Meet the Fergy Family

[denimjumper]

Do you all read them? Stumbled across them looking for an orchestra link.

fergyfamforum.blogspot.com/

The family lives down state IL, dad is an attorny, mom homeschools the girls. Both are accomplished violinists and scores 34+ on the ACT (their SOTDRT must be quite good actually).

But despite their Christian rhetoric, of course, I see disturbing things:

fergyfamforum.blogspot.com/2012/10/mode-camp-fall-retreat.html

Scroll down to their drawings of the president. Methinks they are not voting for him, no?

[Lemonbalm]

Wow their one daughter is a full time college student and the other is doing online college classes while she finishes high school. She doesn't share the college but it seems as though it is probably at least accredited! :clap:

But the drawing of Obama as Rehoboam? :doh:

[denimjumper]

The older daughter is going to Hillsdale College in MI, a normal liberal arts college. Not a religious one.

[Lemonbalm]

There is a strong tendency in conservative circles of most stripes to be generally suspicious of thinking and of people who advocate it. I dare say that more than one person reading this blog has been told, at some point in their life, something like, “You need to quit thinking and just do what you’re told.†This is a serious mistake. If we don’t develop and hone the skills of right thinking, the world and the conversation about truth will be dominated by Sophists and prejudice.

fergyfamforum.blogspot.com/2012/05/jesus-alternative-to-legalism.html

ETA: Sorry clicked reply on accident. I wonder what denomination this family identifies as? Some sort of Anabaptist group is my assumption? Either way, even with the skirts and Obama is evil picture, I am impressed by them in comparison to let's say... Zsu and Michelle.

[pixydust]

fergyfamforum.blogspot.com/2012/05/jesus-alternative-to-legalism.html

ETA: Sorry clicked reply on accident. I wonder what denomination this family identifies as? Some sort of Anabaptist group is my assumption? Either way, even with the skirts and Obama is evil picture, I am impressed by them in comparison to let's say... Zsu and Michelle.

Exactly!

[salsa]

Interesting... I wonder if LaRae goes to Hillsdale College. It's conservative, but actually quite good. They used their home schooling curriculum and have a link to "The Imprimis."

edited because I do know the difference between the possessive its and the contraction of it is.

[Lemonbalm]

To answer my own question, in case anyone else was wondering. They identify as CHM, which is the Conservative Holiness Movement which stems off John Wesley and the Methodists. They also attend the Interchurch Holiness Convention http://www.ihconvention.com/home.php

[SisiL78]

I am vehemently Liberal and a Democrat. If my kids intentionally portrayed a Republican president as evil and in a racist format I'd be aghast. Yes, I might very much dislike Bush and I'll argue against Romney getting elected. But, I wouldn't want my kids demonizing the leader of our country in that way. Its one dimensional and doesn't encourage healthy discourse in any way shape or form. ITs one thing to talk about why you don't like someone or prefer someone else. Its a whole other thing to be hateful.

[salsa]

The older daughter is going to Hillsdale College in MI, a normal liberal arts college. Not a religious one.

must have missed this in the cross-posting. sorry. :oops:

[gustava]

must have missed this in the cross-posting. sorry. :oops:

Sorry folks. Hillsdale is about as bad as they get, worse than Liberty, BJU, and Oral Roberts.

See: http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/ ... n-j-miller

http://www.culturewars.com/CultureWars/ ... sdale.html

[salsa]

gustava wrote, "Hillsdale is about as bad as they get, worse than Liberty, BJU, and Oral Roberts. "

It is not a religious college and no one religion was ever promoted after the college's founders sold it. Religious beliefs and practices were entirely up to the student body.

I am an alumna of Hillsdale College and we did refer to the president as King George III and he did come across as having a big ego. Uncovering a longtime affair didn't come as a shock to many. George was good-looking and had that kind of je ne sais quois presence that a lot of folks find compelling. I never knew him to tout himself as a devout Christian (though I admit that I may not have ALL the facts) or as a moral exemplar.

Even so, in my years there, I never felt pressured to be in lock-step and agreement with any certain ideology. Certainly a conservative college will attract conservative students, but there were plenty of liberals - and yes, we were encouraged to think critically.

There ARE plenty of things I don't like about the 'Dale,* but I still say I got a decent education and learned to think critically.

*I don't wish to derail the thread, so I won't go into it. And even so, by now, my information is pretty old, anyway, as I haven't kept up with the goings-on there. I only read the alumni magazine to see if I recognize any names in the "what's going on, births, marriages, and deaths" section.

[Lemonbalm]

It is not a religious college and no one religion was ever promoted after the college's founders sold it. Religious beliefs and practices were entirely up to the student body.

I have to agree with this, the college is not built on any one religion. And just because it is written about as "conservative" does not always mean fundie. One can be conservative and not be the least bit religious, I don't think one necessarily means the other, I have some acquaintances from college who grew up in extremely affluent and conservative houses while never step foot into a church.

[Lemonbalm]

She recommends this book, www.myfirst300babies.com/ , does anyone know anything about it?

[Roycroft]

Thanks for the info about Hillsdale College; one of my nearby neighbors has Hillsdale stickers on all of their vehicles. Other than that, I'd never encountered anything about the place before.

[YPestis]

Conservatism comes in all stripes and variations. We see the most extreme forms with the Duggars and Maxwells. Plenty of mainstream conservatives too, although sadly, just because one attends a "real" college doesn't mean one no longer fall for some of the fringe beliefs.

[VVV]

Hillsdale College was founded as an American Baptist institution. I am descended from one of its earlier presidents. Sadly, it has long since adopted the religion of right wing conservatism. Under no circumstances would I encourage one of my children to attend it now.

[gustava]

Hillsdale College was founded as an American Baptist institution. I am descended from one of its earlier presidents. Sadly, it has long since adopted the religion of right wing conservatism. Under no circumstances would I encourage one of my children to attend it now.

Advertises on Rush and other hate radio, but it's not worth my time/energy to respond to salsa, et al. Sorry, VVV, that it has moved so far from its roots....or rather, that it has stayed in the 19th century, when its mission was laudable.

[VVV]

Advertises on Rush and other hate radio, but it's not worth my time/energy to respond to salsa, et al. Sorry, VVV, that it has moved so far from its roots....or rather, that it has stayed in the 19th century, when its mission was laudable.

American Baptists in the 19th and early 20th centuries were pretty mainstream, and they split from the Southern Baptists over slavery. I'm not sure that I would describe it so much as staying in the 19th century as adopting some sort of completely misunderstood interpretation of the events of the 18th and 20th centuries, but it is really a moot point. I appreciate your sentiment.

[Hane]

American Baptists in the 19th and early 20th centuries were pretty mainstream, and they split from the Southern Baptists over slavery. I'm not sure that I would describe it so much as staying in the 19th century as adopting some sort of completely misunderstood interpretation of the events of the 18th and 20th centuries, but it is really a moot point. I appreciate your sentiment.

Chiming in on the American Baptist Convention: Many of my relatives are ABC, and are indeed mainstream. In fact, the local ABC churches have often had female pastors.

[hahe77]

The older daughter is going to Hillsdale College in MI, a normal liberal arts college. Not a religious one.

To say Hillsdale college is a normal liberal arts college is very funny. Hillsdale College is very far from being normal. While it may not be a religious college, it's pretty close.

In the 90's, the college was a major party school. Then president (George Roche) of the college was having an affair with his DIL (Lisa) while talking about family values. Lisa was discovered dead on college property (the arboretum). Her death was ruled a suicide, the president forced to leave and a book was wrote about the "suicide".

The college today is very conservative. Many students take the vow to not kiss until their wedding day. The campus is suppose to be dry but it's not. Herman Cain spoke at the school last year, Pat Sajak is a big financial supporter of the school and Rush Limbaugh loves the college. Many of the college professors have large families and either home school or send their children to the college's private school (where a child in first grade has two hours of homework each night).

I have lived in Hillsdale my whole life. Like many residents, I have a love/ hate relationship with the college. The college supplies needed jobs in the area and so it kinda runs the town. Students drive their DMW's that mommy and daddy paid for while looking down their noses at city residents who make $40,000 a year. If your driving by the college, you better stop for the college students who want to dart across the street. They own this town and us residents better show our appreciation.

[Librul]

The older daughter is going to Hillsdale College in MI, a normal liberal arts college. Not a religious one.

Hillsdale College is in no way, shape or form a normal liberal arts college. It is extremely conservative, rigid and highly religious. It may not be sponsored by a religious institution, but it resembles other midwestern liberal arts colleges....not at all.

[chaotic life]

This woman is as Fundie and legastlistic as any QF without the QF.

fergyfamforum.blogspot.com/2012/04/wedding-ring-is-it-worth-it.html

There is nothing *not* legalistic about Holiness churches. Pretty words and objections doesn't change the reality that this woman will condemn you to hell for wearing a plain gold wedding band, to say nothing of a lot of other Holiness beliefs.

It's a good example that not all Fundies look alike and not all fundies are QF but can still be highly fundie.