27 Dresses - I Mean Duggar Threads (Now, with Duggar women lawsuit discussion!)

[MayMay1123]

please, for the love of Rufus , no one should ever ask a woman if she is pregnant unless they actually see a baby coming out of her vagina! tell everyone that!

[calimojo]

I agree, I think infertility for women in this cult is very difficult.  I imagine there is a lot of judgment aimed at them for somehow not being 'godly' enough.  Infertility is hard for anyone suffering from it, so not trying to say one person has it worse than another.  But for people who don't have a religious spin on 'Having all the babies God will give me" there is hopefully less judgment and more empathy from friends and family, rather than having to worry that your friends and family are assuming that God doesn't think you are worthy of having children. 

I apologize if that sounds at all insensitive to anyone suffering from this issue.

On another note,  I have to say I am just really bored by the duggars right now.  Jinger and Jeremy kind of interest me only because they are a bit more reclusive.  But Joe and Kendra?  Ugh, dull and duller, and Joy and Austin?  Nope,  can't get on board with that one either.  Joy has shown a fiestiness in her younger years so it is sad to see her traded off so young and to someone who does not seem  likely to broaden her world at all.  And to someone who seems to be as exciting as watching paint dry.  The only good thing I can say at this point is that I think Joy may enjoy having a more outdoorsy sort of life, but then again, I am not sure about that either.  IN recent  years she seems to have fully embraced the rather gender rigid roles like her sisters and been all about hair, make up, courting, etc. 

Joe seems like a nice guy, and I was happy when he went off to Crown, and hoped maybe there was a side to him that we hadn't seen on the show.  I will say that like his brother JD,  Joe seems like he is willing to work and has some ambition.  He also seems to have a sweetness to him.  The girl, who knows.  She seems extremely young and sheltered.  I have a hard time imagining the two of them being able to carry on a conversation.  I had hoped that Joe would find a girl that might have more spark to her and actually bring him out of his shell. 

Anna and Josh just make me sad.  Nothing of interest there as a long and likely unpleasant future stretches out for them. 

Jana and JD get props for me because I think in their own way, they are leading a life that they want.  I just hope Jana does not give in to pressure to help the brand by agreeing to a public courtship.  I would love to see both Jana and JD find a mate and just quietly court and marry with out any of the show's fanfare.  Just release a few photos and be done with it. 

Josiah, who used to be kind of likeable has lost that trait.  The twins, well, Jed seems rather full of himself and arrogant in regards to his actual lack of common knowledge.  Jer seems more likeable to me, probably just because he is quieter so has less chance to annoy me. 

Jason, is well spoken and could rise to be one of the more featured kids.  He seems fairly fluent and comfortable on screen.  Hopefully he won't end up being  arrogant like Josh, who was also more fluent and comfortable in the spotlight. Justin and James don't seem to like the spotlight too much.  Justin seems to have a common sense quality to him and I remember him having a dry sense of humor in some of his talking heads.    As to the rest, they all mostly look unkempt and often unhappy.  The bubbly cute personalities that little kids often have seems to have gone and now they look both wary and weary.  Hopefully it is just that they don't like being filmed and not that they are really weary. 

At any rate,  I am bored.  Jinger and Jeremy will bore me eventually too, especially if they start in with the preaching with hellfire and damnation.  If they just keep it light, Show Jinger pushing a few minor boundaries and perhaps go childless for a bit longer, they will be more interesting.  If she ends up pregnant soon well that is less interesting because it is so predictable.  Obviously I hope she and Jeremy start a family when they want to start a family, and if that is now, then they should do it.  But I will confess that I hope they have decided to wait a year or two.  It is good for their relationship and from a business perspective, it is good for their branch of the brand.  Having at least one family unit doing their own thing and not doing exactly like the rest of them is good for the brand.

[Bad Wolf]

I often think about the Duggars when I'm in church. Today the priest (woman) talked about Christian exclusivity not being the only way. She put it into historical perspective. She was a lawyer before becoming a priest. I feel fortunate that both our priests are well educated and not legalistic.

[SassyPants]

19 hours ago, Bad Wolf said:

I often think about the Duggars when I'm in church. Today the priest (woman) talked about Christian exclusivity not being the only way. She put it into historical perspective. She was a lawyer before becoming a priest. I feel fortunate that both our priests are well educated and not legalistic.

My minister is a retired aeronautical engineer in his second career. I too feel very fortunate.

[bekkah]

19 hours ago, Bad Wolf said:

I often think about the Duggars when I'm in church. Today the priest (woman) talked about Christian exclusivity not being the only way. She put it into historical perspective. She was a lawyer before becoming a priest. I feel fortunate that both our priests are well educated and not legalistic.

What kind of church do you attend? How did she justify that Christianity was not the only way? 

[Greendoor]

I am an Anglican (Episcopal) Christian.  I don't know about Bad Wolf, but here is my take.

God is a spiritual being; the Holy Spirit engages our spirit.

All Religion is a earthly set of rules and regulations to harness, even chain, people's spiritual experience and make it conform to one expression.  Within this confine, you may become really well versed in one way of approaching God.

The whole exercise is meant to bring you spiritually closer to God.  If in His house there are many mansions, I would expect there are many paths.  In fact I believe God speaks to all of us a little bit uniquely.  As an Anglican, I am expected to study, engage and deepen my relationship with God, a life long spiritual journey.  Questions are good things, doubts are good, ideas are wonderful.

 

[Bad Wolf]

2 hours ago, Greendoor said:

I am an Anglican (Episcopal) Christian.  I don't know about Bad Wolf, but here is my take.

Thank you. Episcopalian here also. You explained it better than I could have.

[moreorlessnu]

On 5/13/2017 at 0:45 PM, Four is Enough said:

More like the Diva Cup.

 

That's what I was thinking!

[VelociRapture]

4 hours ago, Bad Wolf said:

Thank you. Episcopalian here also. You explained it better than I could have.

If I had to pick a Christian denomination to follow, it'd be Episcopalian. I don't necessarily think I believe everything they preach, but they're overall pretty much the rockstars of the Christian world. I love how welcoming and accepting many of the Episcopal Church communities can be.

[neurogirl]

The ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church of America) is pretty liberal too! And the United Church of Christ, which in my experience is jusssst on this side of Christianity and also explicitly states that their path is ONE path. Unitarian Universalists are, well, universalists and you can be of any or no faith to join them. 

(Raised ELCA Lutheran and now casually church-hopping as I try to figure out how I feel. Only accepting and loving churches need apply)

[SassyPants]

I attend an Universalist/Unitarian Fellowship which has its roots in Christianity. It is a very welcoming place.

[Bad Wolf]

I don't think denomination is as important as finding the right fit. A church in one place might fit well, where the same denomination in another place, might not. Church shopping is good.

[MadeItOut]

Do you guys get United Reformed Churches (URC) in the States? They always seem very life-led.

There wasn't one near us when we were small, so we were raised in a nearby Methodist community. There were some interesting folks there,but mostly folks were lovely.

For me, all the religious abuse followed in my first marriage - my first husband was a CP and belonged to a sect inside of a High Anglican community.

[Mela99]

I've never heard of a URC church - what's their philosophy?

[bekkah]

21 hours ago, Greendoor said:

The whole exercise is meant to bring you spiritually closer to God.  If in His house there are many mansions, I would expect there are many paths.  In fact I believe God speaks to all of us a little bit uniquely.  As an Anglican, I am expected to study, engage and deepen my relationship with God, a life long spiritual journey.  Questions are good things, doubts are good, ideas are wonderful.

Thanks for sharing  I'm trying to figure out how to approach faith, I"m actually ok with going to a church that I don't agree with everything on. But I know that I will eventually figure it out.

I attended a Universalist church for a while and it just didn't stick. Its not that I don't think it works for some people but I don't feel a connection at where I was and the other one in town is pretty much atheist, I know I'm not an atheist. Its interesting to hear different views. 

[Mrs. Figg]

I'm not sure where to throw this in, so I figured since they're twins it can go here. Carlin Bates' IG story showed JD at a ballgame in Florida? Maybe. I didn't see any other Duggars in the shot. 

Maybe he's flying people home for Joy's wedding....

[MadeItOut]

5 hours ago, Mela99 said:

I've never heard of a URC church - what's their philosophy?

Near as I can make out, they seem very family and community based. They're a Protestant denomination, but once you're pretty down-to-earth in your practice and so long as you simply live the life without proselytizing, they seem pretty open to most folks. 

 

I'm not sure if it's all URC churches, or just my grandparents' inner city one, but there were two long-term together gay gentlemen in grandma and grandad's church.

[Coconut Flan]

So that caused me to go looking at URC congregations and I found this document where they are very concerned about their members changing to Eastern Orthodox.  Why not let people go where they want to go?

http://www.oceansideurc.org/2017/04/eastern-orthodoxy-study-report/

 

 

[sansan]

7 hours ago, Mrs. Figg said:

Carlin Bates' IG story showed JD at a ballgame in Florida? Maybe. I didn't see any other Duggars in the shot.

Maybe he's flying people home for Joy's wedding....

isn't that a brother sitting down, next to the girl in the cap or is that Trace?

 

[Greendoor]

I think JD was missing on Mother's Day.  Perhaps there is something to a Bate's connection?   

 

[MadeItOut]

4 hours ago, Coconut Flan said:

So that caused me to go looking at URC congregations and I found this document where they are very concerned about their members changing to Eastern Orthodox.  Why not let people go where they want to go?

http://www.oceansideurc.org/2017/04/eastern-orthodoxy-study-report/

 

 

That does seem odd. Thanks for this (spot the endlessly fascinated by people and their beliefs nerd, right here - alternate theologies degree and all), it makes for a really interesting read.

[JMO]

@sansan that's Trace

[VelociRapture]

7 hours ago, Greendoor said:

I think JD was missing on Mother's Day.  Perhaps there is something to a Bate's connection?   

 

I don't know. JD is 27. The eldest Bates daughter not publicly courting is Josie, who is around 18 (19 in August.) Nathan is possibly back with Ashley Salyer. And I don't see Lawson, Nathan, or Trace being of interest to Jana (or vice versa.) 

So I don't think there's a courtship brewing between them anytime soon. Unless another Duggar son (like Si or one of the twins) was there too and just not pictured.

[Carm_88]

31 minutes ago, VelociRapture said:

So I don't think there's a courtship brewing between them anytime soon. Unless another Duggar son (like Si or one of the twins) was there too and just not pictured.

The Duggars and Bates are really good at hiding things, so they will show a picture of John David. If the twins/Josiah are pre-courting, you won't see them until they are officially "special friends." 

That's a weird sentence...

[justmy2cents]

53 minutes ago, VelociRapture said:

I don't know. JD is 27. The eldest Bates daughter not publicly courting is Josie, who is around 18 (19 in August.) 

Yes, not likely at all.  Josie is only 17. Will be 18 in August. (Carlin just turned 19 in April.)  If anything one of the twins could be interested in her or vice versa.