Happy 18th bday, Jesse Maxwell.

[Justme]

I think that if one of the Maxwell kids were to escape that family members would help them out. From the search I just did I think that some extended family r mainstream & they would help the kids.

I have a pretty good hunch Aunt Tami would take the whole bunch in. (Teri's sister.) She seems to be a normal conservitive Christian.

[TheJewAmongUs]

And now even walks must be done as a family. It wasn't enough that the girls sought out "fellowship" time on their own - no, clearly that was unacceptable and now ALL the people must join them. Your cheery tone isn't fooling us, Sarah. You've had some of the last vestiges of your (relative) alone time taken away and it's hurting you. I can see it in your eyes.

The only one (apart from the boys and the married wives) who looks even remotely happy these days is Mary. I dread the day that the light goes out in her.

Here's a quote from the latest blog post:

Last night, Nathan and Melanie had us over for dinner. It was a blessing, and the fellowship was wonderful.

No, that's called a family dinner. Plenty of families do it all the time, and don't post on their blogs calling it fellowship.

[NurseNell]

They sleep in Walmart parking lots?? Is that legal?

Yes, it is legal. Lots of people take advantage of Walmart's policy.

[NurseNell]

Did you see the birthday photos for their 8 y.o. on the Munck's blog? They really do birthdays up big! I can definitely see Elizabeth never would have been able to adjust to life as a Maxwell!

[lilith]

I've wondered about that too. Back in my hometown, traveling ministry groups used to visit several churches year round and it was common to see RVs, camper vans, or trucks with camping trailers in the church parking lots. There were a few ministry groups that only traveled in vans and sometimes families would host them. I remember my fundie lite neighbors hosted members of ministry groups a few times. They would usually host three or four people at a time.

Last year in a Maxwell related thread, a few FJers wondered why the Maxwells are never hosted by families who attend the churches they speak at. Sometime after that, the Maxwells had an event and a family did host them. I do find it weird that the Maxwells don't get more offers for stuff like that.

It's all part of their sheltering.

If they stayed with another family they couldn't be sure that the family believed the same things as Steve and felt the same way on every issue, and that could ruin all the hard work he's done sheltering his family for all these years.

For example, they may have a copy of Little House in the Big Woods and Sarah might get up in the middle of the night and read the forbidden passages that Teri censored for them. Or someone might offer Teri a pepsi, and before we know it she'll be off the wagon again.

Even if they are hardcore Maxwell disciples the situation us still fraught with danger, what if Steve was talking to the hostess and actually began to like her!!!!111!!11. We all know that he won't be able to resist adultery if he enjoys the company of a woman, because, after all, that's how it all started with Teri. He liked her, then he fell in love with her, then he desired her. Too dangerous.

Or Sarah may be exposed to a woman her age who is already married and thus impure, and she might say something about her husband or babies that isn't fit for virgin ears.

Mary might covet another girl's frumper. Or realise she really is very pretty and become vain.

Or the boys of the family might ask the Maxwell boys if they want to toss round a football.

And they almost certainly won't follow the Maxwell's schedule to the minute, and that would be terribly stressful for everyone.

It's much easier to fellowship in the controlled environment of conferences then draw close in Uriah at the local walmart and block the world out while they pray and eat the prepackaged meal portion scheduled for that time and day under Steve's watchful eye.

[RachelB]

Do the Maxwells have birthdays? I kinda presumed that would be too fun for them.

I imagine someone would have a happier birthday in jail than in the Maxwell house.

He should at least get an extra animal cracker, IMO.

Poor kid. (I know he's legally an adult now, but, in that family, he's not culturally or emotionally one.)

[sparkles]

Do the Maxwells have birthdays? I kinda presumed that would be too fun for them.

I imagine someone would have a happier birthday in jail than in the Maxwell house.

Here's how you would celebrate your birthday at Chez Maxwell.

mail.homeschoolecards.com/corners/4-09-m.htm

[twin2]

And in today's post Steve Sarah, makes sure to mention that they may stop in an RV park tonight. (Hi Steve! )

On another note, guess all that praying the Maxwells and their minions did for the packing, didn't pay off. They forgot stuff and had to turn around and go back. Guess Jesus must have finally had enough and pressed the mute button on the Maxwells.

[thoughtful]

It's all part of their sheltering.

If they stayed with another family they couldn't be sure that the family believed the same things as Steve and felt the same way on every issue, and that could ruin all the hard work he's done sheltering his family for all these years.

For example, they may have a copy of Little House in the Big Woods and Sarah might get up in the middle of the night and read the forbidden passages that Teri censored for them. Or someone might offer Teri a pepsi, and before we know it she'll be off the wagon again.

Even if they are hardcore Maxwell disciples the situation us still fraught with danger, what if Steve was talking to the hostess and actually began to like her!!!!111!!11. We all know that he won't be able to resist adultery if he enjoys the company of a woman, because, after all, that's how it all started with Teri. He liked her, then he fell in love with her, then he desired her. Too dangerous.

Or Sarah may be exposed to a woman her age who is already married and thus impure, and she might say something about her husband or babies that isn't fit for virgin ears.

Mary might covet another girl's frumper. Or realise she really is very pretty and become vain.

Or the boys of the family might ask the Maxwell boys if they want to toss round a football.

Someone might sing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" . . .

with.

the.

words.

:confusion-helpsos: :crying-green:

[lilith]

Someone might sing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" . . .

with.

the.

words.

:confusion-helpsos: :crying-green:

Good god no!!

Even my depraved imagination didn't go that far!

[ILoveJellybeans]

Here's how you would celebrate your birthday at Chez Maxwell.

mail.homeschoolecards.com/corners/4-09-m.htm

I think I would rather celebrate my birthday in hell.

[twin2]

Someone might sing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" . . .

with.

the.

words.

:confusion-helpsos: :crying-green:

Row, Row, Row Your Boat was composed by the Devil himself. Just look at the last line "Merrily, Merrily, Merrily, Life is but a Dream."

A) Life may be merry now, but DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU ARE GOING TO GO WHEN YOU DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

B) Life IS NOT a dream!! Life is a precious gift given to you by the Lord Jesus Christ. You must spend the rest of it honoring HIM and only HIM! To say it is a a dream is blasphemy and close to idolatry of something, of what I do not know, but it is IDOLATRY anyway.

[fundiefan]

Last night, Nathan and Melanie had us over for dinner. It was a blessing, and the fellowship was wonderful.

No, that's called a family dinner. Plenty of families do it all the time, and don't post on their blogs calling it fellowship

Yeah, that always cracks me up in a pathetic kind of way. But, for the Maxwells, they know nothing else. They have zero clue that relatives can 1-go more than a few hours without checking in with the cult leader, 2-have lives separate from other family members and 3-combine those two things and families can and do just 'hang out', get together, talk, catch up, tell stories, share experiences. It's fellowship to them because it's nothing new in any sense of the word. For normal families, there is always something new to talk about because time, however long or short, has passed since last seeing or talking with each other.

Their world is too fucking small to have any other way of looking at time spent with each and the English language doesn't have enough words to describe the same thing, day in and day out, with the same people and no one else.

Fellowhip it is, for them. There isn't enough thought or intelligence for anything else.

[thoughtful]

Good god no!!

Even my depraved imagination didn't go that far!

Bwahahahaha! I am Evil Incarnate! :twisted:

Row, Row, Row Your Boat was composed by the Devil himself. Just look at the last line "Merrily, Merrily, Merrily, Life is but a Dream."

A) Life may be merry now, but DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU ARE GOING TO GO WHEN YOU DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

B) Life IS NOT a dream!! Life is a precious gift given to you by the Lord Jesus Christ. You must spend the rest of it honoring HIM and only HIM! To say it is a a dream is blasphemy and close to idolatry of something, of what I do not know, but it is IDOLATRY anyway.

Clearly, your understanding of all things Maxwell is finely-honed.

:bow-blue: :bow-yellow:

[NurseNell]

For example, they may have a copy of Little House in the Big Woods and Sarah might get up in the middle of the night and read the forbidden passages that Teri censored for them. Or someone might offer Teri a pepsi, and before we know it she'll be off the wagon again.

Is that a joke? I've never read Little House in the Big Woods but what could possibly be in it that Teri needed to censor it? She really did that?

I suppose The Diary of Anne Franks is forbidden because the doctor puts his ear on Anne's chest since he has no stethoscope to hear her breathe sounds with.

[MaroonMandy]

I thought overnighting in WalMart parking lots in RVs (not in cars or tents) was okay unless the local government banned it. In fact, WalMart used to have a US atlas that specifically showed the locations of all their stores for that expressed purpose. This was a huge issue in our area; the WalMart closest to us had to put up signs in the parking lot saying it wasn't legal to overnight when the local government didn't like some of these folks living in the WalMart parking lot. OTOH, the WalMart next to I-25 in Castle Rock, Colorado, with great views of the Rockies, usually has 10-15 RVs most summer nights.

Me, I don't get it. To pay $150000 and up for one of these monsters, plus gas and maintenance, and then be too cheap to spend money in an RV park and instead spend your evening in a hot parking lot next to a noisy expressway...makes no sense at all.

Sometimes it's not just being cheap at all. My parents and I spent our summer tooling around the U.S. and spent a few night in Wal-Mart parking lots. Once was because the park we were going to stay in lost our reservation. At least twice that I can remember, we spent more time than we thought we wood looking at museums/parks/historical attractions/etc. and by the time we were ready to stop for the night we weren't near a town with an RV park.

[lilith]

Is that a joke? I've never read Little House in the Big Woods but what could possibly be in it that Teri needed to censor it? She really did that?

I suppose The Diary of Anne Franks is forbidden because the doctor puts his ear on Anne's chest since he has no stethoscope to hear her breathe sounds with.

It's true. She objected to birthday spankings, jack frost and I think something about Laura being bored on Sundays and her Grandpa being naughty one Sunday.

[ohmeohmy]

Is there an optical illusion going on w/ this picture, or do the Maxwells have some very unique plates?

http://www.titus2.com/blog/wp-content/u ... C_4968.jpg

On the left side, it looks like an overturned paper plate. On the right side, it looks like a right side up plate (or paper plate).

What gives?

It looks like they took a paper plate and inverted the left side, popped it up, so that the brownie sat higher than the ice cream and the melting ice cream could pool in the lip of the right side of the paper plate. No soggy brownies for the Maxwells!

eta: Or cake, or whatever it is.

[YPestis]

Is that a joke? I've never read Little House in the Big Woods but what could possibly be in it that Teri needed to censor it? She really did that?

I suppose The Diary of Anne Franks is forbidden because the doctor puts his ear on Anne's chest since he has no stethoscope to hear her breathe sounds with.

Teri cautioned readers about the Little House series because of the romance aspect in the later books. It's one reason they banned some (all?) of the Little House books. She also mentioned they ban books which contain references to Santa Claus or other mythical creatures, or stories which show kids acting disobedient. That last part removes most books from their shelves! It certainly means they don't find Little House series "edifying". They admitted that once their kids reach their teens, they don't offer much in reading materials except occasional Christian biographies. But that's ok! The kids get to read a lot from their history and science textbooks and that totally qualifies as good literature!

[Jana814]

I did not realized how many books they have banned from their kids. I never read the little house books but know people who did. They never wanted to emulate what was done in the books. We're Steve & Teri worried their kids were going to want to do what was said in the books?

[gardenvarietycitizen]

I did not realized how many books they have banned from their kids. I never read the little house books but know people who did. They never wanted to emulate what was done in the books. We're Steve & Teri worried their kids were going to want to do what was said in the books?

They mention this in some of their writing on sheltering, including some of the Corners.

Essentially they believe that if the kids never experience (including by reading) some behavior, it will never cross their minds to do it. At some point the young Maxwells read a book that had a kid behaving badly in it - the kid stuck out his tongue at an older sibling or something like that, and likely that was portrayed as bad behavior in the book even. But after reading that, one Maxwell kid decided to try sticking out his tongue, and so clearly that book was a bad influence.

It's similar to how they forbid reading about other religions. They're only supposed to read books that contain Truth, and that means ritual behavior in the books should be properly Stevoid Christian. So a book mentioning spanking on birthdays for luck is right out, because that's a false belief. Steve-O had a crisis of conscience when he watched a serious documentary video with some of the kids and the subject of the documentary was shown visiting his (foreign, non-Christian) temple before undertaking a dangerous climb.

"Normal" people, even religious people, would likely say "well, we don't believe in that guy's religion, but the important thing to see here is that it shows how serious he is taking this climb, how worried he is." (Heck, it's how I feel about a lot of things the Maxwells do!) But that's not okay by the Maxwells, they don't want the kids seeing any depictions of foreign religions at all. Presumably if they see it they might start asking about it.

But it also seems as if he expects that they will take EVERY book they read as some sort of revealed Truth (the way they're taught to believe anything they read in the Bible is true), and so the books have to be so carefully limited. It's nuts.

[YPestis]

The Maxwells said if kids are exposed to "evil' things, they will more likely want to do them as well. Their kids are 'aware' of foreign religions but they black out all the images of them and most description of them in their Christian textbooks. The Maxwells also ban any books which are too silly or don't have moral lessons. They said there were books which met all their standards (i.e no misbehaving, no magic, etc) yet had no message or were 'fun' and silly and they ban those too. Like I stated earlier, they essentially have no books which meet their specs by the time the kids are in their teens. The Maxwells say they have shelves of reading material for young children and are quite proud of that.....I guess they don't realize most kids have whole library of books to select from. This reasoning is also why they don't like reading about the news. So much evil! Steve hints it's up to him, as the headship, to pass on really, really important news. Otherwise, they try to tune the evils of the world out. Wouldn't want the evil world to taint his poor Maxwell children, would we?

[LostSamurai]

Now this makes me generally sad.

I'm a huge reader and was always encouraged to read whatever I wanted, even when I was little. I mean, it's to a point to where my family makes fun of me...'cause my home's full of books(but not scary like in Hoarders). I get that the Maxwells might want to monitor somethings due to their religion(No Harry Potter for them obviously for example),but come on now.....seriously?

If these people stopped looking for passages about how God supposedly says everything is evil all the time, they'd probaly would find some pretty scandalous stuff in the Bible that would make their frumpers turn pink.

[jockosmom]

I never read the little house books but know people who did. They never wanted to emulate what was done in the books.

I always wanted to blow up a pig's bladder and use it for a balloon, though. That would have been awesome!! :lol:

[snickerz]

So how exactly do they handle the evil / bad stories in the bible itself? Do they black out portions of the Bible?