Abigail and Bethany Baptized

[PrairieGirl]

Christopher. Dude. I'm working on a tiny, low-res JPEG grabbed from the web and in under 5 minutes I got something better without a lot of trouble. Get a clue.

I will completely crap myself if that picture mysteriously appears on Tits2.

Hey, Steve-o!

[Divemaster01]

Good job Sparkles. I am able to do it to your level as well. Maybe we can both teach him something, LOL!

[Marian the Librarian]

Sorry if this mentioned was before, I think they edited out Bethany's tummy with some pretty crude microsoft paint or something:

Im honestly very cool with woman choosing modesty, or even parents deciding their young girls should be modest while in the home, but a 4-year-old's tummy?! That tummy should be tickled and raspberried, not censored! Its so innocent. They are the ones making it weird.. a 4-year old!

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. These. people. are. insane. :angry-banghead:

[twin2]

First of all, there is nothing "immodest" about the a small swath of tummy of a 4-year, that no one would have probably even noticed, but if the Steve-O was so hell bent on not showing it, why just not post a different picture than do a bad MS-Paint job on this one.

Steve, once again making things 10-times more complicated than it needs to be.....

[fundiefan]

Oh. My. Fucking. God. They seriously browned out that baby's stomach?

Tell me who the fucked up, sex obsessed people are...the 'world' or Steve-O and his cult?

I'm so disgusted.

[EmiGirl]

Oh. My. Fucking. God. They seriously browned out that baby's stomach?

Tell me who the fucked up, sex obsessed people are...the 'world' or Steve-O and his cult?

I'm so disgusted.

What bothers me most is that it makes me wonder if he doesn't get a little turned on by it since he's so worried about someone else.

[LilMissMetaphor]

Are we sure it was edited out? I'm usually no good at spotting Photoshop jobs so maybe it's just me, and the edge does look weird, but from the neck of her shirt it almost looks like she's wearing a snug brown shirt underneath the brown and blue swim top?

[Jana814]

Are we sure it was edited out? I'm usually no good at spotting Photoshop jobs so maybe it's just me, and the edge does look weird, but from the neck of her shirt it almost looks like she's wearing a snug brown shirt underneath the brown and blue swim top?

I thought the same as u.

[sparkles]

Are we sure it was edited out? I'm usually no good at spotting Photoshop jobs so maybe it's just me, and the edge does look weird, but from the neck of her shirt it almost looks like she's wearing a snug brown shirt underneath the brown and blue swim top?

No, it was very obviously and poorly edited. You can see it better if you zoom in bit. That may have been what they were going for (making it look like a brown undershirt) but the color is flat and the edges are hard, unlike anything else in the photo. My re-edit was a very quick, sloppy job but at least the fact that the photo's been altered doesn't jump out at you.

Part of me thinks that they deliberately made the edit obvious, as if they were saying, "See? We care so much about modesty and the hearts of everyone that we chose to protect this child as she accepted Jesus. Because even 4-year-olds can defraud. We're just that godly and perfect."

GAH!

ETA: Crappy edit > somewhat less crappy edit

[nokidsmom]

Agree that it was a poor editing job. And as pointed out upthread, this family has a professional photographer (in the sense he is paid) and yet this is the best editing job they can do? Seriously.

Was going to point out the exact same thing in Photoshop as shown in the Less Crappy Edit above. @sparkles, your edit doesn't look crappy at all.

[nelliebelle1197]

That edit is not just embarrassing for the "artist", but embarrassing for the whole family. A four year old tummy can't show? Seriously?

[Jana814]

Interesting about the photo. About the girls being Bapitzed at this young age, I wonder if deep down they know if they are not bapitized Grandpa (Steve) would very upset. I don't think that a 6 and 4 year know the true meaning of baptizing, but they do know about making Grandpa happy.

[twin2]

Interesting about the photo. About the girls being Bapitzed at this young age, I wonder if deep down they know if they are not bapitized Grandpa (Steve) would very upset. I don't think that a 6 and 4 year know the true meaning of baptizing, but they do know about making Grandpa happy.

I imagine the conversation goes something like this:

Steve: Bethany, do you know where you go when you die if you don't love the Lord Jesus with all your heart?

Bethany: I burn in a fire in hell.

Steve: Do you want to burn in a fire in hell?

Bethany: No.

Steve: Do you take the Lord Jesus into your heart.

Bethany: Yes

Steve: To do that you need to be baptized. Do you want to be baptized?

Bethany: Yes

Steve: Good. That makes me and the Lord Jesus very happy.

This is probably about he extent 4-year old Bethany understands. Her life is 100% Jesus all the time. What other conclusion is she going to come to as a 4 year old. Say she wants to wait a few years until study the gospels a bit more before she makes up her mind? :roll:

[SPHASH]

I wonder if Melanie's parents regret her marrying into Maxhell.

[Jana814]

I wonder if Melanie's parents regret her marrying into Maxhell.

I wonder that also!

[MamaJunebug]

What are Melanie's parents' surname, again? I wanted to look up her sister on FB to see if there was any mention made of the girls' baptisms but I've apparently unfollowed her!

[NotALoserLikeYou]

Maher

[MamaJunebug]

Maher

Thank you!

ETA: No mention nor photos on either of the sisters' pages. However there's a photo of a couple whom I presume to be Dr. & Mrs. M with the other sister at her capping ceremony, and they all three look like very happy, in-the-world-not-of-the-world people!

As opposed to their in-laws' situation: "In-the-world-but-only-because-we-have-to-be-to-visit-Costco-and-shill-our-merchandise! And more certainly not OF-the-world oh nononononononono!"

There's also a photo of a young man who I'm betting is a brother, the resemblance is pretty strong.

Seeing the sisters and their apparent love for life, I'm hoping against hope that Melanie has more than one foot in the real world.

OH, also -- Steve's "short version" explanation of immersion vs. sprinkling baptism made me chuckle. Apparently it's a matter of the number of times a term is used in Scripture that determines right teaching and practice. For someone who grew up with traditional Christian belief in re: baptism, the whole "dunk vs. sprinkle" debate is at best amusing and at worst tragically annoying.

[SoybeanQueen]

Aren't they Calvinist? If so, they probably believe you're either in or out, and obviously their perfectly precious offspring would be in like Flynn.

As for Steve doing the Baptism, that isn't terribly uncommon in my experience. Our current church is non-denominational and somewhat conservative, but moms have been involved in baptisms, and in one case the daughters baptised their mother. Most immersion baptism Protestants (that I know of) don't believe that the act confers any special magic, or that it has to be a certain person who performs it.

Some churches wouldn't allow you to be a full member without baptism, meaning you couldn't vote on the blueprints for the multi-purpose room addition or somesuch. That might actually be a good avoidance strategy.

Other thoughts after reading the rest of the thread.

1. Yes, that's really young for being baptised by "choice." One of my boys is 9 and keeps asking about being baptised, but I know he doesn't understand it yet. He just knows that I said he can't take communion unless he's formally committed to being a Christian. He sees communion as free snacks. Hence, I have said no on the baptism.

2. It isn't elevating the father to the status of priest if you don't believe a priest is necessary/required for either salvation or baptism. Granted, I'm pretty relaxed about my faith, but I'd be perfectly comfortable with my husband baptising our kids (older than 4, of course) in our farm lake. I don't even think a church is necessary! It's a symbol, not a sacrament, for many protestants.

3. The above statement doesn't mean that I think Steve is any less creepy.

[uber frau]

I believe that,insofar as they identify themselves with any formal domination, the Maxwells are Free Will Baptists. Theoretically it's as far from Calvinism as it's possible to be while still falling under the umbrella of Protestantism.

Except that they're not actually Free Will Baptist at all, they're Church of Stevehovah and their god,Steve, looks awfully similar the capricious and narcissistic god of the hyper Calvinists.

[Arete]

Steve and G. Botkin have both written and published that a father is the priest of an individual household. I'm not sure about Botkin, but Steve also marries his children. So there is no part of religious life in that family that is not controlled by Steve. He baptizes

his kids, he marries them, and of course they confess their sins to him. He sets down fasting days. He is all of his children's spiritual advisor. That is being a priest in his family by his own declaration and by his actions.

[albanuadh_1]

For most mainstream Protestants, there are only 2 sacraments: baptism and communion. I've never heard of anyone but the minister performing either sacrament.

[Arete]

I believe ATI calls communion "the Lord's Table" and I have seen at least one VIMEO of the family patriarch doing communion at home. That's what I mean, all meaningful religious encounters are mediated by the family father in these fringe groups, and Steve definitely shows to have borrowed concepts from both ATI and VF. As different as both those groups may be theologically, they intersect at the daddy worship crazy coordinate.

[formergothardite]

I believe ATI calls communion "the Lord's Table" and I have seen at least one VIMEO of the family patriarch doing communion at home. That's what I mean, all meaningful religious encounters are mediated by the family father in these fringe groups, and Steve definitely shows to have borrowed concepts from both ATI and VF. As different as both those groups may be theologically, they intersect at the daddy worship crazy coordinate.

You are correct.

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Both VF and ATI are built around Father worship.

[anjulibai]

So, who does the father confess his sins to? Who gives him communion? No one?