Can someone give me a Maxwell summary?

[ILoveJellybeans]

Here's my horrible thought on the matter: maybe they would do OK in another sheltered fundie group that provides them with more freedom while keeping them in the strongly religious and regulated type of framework they're used to.

It is sad to think that the Maxwell "kids" are so screwed up that even sending them to a regular ATI home would be a major adjustment in terms of freedom. I think the best thing Sarah and the other girls could ever be capable of doing is being a nanny for a fundie family that is controlled but less strict than her own (but not for Doug Phillips). It would also allow them to live out looking after a large family, which is something there is no chance they will ever have of their own.

Steve is a terrible person. Part of raising a child is to prepare them for one day being an independent adult who no longer needs you to look after them, by gradually giving them more responsibilities and freedom as they get older. Steve failed.

[Jana814]

Agree!! He failed in so many ways!

[salex]

I never understood why that was considered a "bad" song, especially since it's singing about something that's the opposite of idle.

My guess? "Life is but a dream." Diminishes God's gift of life and opens the mind to the old college sophomore type question such as "What if life is really just a dream and our dreams are real life" (take deep hit on bong.) "Is everyone's reality the same?

Can't even introduce the idea that life is but a dream.

[Handmaiden of Dog]

Steve is a terrible person. Part of raising a child is to prepare them for one day being an independent adult who no longer needs you to look after them, by gradually giving them more responsibilities and freedom as they get older. Steve failed.

Don't forget Teri enabled her children to be damaged. Steve is mentally ill and Teri should have recognized the problem and done something about it. But she stood by meekly and now her children are messed up for life with a very dim future ahead of them.

[SuffolkNWhat]

The way I view the Maxwells is similar to the Truman Show, he has no idea of the world outside of that which is presented to him, who knows what happened after he went through that door.

[Sundaymorning]

So the kids know nothing about Renaissance Art? :lol: Can you imagine what it would be like to get out of that cave? Their whole world would change.

I wonder how they deal with the limited exposure they get. Cause it's not like Stevehova keeps them in the house all the time, they do get out to go shopping, to go to fairs, they drive around in the country. So they must see some things, like advertisement, magazine covers and posters and such.

[Antimony]

I don't know anybody nearly as sheltered as the Maxwell but I did have two friends growing up who were very religious and sheltered. The first taste of freedom was extremely dangerous.

The first girl, her family was Baptist and maybe Quiverfull as far as birth control beliefs and such. She got some freedom in public school and ended up getting pregnant at like 16. Her parents decided the answer was to move across the country so she could never see the father (a likely foolish but nice boy, who wanted to stay with her, young love, etc). Under the stress, she miscarried.

The other girl was homeschooled. Crazy parents. Totally nutty, kind of Maxwellian. The girl did something, nobody knows, so they sent her to Israel and then something that sounded like Journey to the Heart. Her mental illnesses got real bad.

The last took a kind of different direction. After college, the idea of freedom was so much and so tempting, she became a druggie, dealing, smoking, snorting, etc. I swear her personality changed.

I think kids who are severely restricted tend to get extreme when they get a chance at freedom. Seems like what would happen for the Maxwell "kids". However, I'm not gonna lie, the image of Sarah going full throttle on secular freedom, like listening to Kayne and smoking a bowl while digging into burritos with as much meat as she wants totally makes me smile. If it is self motivated escape, I think they'd do okay - people HAVE gotten out of more restrictive cults. But being thrust into the world suddenly seems to go less well.

[Palimpsest]

I wonder how they deal with the limited exposure they get. Cause it's not like Stevehova keeps them in the house all the time, they do get out to go shopping, to go to fairs, they drive around in the country. So they must see some things, like advertisement, magazine covers and posters and such.

They close their eyes (and probably pray too). As they did at the Creation Museum because the presentation on the Crucifixion was too upsetting.

I hope Uriah's driver doesn't do that if he (because it is always a he driving) sees a defrauding billboard.

In his Fathers' Family Time (men and boys no women around) presentation at the Inspire! conference Steve nauseated Mr. P. with his salaciousness. Steve talked about accidentally seeing some TV commercial featuring a scantily clad woman turning cartwheels. It was all nudge, nudge, wink, wink, boys will be boys, Junior high stuff, with the take-home message that we Godly Men can't control ourselves so women must cover up. Mr. P. begs to disagree and found Steve gross.

[SPHASH]

Oh wow! That is fascinating! But maybe it was Nathan or Christopher? Or Teri? :o

Could I have the link to your blog, please?

http://sarahpalinhasaserpentsheart.blog ... s.html?m=1

[Coco]

The way I view the Maxwells is similar to the Truman Show, he has no idea of the world outside of that which is presented to him, who knows what happened after he went through that door.

That movie must be exactly what their lives are like- living in a bubble with Steve being the god voice. It looks like the real world but it's all controlled, every personal interaction is watched. Creepy like the Duggars too, because they were going to film Truman's child being conceived :hand: before he got into a boat and rode to the end of the ocean lol.

[treemom]

It is sad to think that the Maxwell "kids" are so screwed up that even sending them to a regular ATI home would be a major adjustment in terms of freedom. I think the best thing Sarah and the other girls could ever be capable of doing is being a nanny for a fundie family that is controlled but less strict than her own (but not for Doug Phillips). It would also allow them to live out looking after a large family, which is something there is no chance they will ever have of their own.

Steve is a terrible person. Part of raising a child is to prepare them for one day being an independent adult who no longer needs you to look after them, by gradually giving them more responsibilities and freedom as they get older. Steve failed.

I might have done a lot of things I regret when I confronted him. But I am so glad I told him you are a terrible person who has ruined your children's lives. It probably didn't do or mean anything but I am glad I said it to him.

[NotALoserLikeYou]

The thing that always stood out to me about the Maxwells was that when the children were young and not behaving, Steve and Teri would pull them into the closet and pray loudly over them, weeping for their souls. It's no wonder they are so meek now. That must have been terrifying and worse than any spanking.

[shedemei]

Don't forget Teri enabled her children to be damaged. Steve is mentally ill and Teri should have recognized the problem and done something about it. But she stood by meekly and now her children are messed up for life with a very dim future ahead of them.

Didn't/doesn't Teri suffer from chronic major depression? She might not have been able to actually do anything about it when it started. If that's the case, I can't blame her too much. I'm all too familiar with that state of being.

[thoughtful]

My guess? "Life is but a dream." Diminishes God's gift of life and opens the mind to the old college sophomore type question such as "What if life is really just a dream and our dreams are real life" (take deep hit on bong.) "Is everyone's reality the same?

Can't even introduce the idea that life is but a dream.

I went looking for it, and couldn't find it. But I'm pretty sure it was nothing that complex, and that he really said any lyrics that were not about Jesus were out - something along the lines of not cluttering up the mind with non-Jesus content.

ETA - found this, on an old Maxwell site -- lots about whiting out secular lyrics, nothing about RRRYB specifically:

http://www.familiesforjesus.com/music/index.php

We strive to use Christian materials as many of the secular works have worthless (at best) catchy tunes and lyrics that can run about in the mind. If we can’t find any quality Christian materials, we consider secular if it is more of a method book. Usually the method books don’t have many songs with words in them, and if they do, we can white-out the words, remove the pages or staple them together.

We choose to white out some song titles, but there are no words to the songs themselves. There was also an immodest picture of his daughter, which we used a marker to cover up. Although this book does not come with a DVD, it does have a CD.

This is a secular course. We whited out the words of the songs in the book and skipped the teaching sections of the DVD that had the words.

. Secular course. There were no words to the songs in the book so no white out was needed.

:roll:

[thoughtful]

This is the family page from the website of the fellow who wrote the banjo course with the "immodest picture of his daughter."

rossnickerson.com/family/index.htm

Wonder if the pic in the book was the B&W one from 1999.

Look at that horrible young woman, hugging her brother with her bare arms, showing her legs, getting ready to go to law school and go on to a career with the Department of Immigration.

Steve, get a clue.

[bean]

This is the family page from the website of the fellow who wrote the banjo course with the "immodest picture of his daughter."

rossnickerson.com/family/index.htm

Wonder if the pic in the book was the B&W one from 1999.

Look at that horrible young woman, hugging her brother with her bare arms, showing her legs, getting ready to go to law school and go on to a career with the Department of Immigration.

Steve, get a clue.

I would really love to see the photo after Steve took his marker to it. They are so weird.

[sparkles]

The thing that always stood out to me about the Maxwells was that when the children were young and not behaving, Steve and Teri would pull them into the closet and pray loudly over them, weeping for their souls. It's no wonder they are so meek now. That must have been terrifying and worse than any spanking.

Wait a minute. So Steve and Teri are actually Carrie White's parents?

Then I'm guessing that when Steve took his marker to the immodest daughter, he was covering up her dirty pillows...

[Jana814]

The thing that always stood out to me about the Maxwells was that when the children were young and not behaving, Steve and Teri would pull them into the closet and pray loudly over them, weeping for their souls. It's no wonder they are so meek now. That must have been terrifying and worse than any spanking.

That's horrible!! I didn't know they did that! That's just wrong on so many levels.

[nausicaa]

I would really love to see the photo after Steve took his marker to it. They are so weird.

They really are. Especially because it's really pointless since even in conservative parts of Kansas, it would be so common to see a woman out in public showing that much skin. And at the county fair in summer, you can't tell me there aren't teen girls in cut off booty shorts and those tiny little skater sundresses that are popular now. What do they do then? Are the Maxwell boys just shuffling along with their eyes glued to the ground and their sisters leading them by the arm? What do they do when they see someone with tattoos? What if those tattoos are provocative? I so want to see these people out in the world and observe how they act.

[nomoxian]

I would really love to see the photo after Steve took his marker to it. They are so weird.

When I was a kid, if I had seen something with a marker over it, I would have been curious about what was underneath. I would obsess over trying to find an unedited version. I would imagine about what would be under the marker, and what I'd imagine would be worse than a bare arm!

The fact that those children seemed to not even question it is so, so SAD.

[nomoxian]

That's horrible!! I didn't know they did that! That's just wrong on so many levels.

It's interesting how psychology works... I would think that, at least for some people, something like that would make them side more with the Devil because "look at how awful my God loving parents are!"

[oompa2129]

I don't know anybody nearly as sheltered as the Maxwell but I did have two friends growing up who were very religious and sheltered. The first taste of freedom was extremely dangerous.

The first girl, her family was Baptist and maybe Quiverfull as far as birth control beliefs and such. She got some freedom in public school and ended up getting pregnant at like 16. Her parents decided the answer was to move across the country so she could never see the father (a likely foolish but nice boy, who wanted to stay with her, young love, etc). Under the stress, she miscarried.

The other girl was homeschooled. Crazy parents. Totally nutty, kind of Maxwellian. The girl did something, nobody knows, so they sent her to Israel and then something that sounded like Journey to the Heart. Her mental illnesses got real bad.

The last took a kind of different direction. After college, the idea of freedom was so much and so tempting, she became a druggie, dealing, smoking, snorting, etc. I swear her personality changed.

I think kids who are severely restricted tend to get extreme when they get a chance at freedom. Seems like what would happen for the Maxwell "kids". However, I'm not gonna lie, the image of Sarah going full throttle on secular freedom, like listening to Kayne and smoking a bowl while digging into burritos with as much meat as she wants totally makes me smile. If it is self motivated escape, I think they'd do okay - people HAVE gotten out of more restrictive cults. But being thrust into the world suddenly seems to go less well.

I agree with this, when I was in college, most of the kids who went bat-shit bonkers were the ones whose parents were very strict and/or came from very patriarchal backgrounds. One of them, whose parents had basically forced her to wear nothing but salwar kameezes, decided to buy a pair of jeans with her allowance. The look on her face as she tried them on made me so sad.

[Sundaymorning]

I agree with this, when I was in college, most of the kids who went bat-shit bonkers were the ones whose parents were very strict and/or came from very patriarchal backgrounds. One of them, whose parents had basically forced her to wear nothing but salwar kameezes, decided to buy a pair of jeans with her allowance. The look on her face as she tried them on made me so sad.

I also made this experience. And sadly, sometimes it's from one bad extreme to another. I personally know one boy of a strict Christian family who, after he fled from the rule of his crazy father, got sexually involved with any girl he could find. Kids who failed the first year of college, cause they were so excited to finally have some freedom and used it for excessive partying, alcohol and weed and so on.

But there are also plenty examples of young adults using their new found freedom responsibly. Sure, maybe a party here and there, some drinks and some dates or maybe later a boyfriend/girlfriend, but they managed to keep up a productive life with good grades and taking care of their health.

[moodygirl86]

I might have done a lot of things I regret when I confronted him. But I am so glad I told him you are a terrible person who has ruined your children's lives. It probably didn't do or mean anything but I am glad I said it to him.

I saw your thread about that Treemom, and I'm glad you told him that also. It may have been a drop in the ocean, but it's something. It's better than nobody confronting him at all! I'm happy you shared the story on here too - you may have made it easier for someone else to stand up to people like Steve.

[RecoveringFundie]

Took me awhile to get through these! Thank you all for the summaries. I especially loved being able to go back and read some of the original posts---nice touch. I am dying at the image of Teri and the girls at the craft fair in matching homemade jumpers getting "compliment after compliment." :lol: