A non snark-worthy post from the Maxwells

[twin2]

That poor cat. You could see the fear in his face. What sort of owner volunteers their pet for that? What happened to the dog? Dogs seem like the evil fun that must be avoided at all costs, I'm surprised they had one.

Christopher looks happier in those pictures. I think he still had hope for his life back then before he realized how Steve would never, ever let him go.

I do not get it. I will never get it. It just goes to demonstrate how truly weird and out of touch with reality the Maxwells are.

If they really had such an unimaginative illustrator that she could not figure out how to draw a picture of a dog chasing a cat up a tree and needed a photo to help, why not just put a stuffed cat up in a tree and nail a piece of bacon part way up to get the dog to jump up on the trunk.

[Guest Anonymous]

That poor cat. You could see the fear in his face. What sort of owner volunteers their pet for that? What happened to the dog? Dogs seem like the evil fun that must be avoided at all costs, I'm surprised they had one.

Christopher looks happier in those pictures. I think he still had hope for his life back then before he realized how Steve would never, ever let him go.

The whole of Sarah's first Moody book revolves around a family pet-sitting service. Dogs and other pets need to be fed, watered and walked regularly, and have someone shovel their shit up after them. And they live relatively short lives so as to enable children to come face to face with the reality of suffering and death while they themselves may be too young and healthy otherwise to focus on such matters. Lots of work and lessons to be learned there. Something to think about... :snooty:

[twin2]

The whole of Sarah's first Moody book revolves around a family pet-sitting service. Dogs and other pets need to be fed, watered and walked regularly, and have someone shovel their shit up after them. And they live relatively short lives so as to enable children to come face to face with the reality of suffering and death while they themselves may be too young and healthy otherwise to focus on such matters. Lots of work and lessons to be learned there. Something to think about... :snooty:

Why does one have to live their life preparing to die? Why would one want to live life preparing to die? I can't imagine living in that house. EVERYTHING is about death. Even at Christopher and NR-Anna's wedding they talked about death.

[formergothardite]

The whole of Sarah's first Moody book revolves around a family pet-sitting service. Dogs and other pets need to be fed, watered and walked regularly, and have someone shovel their shit up after them. And they live relatively short lives so as to enable children to come face to face with the reality of suffering and death while they themselves may be too young and healthy otherwise to focus on such matters. Lots of work and lessons to be learned there. Something to think about... :snooty:

Only the Maxwells could take something like having a pet and turn it into DEATH!!!!ELEVENTY!!!!!

[Guest Anonymous]

Why does one have to live their life preparing to die? Why would one want to live life preparing to die? I can't imagine living in that house. EVERYTHING is about death. Even at Christopher and NR-Anna's wedding they talked about death.

To be fair, there is nothing explicitly said on Titus2 about the above. I was just extrapolating from everything else that is said.

[twin2]

To be fair, there is nothing explicitly said on Titus2 about the above. I was just extrapolating from everything else that is said.

Sadly, I doubt this is much of an extrapolation. I'll have to go back and find the post, it was from a while ago, but Sarah was talking about taking a normal run of the mill walk with Steve. While on this walk, Sarah or Steve somehow managed to turn whatever conversation they were having about how sad it was that people were so unaware of their impending death, and not living life preparing for their eternal life thereafter. It was like, really, this is what you talk about on a casual afternoon walk?

[LucySnowe]

Thanks for the Wayback machine dump. I'm getting a sense of a Maxwell hive mind because those entries (at least the ones I could stand to read) weren't written by Poor Sarah, but they have the same style. No wonder she can't write, if this is what she's been taught to emulate.

And as for cat treed by dog? If you have, say, a dog fighting a snake in a movie, you shoot (film, not bullets) the two animals separately (dog fighting with trainer, say) and then MAGIC make it look like they're fighting each other. NOT ACTUALLY NECESSARY TO PUT A CAT UP A TREE AND TERRIFY IT. Headdesk.

[Guest Anonymous]

Thanks for the Wayback machine dump. I'm getting a sense of a Maxwell hive mind because those entries (at least the ones I could stand to read) weren't written by Poor Sarah, but they have the same style. No wonder she can't write, if this is what she's been taught to emulate.

And as for cat treed by dog? If you have, say, a dog fighting a snake in a movie, you shoot (film, not bullets) the two animals separately (dog fighting with trainer, say) and then MAGIC make it look like they're fighting each other. NOT ACTUALLY NECESSARY TO PUT A CAT UP A TREE AND TERRIFY IT. Headdesk.

The cat wasn't treed because a photo was needed, per se. The photo was taken and then sent to their book illustrator so that.... well, so that the illustrator's imagination needn't be roused in completing the drawing needed for the Moody book. Because of course, the illustrator's imagination had to be controlled, in the same way that the readers' imaginations have to be controlled, obviously. Otherwise creativity might result and minds might be opened to the devil. Which, even in the passive voice, is the sure and steady work of Satan, marching Saints to the fiery pits of hell. :twisted:

[anjulibai]

Random thought, but I bet Melanie's pregnancy issues and the loss of Susannah followed by a string of successful pregnancies have actually reinforced the Maxwells' belief in their own rightness. Obviously Nathan and Melanie continued with the Maxwell way of life, despite the struggles and losses, and they have been rewarded for it. I'm guessing they view the 3 girls as justification for all they do. If they have a boy, it'll really cement them in the mindset.

[Hane]

One of the blog posts, courtesy of the WayBackMachine:

Teri and I were checking out at Sams when I asked the checker about where she was going to spend eternity. She responded that it would be heaven because of her Savior the Lord Jesus Christ. As we talked it was evident that she was truly saved, and her speech carried with it an excitement and love for the Lord Jesus.

I then asked her a question that I try to ask everyone who professes Jesus as their Savior. I asked her if she read her Bible every day. The conversation then took a turn that surprised Teri and me. She said how she has been in church since she was a child and heard every sermon there was to hear. Without directly saying it, she was saying that she didn’t feel she needed to read the Bible every day.

I encouraged her that just like physical food we need to daily partake of spiritual food. That is why God gave us His Word so that we could daily feed our souls. To our amazement, she became defensive about it even though my words were gentle and non-accusatory. By her response, it was evident she would not receive this form of “encouragement†so I let it drop and wished her a good day since we had finished paying. It is one thing for her to be convinced she would gain nothing from reading her Bible every day, but something entirely different in becoming defensive about it.

We are so blessed living in this country during this time to have the availability of God’s Word. May we never get to a point of thinking we have “arrived†and no longer need a daily time in our prayer closet with the Lord and His Word. It is so easy to be set a-drift following wrong doctrine and all manner of way of life, if we aren’t reading the Bible ourselves.

Oh, how I hate this guy. The poor check-out gal at Sam's gets excoriated for not being Jesusy enough.

For the record, I was instrumental in getting someone (a security guard in an underground parking garage) fired for asking me where I was going to go when I died.

[Marian the Librarian]

One of the blog posts, courtesy of the WayBackMachine:

Oh, how I hate this guy. The poor check-out gal at Sam's gets excoriated for not being Jesusy enough.

For the record, I was instrumental in getting someone (a security guard in an underground parking garage) fired for asking me where I was going to go when I died.

It's not enough for Steve to foist his terminal crazy on his wife and family - he has to shove his judgy-judgy, death-obsessed version of religion on working people just trying to do their jobs and minding their own business? This is harassment, and should be actionable. I wish the employee at Sams had called 911, or at least asked her manager for backup.

When people try this on me at work, my standard response is "It is not appropriate for me to have this conversation with you." End of discussion.

[NotALoserLikeYou]

That is the reason I dislike fundies. Nothing is good enough for them. They have such a holier than thou attitude. I'm a Christian and have been made to feel that way and it's very presumptuous of them to think they know anything about my spirituality. No i don't read the bible every day. So? Is that a requirement? And then they always end it with the passive aggressive "I'm not saying all believers have to do_____ (homeschool, wear frumpers) but for Us, it's something God has convicted us on." which always implies they are better than you. Which seems to be their goal in life.

[gardenvarietycitizen]

I suppose "why, to hell, where I will party it up with yer MOM" is not an acceptable reply...

[gardenvarietycitizen]

That is the reason I dislike fundies. Nothing is good enough for them. They have such a holier than thou attitude. I'm a Christian and have been made to feel that way and it's very presumptuous of them to think they know anything about my spirituality. No i don't read the bible every day. So? Is that a requirement? And then they always end it with the passive aggressive "I'm not saying all believers have to do_____ (homeschool, wear frumpers) but for Us, it's something God has convicted us on." which always implies they are better than you. Which seems to be their goal in life.

Serious response though, yeah, pretty much this. The only way to "win" in such a conversation is to absolutely refuse to play the game. Don't take the bait, don't give an answer, just smile with maybe a "hm" and change the subject. "I'm not religious. Nice day, isn't it?"

[clarinetpower]

As for the singing, it's not surprising. He has an OK sense of rhythm and pitch (I said OK, not great), but it's clear that he's untrained and has not been exposed to much, if any, other music. Likely, if there is music in their home, it is made by them or perhaps instrumentals or a very limited number of vocal recordings, so he has little exposure to what a trained vocalist would do. He is very nasal and forced, with little breath support and poor phrasing. Kind of reminds me of Jodi Foster in the movie Nell, "a tay ay in da wiiiin!!!" He could be trained to sound better, but Steve would have to be OK with him listening to another authority than himself or the Bible, and he might even have to listen to vocalists who did not share their world view.

He kind of reminds me of Ricky Skaggs/Carter Family style, but much worse. Like he thought that just being nasal was how to do it (it's not.) I am not a fan of that style, but I get it's a style. Perhaps he knows nothing of it, though. I have no idea.

If he keeps up what he is doing, however, he will be in trouble down the road. That is very damaging to the voice God gave him, and vocal nodes require surgery. Training is why opera singers have a long careers and rock screamers don't. (Well, among other things.) Steve, if you're reading (and you probably are), I would highly suggest getting your children voice lessons so they can learn to correctly use and protect their voices.

[Joan of Snarc]

Sadly, I doubt this is much of an extrapolation. I'll have to go back and find the post, it was from a while ago, but Sarah was talking about taking a normal run of the mill walk with Steve. While on this walk, Sarah or Steve somehow managed to turn whatever conversation they were having about how sad it was that people were so unaware of their impending death, and not living life preparing for their eternal life thereafter. It was like, really, this is what you talk about on a casual afternoon walk?

I feel like going all Paschal's Wager on these kinds of people. What if you're wrong? What if there's no life in eternal paradise after you die? You've wasted so much of your life worrying about death, and what might or might not happen after death, that you've forgotten to live this life -- the only one you're certain to have.

The Maxhells exemplify this.

[Justme]

Random thought, but I bet Melanie's pregnancy issues and the loss of Susannah followed by a string of successful pregnancies have actually reinforced the Maxwells' belief in their own rightness. Obviously Nathan and Melanie continued with the Maxwell way of life, despite the struggles and losses, and they have been rewarded for it. I'm guessing they view the 3 girls as justification for all they do. If they have a boy, it'll really cement them in the mindset.

See, I kind of take "it" the opposite way. They must have been punished to take over 4 years to become pregnant. Then, they loose their first daughter. They've also had 2 miscarriages. Plus, Abbies pregnancy and part of Bethies were high risk/bed rest. Mel is now 36. Her fertility is going to start going downhill quickly. *I* would be extremely happy with 3 healthy girls. But, in fundieland, that's not good...

[VodouDoll]

Sadly, I doubt this is much of an extrapolation. I'll have to go back and find the post, it was from a while ago, but Sarah was talking about taking a normal run of the mill walk with Steve. While on this walk, Sarah or Steve somehow managed to turn whatever conversation they were having about how sad it was that people were so unaware of their impending death, and not living life preparing for their eternal life thereafter. It was like, really, this is what you talk about on a casual afternoon walk?

Oh, yes! Was that this Dad's Corner www.titus2.com/corners/dads-corner/fire-fire.html? Steve was walking with Teri and they spotted a small fire in their neighbor's yard. Steve warned the neighbors and they put out the fire, but for the rest of the walk he and Teri were like, "Wow, a reminder from the Lord that they'll be in hell soon enough." This is the classic post where he describes the Maxwell New Years Eve tradition of spending hours sobbing on their knees for the Lord to save the people in their neighborhood (that is, bring them into Steve's death cult).

We prayed for two and a half hours and ushered in the New Year in a grand and glorious fashion. Previous New Year's Eves we have played board games, but they did not compare with this last one. Our hearts were so blessed as we prayed while weeping, praying Scripture, and praying through song. We cried out as a family to our Lord Jesus regarding many areas, and the souls of our neighbors were high on the list. “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart†(Jeremiah 29:13).

One of the things we prayed for was that God would help us to see the eminent danger of the hell-fire our neighbors are facing. We prayed for the ability of almost being able to picture hell and the suffering of those in it. We wanted our hearts to be even more broken for those who don't believe on Jesus.

Or this one (mail.homeschoolecards.com/corners/2009-04/index.html - scroll down) where Steve and Sarah were taking a walk and daydreaming about how cool it would be if everyone had to wear a chorepack with their death date on it. Maxwell bonuses: he name-drops Resurrection Sunday (Easter is so pagan), whines about how distasteful it is that his brother dares to have fun and want the Max kids to join in, and tells us that he never looks at anyone without thinking about them being dead, and we'd all be so much better off if we approached life with that mindset.

[nelliebelle1197]

Yes Chris does seem to have a fetish for frumpers as NR Anna continues to wear them long after Jim Boob told Stevie to let his lady flock wear 'modern modest' clothing. Seems that Sara ditched the frumpers soon after he dumped her.

Why did they break up anyway?

[ILoveJellybeans]

Or this one (mail.homeschoolecards.com/corners/2009-04/index.html - scroll down) where Steve and Sarah were taking a walk and daydreaming about how cool it would be if everyone had to wear a chorepack with their death date on it. Maxwell bonuses: he name-drops Resurrection Sunday (Easter is so pagan), whines about how distasteful it is that his brother dares to have fun and want the Max kids to join in, and tells us that he never looks at anyone without thinking about them being dead, and we'd all be so much better off if we approached life with that mindset.

Wow, what a depressing thought.

Imagine knowing exactly when you were going to die, it would be terrifying. Especially as that date grows ever closer and youre wasting your life being a 31 year old virgin who has never dated, had a job or done anything that normal adults do.

He goes to church and prays before meals, but he feels God put us on this earth to enjoy it, and he is going to have fun with everything that is not bad. His idea is that if God hasn't said "Thou shalt not…" then it is okay, because he is "free in Christ." As such, his life is dominated by play and entertainment, but sadly there is a noticeable absence of spiritual fruit.

He basically just admitted he is making up rules that God hasnt even mentioned. Im sure all you have to do to be a good Christian is to obey the rules that God actually said and be a good person.

Imagine if Steve was to die tomorrow and there be no afterlife. What a waste of a life that hes spent doing nothing. Im an atheist, but I think that if God did make everything in the world, he made it to be enjoyed, so theres no reason not to do anything as long as it doesnt hurt yourself or others.

[Maggie Mae]

Didn't Jesus say something about not fearing death and those that fear death are slaves?

The Maxwells are so depressing with their constant worry about what happens next. How about you enjoy what you are doing now? They are totally the people who would get the cliff notes instead of reading the book, or watch the last episode of a series first.

[gardenvarietycitizen]

[steve] tells us that he never looks at anyone without thinking about them being dead, and we'd all be so much better off if we approached life with that mindset.

That pretty much sums up the root of what is wrong with the Maxwells, I think. Steve's obsession with death (why? Who knows, but IIRC he did serve in the Vietnam war so perhaps he saw some horrific and pointless deaths) came FIRST, then he fell hard core for the Ray Comfort "where will you go when you die?" line, as far as I can tell just reading things chronologically.

Everything they do, absolutely EVERYTHING, is about making sure they go to heaven when they die. So all outside activities are scrapped, and only specific things that allow their children to make progress on their "goals" are added back in, and their goals are all the same - to serve Jesus 24/7, because that's the recipe (as Steve sees it) for going to the right place. You can't just "not sin," no, you have to ACTIVELY be worshipping/serving Jesus constantly in everything you do, you exist only to serve Him via your work. Similarly any sort of outside "appetite" is dangerous, because even if it's something completely inoffensive like sports or stamp collecting, it will start eating up your time (particularly sports because you can't just PLAY in a league which is wasteful enough, no, you'll inevitably want to watch pro sports constantly) and that means you won't be serving Jesus 24/7, so you'll be missing out on opportunities to work toward making SURE you get into heaven and not the other place. Even getting secular song lyrics ("Row Row Row Your Boat" for instance) is wasting valuable headspace that could be filled with religion, so he whites out the lyrics in the kids' banjo instruction books, I kid you not.

But you can never really be SURE. So, all the time, you're scrambling around trying to do your best, and you're DESPERATE enough about it that you truly and sincerely feel that you are doing service employees a favor preaching to them, because you really do see them as dead, and think about if they were in a car about to go over a bridge that's out.

It's... obsession, is what it is. But behind all of it is that original fear of death.

[anjulibai]

Do the Maxwells not consider hiking fun? Or canoeing or going to the zoo? Because those are all fun things in my mind, and a form of play.

[Justme]

Do the Maxwells not consider hiking fun? Or canoeing or going to the zoo? Because those are all fun things in my mind, and a form of play.

Hiking and canoeing are exercise. The zoo is educational. They can learn about animals and celebrate the fact they are not sinners like the rest of the guests.

[gardenvarietycitizen]

The zoo is also appreciating God's creation. That's usually how they pass off sightseeing of various kinds as worship (and of course when they go to the zoo, it's all about Creationism).