Article on Slate.com on the Pearl's appalling book

[Lunatic]

Just posted on Slate.com: http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/20 ... ad_to.html

An article on the Pearls and how their book has been linked to so many childrens' deaths. At last, someone in the MSM makes a connection!!

[Shina]

First reaction, sweet!

But I'm also slightly concerned that greater exposure will result in more fundie frootloops reading this shit and implementing it as they beat on their kids...

[Lunatic]

I did notice a link to another website within the article and it seems like some Christians are trying to bring attention to the issue as well. Hopefully that will be enough to bring doubt to some people's minds about the Pearl methods.

[Guest Anonymous]

And here's the first comment on the article:

MarkB

"While we can probably agree that one or two missed meals as a lesson in appreciation is a fine thing, it’s easy to see how overzealous readers might follow this advice to the point of starvation"

No it is not easy to see. No more than it is easy to see how advice to deny children carbonated soft drinks might lead readers to follow that advice to the point of starvation. The 'easy to see' part could only come from a deep hatred of Evangelical Christians, and a desperate desire to smear them all with a blood libel.

So is it true that Jews kill Christian babies for their blood? It doesn't say anything about that practice in Hebrew Scripture, but you can see how overzealous Jews might be lead astray.

*Headdesk*

Way to not get it and be anti-Semitic, twatwaffle. Thinking that kids shouldn't be starved or have the life beaten out of them =/= hating Christians. FFS.

ETA: And another one.

Matt

The author here is making a HUGE stretch. As he (she? not sure the gender of the author with just an initial for a first name) admits, some of the directions quoted from this book are perfectly reasonable (denying meals to picky children), and nowhere in the book do the authors encourage the kind of abuse that led to the death of this little girl. Blaming the authors of a parenting book for the actions of a small number of abusive parents is about as ridiculous as blaming the Columbine shootings on the video game DOOM. Presumably thousands (more?) of parents use the advice in this book without murdering their children, and unfortunately there are hundreds of children murdered by parents who have never heard of "How to Train Up a Child).

Is debrand around, or someone else that has citations of the fucked up stuff right out of Michael Pearl's mouth? I'd love to see comments quoting the "beat your child until they can only whimper" or "break them utterly" or "if they can ask for a hug, you aren't hitting them hard enough" etc.

ETA 2: It's like she read my mind! Is TriciaC someone from here?

TrishaC

And I quote:

“If you are just beginning to attempt to control an already rebellious child who runs from discipline and is too incoherent to listen, then use whatever force is necessary to bring him to bay. If you have to sit on him to spank him then do not hesitate. And hold him there until he is surrendered. Prove that you are bigger, tougher, more patiently enduring, and are unmoved by his wailing. Defeat him totally. Accept no conditions for surrender. No compromise. You are to rule over him as a benevolent sovereign. Your word is final.â€

[Trynn]

The author here is making a HUGE stretch. As he (she? not sure the gender of the author with just an initial for a first name) admits, some of the directions quoted from this book are perfectly reasonable (denying meals to picky children), and nowhere in the book do the authors encourage the kind of abuse that led to the death of this little girl. Blaming the authors of a parenting book for the actions of a small number of abusive parents is about as ridiculous as blaming the Columbine shootings on the video game DOOM. Presumably thousands (more?) of parents use the advice in this book without murdering their children, and unfortunately there are hundreds of children murdered by parents who have never heard of "How to Train Up a Child).

Actually, I don't quite remember because I was young at the time, but weren't there a lot of people who DID think the video game should be banned because of this? I seem to remember a lot of "video games are bad" sermons shortly after Columbine with a few references thrown in...

[Austin]

I did notice a link to another website within the article and it seems like some Christians are trying to bring attention to the issue as well. Hopefully that will be enough to bring doubt to some people's minds about the Pearl methods.

This Christian, homeschooling couple did a pretty dispassionate analysis of the Pearls, TTUC, and their theology. It can be found here on their website:

http://scitascienda.com/scienda-store/

It looks like a 76-page long ebook which is free to download but they are accepting donations toward the cost of the creation of the book. Here's the pdf of the ebook:

http://scitascienda.files.wordpress.com ... -cdyck.pdf

I read through the first 30 pages so far. I think it would be a bit difficult for someone without a strong background/understanding of biblical evangelicalism, but maybe not. I know I had to call on my fundie-lite upbringing and early adult life and the theology courses I took. But they really dissect the Pearls quite credibly and point out their many points of bad theology from a Christian/evangelical point of view. This might be of interest to some FJers.

[demgirl]

Someone should post this one from Daddy Pearl:

Right here in our own community a family adopted three children from Liberia. We warned them, but they were so caught up with good feelings about how they were sacrificing their lives to save poor starving children from orphanages that they danced their way into tragedy. They have several children younger than the three adopted kids, who, unknowing to them, were well versed in all the dark arts of eroticism and ghastly perversion.

We have received many letters from families who have adopted children from overseas, quite a few from Liberia, and nearly every one of them—if not all—told sad stories of the fall of their natural children into sexual deviance.

I will say this again. Never adopt children even close to the age of your own. You should be past child bearing age, and your children should be at least 10 to 15 years older than the adopted kids. I don’t think there is any such thing as an orphanage raised child who has not been a participant in sexual perversion.

It's from comments and answers on the Pearl website. He's a delight.