Melanie Maxwell delivered Andrew

[Brittany15]

Hehe, no offense taken over here! She really does have great hair. Volume and softness are a rare combo. I have the latter, but definitely not the former. Though Mary has to live as a Maxwell, so it seems only fair that life would throw the poor girl a bone.

Perhaps this is mean to say but I will say it anyway. How is someone who looked so bad as a child turn into such a beautiful teenager?!?

[kpmom]

Mary really had blossomed into a beauty hasn't she?

I'll give a bit of credit to her parents for following through and getting her teeth fixed. It's what most parents would do , but fundies don't always bother with stuff like that.

And Steve and Teri lightened up on clothing and style just in time for Mary to come in to her own.

She'd probably be heading to clothing design school if she had been born in another family.

[WonderingInWA]

Mary really had blossomed into a beauty hasn't she?

I'll give a bit of credit to her parents for following through and getting her teeth fixed. It's what most parents would do , but fundies don't always bother with stuff like that.

And Steve and Teri lightened up on clothing and style just in time for Mary to come in to her own.

She'd probably be heading to clothing design school if she had been born in another family.

I've often wondered why so many fundies have awful teeth. I guess it's just their unilateral dismissal of any kind of mainstream healthcare? I have seen some young adult fundies that have some truly hideous teeth and in our culture (American, that is), it's just hardly ever seen. You have crooked teeth, you fix 'em.

[NotALoserLikeYou]

So, just observing a temple - with no attempt to convert them - is too unacceptable to watch. That makes sense.

[16strong]

I think a lot of fundies have bad teeth because after they have the 10+ children they can't afford, dental care is the first thing to go. Many of these families can barely afford to give their kids a half portion of a normal person's dinner. I doubt dental care is remotely on the list of things to spend money on. The toothpaste isle might also be routinely skipped at the grocery store just to make ends meet.

[nausicaa]

I've often wondered why so many fundies have awful teeth. I guess it's just their unilateral dismissal of any kind of mainstream healthcare? I have seen some young adult fundies that have some truly hideous teeth and in our culture (American, that is), it's just hardly ever seen. You have crooked teeth, you fix 'em.

That's funny, I've always wondered why so many fundies have good teeth, considering the lack of funds and time in most of these families. Other than the Duggars, not many of these families have the means for braces and regular deep cleanings.

The Bateses are a case in point. Eighteen damn kids and everyone over the age of twelve has a great smile. Same with the Mallys and the Muncks IIRC. I also used to read a blog by two fundamentalist girls in rural SC who were very open about how poor their family was, and yet both daughters had picture perfect smiles.

Maybe I'm just jealous because of the card I pulled.

[Coco]

I think a lot of fundies have bad teeth because after they have the 10+ children they can't afford, dental care is the first thing to go. Many of these families can barely afford to give their kids a half portion of a normal person's dinner. I doubt dental care is remotely on the list of things to spend money on. The toothpaste isle might also be routinely skipped at the grocery store just to make ends meet.

toothpaste aisle? who needs that when you can grab the jumbo box of baking soda!

[ILoveJellybeans]

I've often wondered why so many fundies have awful teeth. I guess it's just their unilateral dismissal of any kind of mainstream healthcare? I have seen some young adult fundies that have some truly hideous teeth and in our culture (American, that is), it's just hardly ever seen. You have crooked teeth, you fix 'em.

Im going to guess that its for the same reason a lot of them don't get good medical care-they cant afford to get healthcare for so many children, let alone shell out money to give all of their kids braces if they need them, distrust of medical professionals and the belief that prayer and essential oils cures everything. They also probably see crooked teeth as not really a big deal, as long as the kid isn't crying of toothache they will be fine, and if they are, just beat them til they stop. Also if you eat crap food, your health suffers, and this can affect your teeth as you aren't getting vitamins that will keep your bones and teeth strong (also pregnancy can affect teeth, if your going to birth 20 kids, its good to get good dental care!). Also some of them make their own toothpaste, that isn't as good as the real thing, or distrust fluoride even though its good for your teeth.

The fundies who are better off have good teeth (and better healthcare in general), which is mainly because they can afford to take all these kids to the dentist. Families like the Maxwells and Duggars are the face of the movement, selling books, speaking...they have to look pretty and perfect so people see them as something to aspire to. The less well known families who are living in a small 3 bedroom house with 12 kids, stretching a few chicken breasts between all of them, in homemade frumpers and poverty as God will provide (begging for church handouts because the dad's minimum wage job can barely feed the family, and mom isn't allowed to work), probably have pretty bad teeth.

[Coco]

It was a documentary and it seems the religion was Buddhism. I just can't even conceive of how Steve thinks even being exposed to another religion is a sin.

Courtesy of Sparkles in another thread about this, here is the link to the essay:

web.archive.org/web/19990921085137/http://www.titus2.com/Corners/frame1.htm

Here's the relevant excerpt (aka, the moment when Nausicaa25 believes Steve fell irreversibly down the pharisaic rabbithole of paranoid crazy):

"When the little ones were in bed, I chose to preview them, so we carried the TV and VCR out of the downstairs closet. To my amazement, the opening scene began in a temple where one of the climbers was lighting candles. Ugh! My heart then began to twinge a bit under conviction and that should have been enough to stop it right there. However, the mental excuses and gymnastics began as I thought of the $30 I paid for this one. Besides, there probably wouldn’t be any more problems with the video (Sure..).

And so the story unfolded with occasional remarks about his god, temple footage, and other Eastern religion information. To my shame, I didn’t turn it off, but continued watching it with the three oldest children. I failed my older children – I should have stopped it right then and said, "No more, we must turn it off. This isn’t worth compromising our hearts." However, I wanted to watch it, and so we continued to a point where after finishing the first video, we started the 2nd tape. It was about high altitude effects on the body. However, by this time I was feeling rather convicted. Then out of the blue, the guy being interviewed cursed. That was enough to push me over the edge and turn it off. Why hadn’t I chosen to stop watching it earlier?

In the last few Dad’s Corners, I emphasized the fact that God places all the responsibility for everything that goes on in the home on "dear ole Dad" and what is sad is I/(he) am/(is) often the cause of the problems as well. When I’m struggling with self-control, I can expect to see lack of self-control in my children. We are the shepherds guarding the access to the sheep pen. It is true that every evil imagination, which is similar to improper appetites, does come from the heart. But, we then can guard whether these appetites are fed or not.

The sad fact was, if I had chosen to stop watching the video earlier, my older children would have seen that their father was very careful to guard his heart and their hearts. They would have seen that even in a situation where Dad wants to continue, he is man enough to deny himself. That was one of those rare opportunities that don’t come around often. We are teaching our children in everything we do. I showed them, if it is something that interests you, it is okay to continue. I failed!"

Ugh yes. i remember so many times my parents would pull the plug on a movie for some small thing. And the weird part is that it magnified whatever "bad behavior" happened. Those are the movies i remember most. :lol:

A lot of times a problem will resolve itself if you let the story play out. The bad character gets their due, Scooby Doo and Shaggy find out the "scary ghost" was just a criminal in disguise, things like that (just remembering that from childhoods at grandmas lol), but kids won't see that if you are constantly jumping on things and making a big deal out of it. If something scary or different than what we believe comes up i talk to them about it on their level. Like on Berenstain Bears: Wow, Too-Tall and Queenie were mean to Brother and Sister Bear, huh? That's not nice, it made them feel bad. They should not have dared him to steal watermelons... etc. etc. I just don't get it how Steve would just shut something off instead of saying (to his adolescent kids), hey guys this is what others believe. What's different about it and what do you think is wrong/right with what they do? He's raising robots, not disciples. Whatevs lol

:lol: about putting the TV/VCR in the closet. My parents did that too and we kids just hauled it out any time we wanted to watch things. We were pretty good about setting it up/breaking it down fast on the sly secret agent style. That's how we saw some pretty tacky network trash movies. (this was before digital channels) Sorry Steve, your kids aren't going to be corruption free forever. All they're going to learn from your theatrics is that you are too weak to stand strong in the face of someone on a video straying from your idea of fake-perfection. And that you don't respect them enough to let them learn to discern and choose to be godly. One of these days they'll break out of your fence and then what?

[Joan of Snarc]

To my amazement, the opening scene began in a temple where one of the climbers was lighting candles. Ugh! My heart then began to twinge a bit under conviction and that should have been enough to stop it right there.

And so the story unfolded with occasional remarks about his god, temple footage, and other Eastern religion information. To my shame, I didn’t turn it off, but continued watching it with the three oldest children. I failed my older children – I should have stopped it right then and said, "No more, we must turn it off. This isn’t worth compromising our hearts."

Stevehovah's faith must be hanging on by the thinnest of threads if pictures of candles being lit or any mention of another religion "compromises his heart."

[Odd1Out]

Stevehovah's faith must be hanging on by the thinnest of threads if pictures of candles being lit or any mention of another religion "compromises his heart."

Steve, it's stuff like this that makes you seem very wimpy. Not a strong man you claim to be.

[Dru]

Stevehovah's faith must be hanging on by the thinnest of threads if pictures of candles being lit or any mention of another religion "compromises his heart."

Agree! It always boggles my mind when people are so afraid of hearing anything about another religion. :wtf:

[anjulibai]

Steve's thoughts are posted. It's mostly about him. Go figure. :roll:

Apparently the first night they went out wasn't very profitable. I wonder if they got a lot of push back from people. I'd certainly have a choice word or two if I was trying to enjoy a fair and someone was trying to tell me or my kid we were heading to hell.

[Dandruff]

Stevehovah's faith must be hanging on by the thinnest of threads if pictures of candles being lit or any mention of another religion "compromises his heart."

I wonder if it compromises their hearts when the strangers they approach tell them about their own beliefs or to just STFU. The movie can't be debated with, threatened with Hell, or converted...so no potential "gain" for them.

[Justme]

I'm sorry, but an adult man approaching children/teens is major creepy. Stranger Danger!!! Smile, talk nicely, lure the kiddo away, and *bam*, you never see them again or they are abused. :(

[Palimpsest]

Seriously. A strange man sitting at a table luring 10 year old children away from their parents and into conversation with free balloons ... even without Steve's manic eyes.

In my neck of the woods, the police would have had 20 calls about the balloon man sexual predator within as many seconds -- probably from the children as well as their parents and casual onlookers! I swear 90% of the residents of my very small NE town have the cops on speed dial.

Steve would have been questioned and, minus a legal permit, escorted off the fairgrounds before he knew what hit him. And then yelled persecution!

[thoughtful]

:roll:

That may be the happiest I've ever seen Steve.

[lovemygsp]

What else is she going to spend her Moody Money on though? She lives at home so no rent, no food, no utilities. She doesn't dress as though she spends tons of money on her clothes. The frugality in those areas alone leaves plenty of extra left over.

I'm a photographer and noticed their camera over a year ago. Photos all have the info of camera type, lens, date, etc stored and you can access it if you know how. What struck me most was that they had it within a few weeks of its release when even high end photographers couldn't get their hands on a copy.

[Jinderella]

Seriously. A strange man sitting at a table luring 10 year old children away from their parents and into conversation with free balloons ... even without Steve's manic eyes.

In my neck of the woods, the police would have had 20 calls about the balloon man sexual predator within as many seconds -- probably from the children as well as their parents and casual onlookers! I swear 90% of the residents of my very small NE town have the cops on speed dial.

Steve would have been questioned and, minus a legal permit, escorted off the fairgrounds before he knew what hit him. And then yelled persecution!

He lived in the world once, how can he not see how wrong this appears? How wrong this is? I would be so furious if this was my child. :angry-banghead:

But I do like the fact that his children are "out" again. Sooner or later they will encounter some person with enough knowledge on the Bible to question them beyond their comfort zone. (a girl can hope)

[lilith]

Agree! It always boggles my mind when people are so afraid of hearing anything about another religion. :wtf:

What blows my mind is that he feels that it's so important to shelter his adult kids from any mention of non fundamentalist Protestant religion that he feels guilty years later about allowing them to watch incidental references to the spirituality of a climber in a mountain climbing video, yet he feels just fine approaching other people's children (actual minors too, not "children" in the Maxwell sense) and not only tell them all about his religion but also to try to, through a combination of guilt and fear, make them convert to it on the spot, regardless of their parent's views. He is even prepared to pay them to hear his message. How would he feel if the Krishnas or a Mormon missionary approached Mary and told her that she was a sinner and headed straight to hell of she didn't sign up for their exact religious beliefs?

How can he not see the hypocrisy in this?

[uber frau]

There is no hypocrisy at all. He is right and they are wrong.

He sees no similarity and there's nothing to compare, in his opinion.

[kpmom]

I really think if I lived near the fair I would call the organizers and complain about this creepy guy, who is not connected to the fair, making kids balloons and giving them money.

Even if they somehow got permission from the fair to do this, they are not with the fair, and I can see fairgoers, especially kids, just assuming they are, what with the clipboards and balloons.

ETA: Just realized my post count is currently 2666!!!

[fundiefan]

If I didn't know better I'd think Stevie was intentionally being a parody of himself. His kids are not allowed in any situation where some non-cult member can approach them, yet, the old guy himself goes out trolling for young kids to accost.

Of course he is obsessed with 'protecting' his kids from evil others because he's one of them and knows exactly what motive the crazy ass people have when approaching children without parents.

If I saw him coming upon a table of ten year old boys, you better believe I'd put myself between him and them.

Stevie gets creepier and scarier by the day.

[thoughtful]

There is no hypocrisy at all. He is right and they are wrong.

He sees no similarity and there's nothing to compare, in his opinion.

This.

I figure that, since people like Steve feel that they are trying to rescue people from Hell, he thinks he has no choice. Someone asking how he could not see the hypocrisy in protecting his children while proselytizing to others would sound as logical, to him, as someone asking a firefighter who protects his children from burns at home, "how dare you grab a stranger's child and pull him out of a fire?"

Any belief other than his is a horrible, dangerous thing, in his mind. Parents who don't teach what he teaches are throwing their children into the fiery pit. He probably sees them as being as damaging as parents on whom we would call CPS.

The personal rights of that child, or the guidance the parents have given him, are small concerns in the crusade to save us all from Hell.

There is no reaching someone like that with comparisons, similes, analogies or common sense.

[AllisonWndrland]

If I didn't know better I'd think Stevie was intentionally being a parody of himself. His kids are not allowed in any situation where some non-cult member can approach them, yet, the old guy himself goes out trolling for young kids to accost.

Of course he is obsessed with 'protecting' his kids from evil others because he's one of them and knows exactly what motive the crazy ass people have when approaching children without parents.

If I saw him coming upon a table of ten year old boys, you better believe I'd put myself between him and them.

Stevie gets creepier and scarier by the day.

Yes. This. My first thought when I saw the photo of Steve and the boys at the table was, "OH, HELL NO!" I find out some creepy stranger has lured my child in with balloon animals and gave them tracts to take home, I would flip out. That creepy stranger and I would have a conversation about approaching my child. They would be lucky if I didn't call law enforcement. That's just not acceptable. As an adult with experience in the world, Steve should know better. I don't fault the Maxwell daughters; I truly think they have no idea why what they did would be a problem for anyone.