cut down quantities. It was reportedly even more bland and boring than what you'd expect from the Maxwells.

[nausicaa]

Let's be clear - we're talking about heathen and immoral songs like "Row Row Row Your Boat." :snooty:

Yes! I was just about to mention that. It's not that the songs had negative content, it's that they weren't completely about Jesus. Ergo, not acceptable.

Also, his teenaged to young adult children cannot be exposed to a documentary about hiking because there is a brief scene in which a Buddhist temple is shown. And someone is lighting candles inside. CANDLES!!! :o By extension, Catholics are only referred to as Christians with super condescending quotes around the word and passing those types of churches give the occupants of Uriah a moment of the sads. Cause those "Christians" are so wrong. And Steve is so right.

[Marian the Librarian]

Steve thinks he's God. That's all you really need to know.