Duggars By the Dozen - General Discussion - Lucky 13

[YoshiCat]

They've actually done a lot of small charitable things to raise money for various....charitable causes. But really they consider their show a ministry because they believe it encourages people to embrace traditional marriage/many kids/homeschooling/Christianity.

I could be mistaken, but I think their belief is that good works don't get you in to heaven, only the grace of God gets you in to heaven. So why should they bother doing good in the world? They just have to go around saying "look at us, we're so much more Jesusy than you" and that fulfills their beliefs. Doing good/charitable works doesn't benefit them, so they can't be bothered.

I'd bet that yard sale was conceived by the production company and that the company did 98% of the work. The Duggars just showed up and took their places on the set that was built for them.

[UnPitchPerfectViolin]

I've been thinking about the reported love of spelling by the Duggar kids in the police reports. As an English teacher, I just couldn't figure it out. Spelling is usually a favorite subject for a couple of kids I teach because, having excellent memories, it's an easy subject for them. Anecdotally, in my classroom the kids who love spelling the most are either into math and science or they just love to read. Neither of those categories seem to generally apply to the Duggars, though.

And then I realized: Spelling has got to be easy and fulfilling for the Duggars in two ways.

1)All of their patterns of behavior are learned and memorized. It's a skill that they've all got to have early on, and woe betide the Duggar who can't memorize and use the Duggar stock phrasebook. They are memorizing out of the cradle.

But more importantly 2) there's a clear right answer every single time. You can't mess it up. It's arguably the purest school subject (at least to an ATI-fundie). There's no imagination required, like there is for reading and writing, and no logic patterns, like grammar. It's comparitively easy, then, to teach and learn spelling, especially coming from a culture where rote learning is valued and critical thinking is heavily discouraged and scary.

I can see untrained teachers like Michelle and the older girls finding it to be relaxing to teach and thus, for the kids, relaxing to learn, as old-school drilling is easy to implement in the classroom--and it does actually work for learning spelling, even though it's far more long-lasting to have children read a wide variety of literature instead of heavy drilling! Putting ideas into practice isn't the Duggars' strong suit, though, so no surprise there...

[DeFrauder]

I've been thinking about the reported love of spelling by the Duggar kids in the police reports. As an English teacher, I just couldn't figure it out. Spelling is usually a favorite subject for a couple of kids I teach because, having excellent memories, it's an easy subject for them. Anecdotally, in my classroom the kids who love spelling the most are either into math and science or they just love to read. Neither of those categories seem to generally apply to the Duggars, though.

And then I realized: Spelling has got to be easy and fulfilling for the Duggars in two ways.

1)All of their patterns of behavior are learned and memorized. It's a skill that they've all got to have early on, and woe betide the Duggar who can't memorize and use the Duggar stock phrasebook. They are memorizing out of the cradle.

But more importantly 2) there's a clear right answer every single time. You can't mess it up. It's arguably the purest school subject (at least to an ATI-fundie). There's no imagination required, like there is for reading and writing, and no logic patterns, like grammar. It's comparitively easy, then, to teach and learn spelling, especially coming from a culture where rote learning is valued and critical thinking is heavily discouraged and scary.

I can see untrained teachers like Michelle and the older girls finding it to be relaxing to teach and thus, for the kids, relaxing to learn, as old-school drilling is easy to implement in the classroom--and it does actually work for learning spelling, even though it's far more long-lasting to have children read a wide variety of literature instead of heavy drilling! Putting ideas into practice isn't the Duggars' strong suit, though, so no surprise there...

I think that it is because the kids were all coached on what to say. It might have been coaching for this particular questioning, or it may have been coaching for when the children are asked questions about being homeschooled.

It is weird that all the kids have the exact same preferences.

[justbecause]

I think that it is because the kids were all coached on what to say. It might have been coaching for this particular questioning, or it may have been coaching for when the children are asked questions about being homeschooled.

It is weird that all the kids have the exact same preferences.

I'm wondering if it doesn't have something to do with the vast age differences and how do they 'homeschool' different age levels or grades (ex. 3rd, 4th, ect) at the same time effectively?

They must have grouped three grade levels together or something. Maybe spelling is one of those things that they need to know because everyone older than them would correct easily each spelling mistake.

[Handmaiden of Dog]

They've actually done a lot of small charitable things to raise money for various....charitable causes. But really they consider their show a ministry because they believe it encourages people to embrace traditional marriage/many kids/homeschooling/Christianity.

I think that just by existing and being filmed JB believes that he has blessed the world: (JB writing about Michelle on the 31st anniversary)

Michelle is selfless, always thinking of others first. She is an example to millions of women, her children rise up and call her blessed. Michelle is my business partner, ministry team companion and the mother of our 19 children.

Michelle, I love you! Your life has impacted the world."

So there you go. Michelle has impacted the world by delivering 19 children. And by gazing adoringly at her husband. And by telling everyone who listens that you should never refuse your husband's advances. JB wants to believe that Michelle is the door through which everyone on earth will begin to practice his idea of the perfect marriage.

[Cochise]

Yuck. That just makes me sick.

What I keep thinking is that they don't even seem like Christians to me. I know they pray and study and so on, but Christ didn't say that having endless children was good. That seems to be the heart of their ministry: have lots of kids! More, more! Make the women wear skirts, not trousers, not that Jesus wore trousers! Wives must be 100% receptive to their husbands' wishes, because the men probably want to have sex and incidentally make more children! If men lust after women, it is 100% the women's fault! Sin and ask for forgiveness and bingo, you get it!

I wonder if they see Josh as predestined to be a kiddy fiddler, but also to be forgiven for that, no matter how often it happened.

Yuck.

[justbecause]

I think that just by existing and being filmed JB believes that he has blessed the world: (JB writing about Michelle on the 31st anniversary)

So there you go. Michelle has impacted the world by delivering 19 children. And by gazing adoringly at her husband. And by telling everyone who listens that you should never refuse your husband's advances. JB wants to believe that Michelle is the door through which everyone on earth will begin to practice his idea of the perfect marriage.

Well of course that's what he is going to say. That is their 'brand'. No, take that back, that WAS their 'brand'. Jim Boob is still living the lie. :popcorn2:

[ShepherdontheRock]

Yuck. That just makes me sick.

What I keep thinking is that they don't even seem like Christians to me. I know they pray and study and so on, but Christ didn't say that having endless children was good. That seems to be the heart of their ministry: have lots of kids! More, more! Make the women wear skirts, not trousers, not that Jesus wore trousers! Wives must be 100% receptive to their husbands' wishes, because the men probably want to have sex and incidentally make more children! If men lust after women, it is 100% the women's fault! Sin and ask for forgiveness and bingo, you get it!

I wonder if they see Josh as predestined to be a kiddy fiddler, but also to be forgiven for that, no matter how often it happened.

Yuck.

...but I thought Jesus told men to kill their eyes if they couldn't stop lusting after women innapropriately. I thought somewhere else in the bible it said it was okay for a man to cut off his penis if it kept him from sinning.*

Obviously they didn't read that. Or they did, and didn't think it applied.

*this is not meant to condone self-harm/castration, but rather, making an effort to help yourself and get self control. I think that's what Jesus was getting at- you being responsible for sinning against others.

[justbecause]

I don't mean this to be a facetious question: I really don't know the answer. I know that the Duggars regard their show and their family as a ministry, but I keep wondering: what substantial good acts have they done for humanity? What has their ministry and faith accomplished? I recognize that they see their show and family as examples of how human beings should live, and in that sense they think they're models. But as far as I can tell having lots of kids and making women and children obedient hasn't changed the world for the better in any real or measurable way.

They went out and sang, they gave speeches, they allowed others to praise them, they told people how they thought they should behave, they had weddings and births on TV, and . . . so what? It lined their pockets; it made them feel righteous; and it seems to me that it's not giving, kind, generous or religious behavior. It's just a sort of smug, superior bubble bath of self-righteousness for them to sit in. I mean, even Bill Cosby coughed up a lot of money for charity (rather than just paying off women he'd used).

Weirdly enough, I think that Josh may have recognized that, and may have recognized that God didn't strike him down if he was lazy, selfish, and abusive. And his parents didn't magically know that he'd done things like that; they're a lot stupider and easier to fool than he might have thought when he was small. And he was supposed to model himself on Jim Bob without having a cohort of brothers of a similar age. He was more of an individualist and had more freedom than his sister. If he had some freedom, mixed in the world, and met other men in the area who weren't fundies, maybe he got some perspective on Jim Boob and realized what a completely egotistical jerk he is.

I completely agree with you. And their 'test run' was politics, so there you go.

That one photo keeps coming to mind where they are all wearing the same thing and Jim Boob is leading like his little ducklings. It's my understanding that someone (tv exec's or ?) saw that photo and was interested.

It was the political 'show' that got them the documentaries and then the show. I think they jacked up their own ego's along the way and the kids kind of grew up in it.

I honestly think that to some degree they are a bad reflection on Christianity. I don't see them as a good reflection of us.

[justbecause]

They've actually done a lot of small charitable things to raise money for various....charitable causes. But really they consider their show a ministry because they believe it encourages people to embrace traditional marriage/many kids/homeschooling/Christianity.

It's a part of that ass backward thinking they have. It was all 'be like me' and a sham at that.

[justbecause]

I think that just by existing and being filmed JB believes that he has blessed the world: (JB writing about Michelle on the 31st anniversary)

So there you go. Michelle has impacted the world by delivering 19 children. And by gazing adoringly at her husband. And by telling everyone who listens that you should never refuse your husband's advances. JB wants to believe that Michelle is the door through which everyone on earth will begin to practice his idea of the perfect marriage.

Maybe they're covertly working under cover for the fast food industry. They need cheap, uneducated labor and are trying to rally the masses to mass population for big business.

Please, have 19 kids and home school them. :popcorn2:

[justbecause]

Yuck. That just makes me sick.

What I keep thinking is that they don't even seem like Christians to me. I know they pray and study and so on, but Christ didn't say that having endless children was good. That seems to be the heart of their ministry: have lots of kids! More, more! Make the women wear skirts, not trousers, not that Jesus wore trousers! Wives must be 100% receptive to their husbands' wishes, because the men probably want to have sex and incidentally make more children! If men lust after women, it is 100% the women's fault! Sin and ask for forgiveness and bingo, you get it!

I wonder if they see Josh as predestined to be a kiddy fiddler, but also to be forgiven for that, no matter how often it happened.

Yuck.

Are you guys familiar with dominionism or reconstructionist Christianity? That's their mindset. This is not a Christian forum, so I won't put out a link unless someone wants one to how these 'cults' operate.

[Srilaura]

"This" is not a Christian forum or the link is not a Christian forum? I'm a little confused due to the earlier comment "bad reflection on US"

[calimojo]

sure, put out a link. Some people on here haven't yet had the time to spend researching all of this. The religious portion of this fascinates. Having started my nursing career 30+ years ago in mental health nursing, I can tell you that the most common delusional thoughts have to do with religion and sex. To me, I see the followers of Gothard as living one large shared delusion. The same could be said about followers of all religion, of course, but in the Gothard world it just seems so much more obvious from the outside looking in

[justbecause]

sure, put out a link. Some people on here haven't yet had the time to spend researching all of this. The religious portion of this fascinates. Having started my nursing career 30+ years ago in mental health nursing, I can tell you that the most common delusional thoughts have to do with religion and sex. To me, I see the followers of Gothard as living one large shared delusion. The same could be said about followers of all religion, of course, but in the Gothard world it just seems so much more obvious from the outside looking in

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/10/0 ... ent-part-1

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/10/0 ... ent-part-2

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/10/0 ... ent-part-3

[grandmadugger]

I could be mistaken, but I think their belief is that good works don't get you in to heaven, only the grace of God gets you in to heaven. So why should they bother doing good in the world? They just have to go around saying "look at us, we're so much more Jesusy than you" and that fulfills their beliefs. Doing good/charitable works doesn't benefit them, so they can't be bothered.

I'd bet that yard sale was conceived by the production company and that the company did 98% of the work. The Duggars just showed up and took their places on the set that was built for them.

Ahh but see they are called to do good works. Not to get all "preachy" and such but you can't just have one without the other. I also believe God's grace is the only thing that gets you into heaven, you can't buy or work your way in BUT the Bible says that "faith without works is dead." You aren't supposed to just say "Go and be warm" you are supposed to give them what they need to get warm.

[chris]

Not sure where to post this, but oh well!

Since the Duggars went to an indoor trampoline place, I guess it's time for another family group photo!

A few things:

1) holy hell, Ben has the helmet hair! (Particularly doesn't look good with an unshaven face)

2) Josiah has the whole 'Oh god, get me out of here!' look in his eyes going on

3) Really going to have Josh stand right next to/behind Joy? Really?

4) Digging Jana's side ponytail

But most importantly, 5) Josie's sassy/IDGAF pose

instagram.com/p/5qXa0Bmlfx/?taken-by=duggarfam

[Rajah061014]

They went to a trampoline place in skirts????? Long flowy skirts????? ARE THEY STUPID?

Oh wait, it's the Duggars. Of course they are stupid. Goodness gracious. That seems like a safety hazard. Not to mention a wardrobe malfunction waiting to happen.

[Rajah061014]

But wait, there's more!

Per the trampoline place's instagram account: "highrisesportsFAMILY NIGHT TONIGHT! The whole family jumps for $35/hr between 6-10pm. Get out of the house and still beat the heat."

instagram.com/p/5piNoxKesi/?taken-by=highrisesports

I really hope they had a limit on the number of people per family. But somehow I'm not surprised that Jim Boob would take advantage of the deal, whether there's a limit or not.

[justbecause]

I just saw this online.

I agree 100% with the ideas of the Duggars soliciting donations. I think a poster here a few pages back talked about how she had signed up for the Duggar facebook or something and got an automated reply with a 'donation' link.

What SCUM. These people are so, so, sick.

http://radaronline.com/celebrity-news/d ... ncelation/

[YoshiCat]

That one photo keeps coming to mind where they are all wearing the same thing and Jim Boob is leading like his little ducklings. It's my understanding that someone (tv exec's or ?) saw that photo and was interested.

The awful red frumpers. I just can't understand how an adult woman could go out in public dressed like that, with her children dressed like that, and not be embarrassed.

[MayMay1123]

I just saw this online.

I agree 100% with the ideas of the Duggars soliciting donations. I think a poster here a few pages back talked about how she had signed up for the Duggar facebook or something and got an automated reply with a 'donation' link.

What SCUM. These people are so, so, sick.

http://radaronline.com/celebrity-news/d ... ncelation/

Deryck? I think they spell it different each time on purpose :lol:

[ShepherdontheRock]

Not sure where to post this, but oh well!

Since the Duggars went to an indoor trampoline place, I guess it's time for another family group photo!

A few things:

1) holy hell, Ben has the helmet hair! (Particularly doesn't look good with an unshaven face)

2) Josiah has the whole 'Oh god, get me out of here!' look in his eyes going on

3) Really going to have Josh stand right next to/behind Joy? Really?

4) Digging Jana's side ponytail

But most importantly, 5) Josie's sassy/IDGAF pose

instagram.com/p/5qXa0Bmlfx/?taken-by=duggarfam

Doesn't Ben know that Justin Bieber's old haircut is no longer in?

ETA- aren't you not supposed to be on a trampoline when you're really pregnant? Hope Jessa didn't go on.

[JMO]

I just found this old video of out takes from when Hannah/Jackson were littles. I be she was pregnant with Jordyn in this one.

[tulip]

I just found this old video of out takes from when Hannah/Jackson were littles. I be she was pregnant with Jordyn in this one.

I agree, she's pregnant with Jordyn. That's Jenni in the swing. Wow, she looks so much younger! And slightly angry with Jackson and Hannie. The struggle to keep sweet was real.