Maxwell 26: The Toothbrush Thing Is Real

[singsingsing]

58 minutes ago, fundiefan said:

It bothers me when Sarah does it because I only see it as her trying way too hard. 

There is nothing about them or their lives that is casual, laid back, slang using. 

I think she tries to relate but it comes off as forced. Which, I think it is.

That makes sense. Plus, I understand people have pet peeves. I absolutely hate certain words and phrases and I’m not even sure why as the majority of humanity doesn’t seem to share my disgust, haha.

[Dru]

Apropos of nothing, I've decided my next milestone into old landyhood is how I get a ladyboner from watching Gordon Ramsay cook amazing food. The first was realizing I preferred Mark Wahlberg with short hair over long in Rockstar.

3 hours ago, fundiefan said:

It bothers me when Sarah does it because I only see it as her trying way too hard. 

There is nothing about them or their lives that is casual, laid back, slang using. 

I think she tries to relate but it comes off as forced. Which, I think it is.

This! It's like she hears or reads ??? Something she thinks is trendy and latched on for dear life.

[SPHASH]

New post up.  Are my eyes deceiving me or is that a flat screen Beast back there.

[bluelady]

31 minutes ago, SPHASH said:

New post up.  Are my eyes deceiving me or is that a flat screen Beast back there.

I was just coming to ask the same thing!!!!

[fundiefan]

31 minutes ago, SPHASH said:

New post up.  Are my eyes deceiving me or is that a flat screen Beast back there.

It's probably a monitor. They're very into tech and have all the gadgets and expensive setups. I honestly believe they watch the beast and lie about it and justify it to themselves, but I don't think they'd be that careless as to have it appear in a picture. Their carefully crafted image is one thing they put extensive effort into. 

 

[JermajestyDuggar]

Sorry but computer monitors are basically the same thing as a tv these days. I’ve watched plenty of tv shows on computer monitors. They are lying to themselves if they think it’s somehow different. It’s a screen. And most people spend a huge amount of their days in front of a computer screen. If the Maxwell’s think they are super special and different in that regard, they are fools. 

[johnhugh]

I think we once saw a beast / monitor in Stevie and Terie’s bedroom...

[Flossie]

I'd love to have a computer screen that big.

[LurkerOverThePond]

That looks like a huge room, yet the desks are hidden in dark gloomy corners. They will need artificial light even during daytime. I have always put my desk in front of window, because 1) I love the natural light and at these latitudes, you can't get enough of that during autumn/winter, 2) I love to watch outside and see the street happenings every now and then, and 3) it's nice to enjoy some fresh breeze in front of an open window. 

[IReallyAmHopewell]

Do they say no "t.v." or "rarely"? I imagine there COULD be things they'd approve of--rarely, but it could happen. I'm thinking of Fox News for Steve or that Bible Study "netflix" thing--you wouldn't confuse it with "fun." Or a streaming service that edits.

The picture she's working on looks like the cover of one of those How To Draw books you can get at Michaels or Hobby Lobby.

[Palimpsest]

13 minutes ago, IReallyAmHopewell said:

Do they say no "t.v." or "rarely"?

Steve has been saying no  (complete no) to TV regularly since at least 1995.  He had a 3 or 4 part series on the evils of TV as recently as May and June on Seriously, Dads.  He has conceded reluctantly that "some" movies might be acceptable, but TV is still the Beast.

1 hour ago, johnhugh said:

I think we once saw a beast / monitor in Stevie and Terie’s bedroom...

That was definitely a monitor.

I don't think any of the Maxwells would dream of watching TV.  Except possibly for John and Chelsy.

 

[IReallyAmHopewell]

52 minutes ago, Palimpsest said:

.  He has conceded reluctantly that "some" movies might be acceptable, but TV is still the Beast.

So they don't watch "tv." just movies PLAYED on a tv by a dvd. I honestly didn't think they watched except for very rare events. After all, it could be fun. And there could be a commercial with a woman dressed like a...woman.

[Fun-Dee]

Steve seems to have a huge problem with self control.  When he was watching TV, he was addicted to TV.  He has also admitted to having a problem with overeating.  I think if he could get by without eating he would.  

[Dandruff]

23 minutes ago, IReallyAmHopewell said:

So they don't watch "tv." just movies PLAYED on a tv by a dvd. I honestly didn't think they watched except for very rare events. After all, it could be fun. And there could be a commercial with a woman dressed like a...woman.

Or...unrelated, male and female cartoon characters conversing without a chaperone, unmarried adult children who independently choose to leave the nest, or tasty burritos with meat.  

[Palimpsest]

56 minutes ago, IReallyAmHopewell said:

So they don't watch "tv." just movies PLAYED on a tv by a dvd.

Remember, Steve only conceded that "some" movies might be OK after Chelsy posted on her blog that she, Allison, and John had enjoyed movie night.  The horror.

In reality, they probably watched a Kirk Cameron or Jane Austen movie downloaded from the internet on a computer monitor.  So technically they were not watching TV.  Hairsplitting hypocrisy though.

40 minutes ago, Fun-Dee said:

Steve seems to have a huge problem with self control.  When he was watching TV, he was addicted to TV.  He has also admitted to having a problem with overeating.  I think if he could get by without eating he would.  

No, I think you may be confusing FJ snark with fact.

I'm 99% sure that Steve has never admitted to either being addicted to TV nor to over-eating.  He is practically perfect in every way.  His worst offense is a liking for desserts.  Especially pumpkin pie. However, we notice that whenever he seems to be developing a little belly he goes on a fast.  And encourages others to fast with him, whether they need to lose weight or not, for the good of their souls and the betterment of the world. 

Some excerpts from Steve's posts on TV for everyone's enjoyment.  I don't think he was ever addicted to TV.  It just took away from the Bible and was too much fun.

1995 - Character problems.  https://articles.titus2.com/finding-causes-for-character-problems/

Quote

There is one area I encourage you not to overlook as you search for causes. I am convinced one of the biggest contributors to much of the difficulty in homes is the TV. I could write pages about TV and what it is teaching anyone watching it. I believe none of it is of value. Some might say, “Wait a minute, sometimes we watch educational shows.” Yes, but aren’t most of them humanistic and teach evolution? Wouldn’t it be much better if our children were reading the information out of a godly textbook? They would still receive the knowledge while improving their reading skills at the same time. I used to justify watching TV, when in actuality it was my own laziness and desire to be entertained that kept us watching it. It is a mistake to confuse entertainment with rest. One day of rest is good, more than that is likely slothfulness.

One of my favorites from 1999.  They can't go to an airshow because of the rock music so they asked a neighbor to tape the show from his TV.  https://articles.titus2.com/1999/10/

Quote

I put the tape in the VCR, and hit “play” to an excited crowd of young ones. Before I could get to where I could see, Sarah, who had just entered, exclaimed that the little ones needed to look away quickly. To my incredible disappointment, indignation, and mounting feeling of violation, there was a preview of some TV show with ladies in underwear, right before the 6 o’clock news began.

Holy crap!  Ladies in underwear.  Just as terrible as Steve "accidentally" ogling a woman's cleavage when she leaned over.  It was her husband's fault that Steve was defrauded.

And from 2006:  https://articles.titus2.com/bad-or-best/

Quote

I watched TV and movies as a lost person and then for a time as a believer. We even watched general TV programming. Then, we were convicted of the bad shows and tried restricting our viewing so that we were only watching what we considered “good” shows. These were shows that didn’t have murder, immodesty, and other lewd behavior. Unfortunately, those shows reflected the world’s view of marriage, evolution, and other ungodly concepts. As long as the “beast” was alive in our home, we were drawn to feeding the flesh by wasting time and wanting to be entertained by watching it. In sowing to the flesh, I reaped the corruption of no real spiritual appetite for leading my family in reading the Bible at night. Once TV watching was gone, we fed on the cool, clean, pure water of the Word. Be on guard because the flesh is going to be pulled toward being entertained, which will leave little time for what is “best.”

And from April 2018:  The Abomination in the House.

Quote

 

Yet, might we be like Solomon and have difficulty in seeing our own error? Will we heed the warning of Scripture? “Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it: but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing” (Deuteronomy 7:26).  Sadly, many Christian dads have brought what God would call an abomination into their homes.

Notice how these verses describe TV and most movies. “These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren” (Proverbs 6:16-19).

 

 

[Hane]

@PlentyOfJesusFishInTheSea, if I’d ever been exposed to this information as a child, I’m sure I would have had nightmares. When I was “facts of life” age, my mom showed me the Life magazine photos of fetuses at various stages of development as part of my sex education. As a twelve-year-old sistermom, I admit to having gotten really sentimental about them, and actually cried when my mom told me she’d had three miscarriages before I was born.

[Black Aliss]

1 hour ago, Fun-Dee said:

Steve seems to have a huge problem with self control.  When he was watching TV, he was addicted to TV.  He has also admitted to having a problem with overeating.  I think if he could get by without eating he would.  

Which is why he is compelled to control everyone else in his world. Because he can't control himself.

[HereticHick]

On 11/27/2018 at 12:39 PM, HereticHick said:

The National Bible Bee is next weekend in San Antonio.  Some Bontragers are studying for it. I won't be surprised if John & Chelsy  go down for it. I've been wondering if Chelsy would convince any of the Maxwells to start competing in it, but we've seen no evidence of it so far.

Answering my own question here. 3 Bontragers qualified in the Junior division: https://biblebee.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/NBBC18_qualifierPDF_junior.pdf. No Maxwells (or really, any other fundy families that I'm aware of) qualified.

[JermajestyDuggar]

2 hours ago, Hane said:

@PlentyOfJesusFishInTheSea, if I’d ever been exposed to this information as a child, I’m sure I would have had nightmares. When I was “facts of life” age, my mom showed me the Life magazine photos of fetuses at various stages of development as part of my sex education. As a twelve-year-old sistermom, I admit to having gotten really sentimental about them, and actually cried when my mom told me she’d had three miscarriages before I was born.

You just reminded me of something! When I was a kid, my sister told me my mom had two miscarriages. I knew very little about reproduction at the time so I basically thought I had lost a baby brother or sister. I was sad! Of course as I got older I understood things better. Telling me as a kid that people are literally killing and torturing babies in planned parenthood would have scarred me for life. I was a sensitive kid about death so I know I would have been greatly disturbed by something like that. I would never do that to my children. 

[PennySycamore]

Heaven to Betsy!  Steve and the boys would have needed to stay far, far away from the lingerie section of the old Sear's catalog.  The women's all-in-ones would have sent them into a sexual frenzy.  

@Palimpsest, the only Jane Austen they could have watched would have been the old Greer Garson/Larry Olivier Pride and Prejudice version from '39 or 40 where the costumes were not period appropriate.  They could not have coped with seeing Elizabeth Bennet's cleavage not Mr Darcy arising from the lake at Pemberley with his wet shirt clinging to his skin.  (Thanks you, Colin Firth!)

[Lisafer]

I think "Maxwells: The Monitor of Abomination" would be an excellent thread title!

So Steve feels violated by seeing a brief glimpse of a woman in clothing he does not approve of? Meanwhile, actual women are actually violated every day...ffs.

[fundiefan]

9 hours ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

Sorry but computer monitors are basically the same thing as a tv these days. I’ve watched plenty of tv shows on computer monitors. They are lying to themselves if they think it’s somehow different. It’s a screen. And most people spend a huge amount of their days in front of a computer screen. If the Maxwell’s think they are super special and different in that regard, they are fools. 

Yes, they are. But - and in Maxhell, this is a big but - they Steve can control what is accessed. 

Watch the news on the beast? You're going to hell. Stream the news on a monitor, via a computer, tablet, phone....? No problem, ya'll. Watch movies on the beast? You're done for. Stream movies using wifi and and a visual apparatus -  cool dude. 

The lines are definitely blurred - for most of your average person. For Steve & his vassals  - it's technology that they have self taught and are using for educational - edifying - purposes. Only. Nevermind that they are watching TV or being exposed to information or opinions - - -  It's not a television, so they're all good with their god. Steve.

[Dandruff]

4 hours ago, Black Aliss said:

Which is why he is compelled to control everyone else in his world.

His little world is expanding, in the sense that his children are marrying and having children, but I think his control is decreasing as each one leaves home.  Four of his sons now cleave to their wives (not Steve) and it's all bible-approved.  I suspect what's going on now involves more manipulation than authority...and I doubt it feels good. 

[JermajestyDuggar]

58 minutes ago, fundiefan said:

Yes, they are. But - and in Maxhell, this is a big but - they Steve can control what is accessed. 

Watch the news on the beast? You're going to hell. Stream the news on a monitor, via a computer, tablet, phone....? No problem, ya'll. Watch movies on the beast? You're done for. Stream movies using wifi and and a visual apparatus -  cool dude. 

The lines are definitely blurred - for most of your average person. For Steve & his vassals  - it's technology that they have self taught and are using for educational - edifying - purposes. Only. Nevermind that they are watching TV or being exposed to information or opinions - - -  It's not a television, so they're all good with their god. Steve.

I think this is what did some fundie families in. They lost complete control once they allowed constant internet access. Even if they have parental blocks for young adults, they still are not sheltered like they were back in the 80s and 90s. If you had no TV, one home phone, one radio, and just the local newspaper, you could keep your kids in a tight bubble. Now it’s much harder. Especially for the fundie parents who were slow to understand emerging technology. 

[Tatar-tot]

BTW:  I asked my husband if he would like me to put toothpaste on his toothbrush.  He response:  “Why would you do that?” with a look like I had flipped.  LOL!