Maxwell 33: Managers of Their Vests

[Caroline]

2 minutes ago, grammyj said:

Well, it's Steve's worldview and as I recall, he is by profession and training, an engineer. I have quite a few engineers in my family and I gotta say, these folks are Smart! They can make an algebraic formula to solve a problem or put together a 17 piece Ikea anything--with instructions in a language they don't speak-- like nobody's business.

 But, and I know I'm generalizing here, and my observations are based on my own experiences, if these same folks have one thing in common, it's the inability to see the world in anything other than black and white.  I dont know if it's training, or if the profession maybe attracts such type of thinkers. Again, just based on my own experiences. Steve seems to be a black/white thinker too. His total control  of their world prevents anyone pointing out the grey areas which are so important.  Life is seldom just an equation. It's mostly grey.

Anyhow, this family does not cease to fascinate and enrage me. I think, from reading the blogs and Corners, Teri/Steve is getting more and more rigid and self-aggrandizing. I'd like to live long enough to see how the grandchildren turn out.  I think it's pretty much over for the Maxwell daughters. I hope I'm wrong. So sad. Christmas Shoeboxes the focus of their years.  Sighing, shaking head....Ok, I'm ranting now. Am done.

I live in an area where there are lots of engineers, and my impression of them is the same:  smart, but black and white.  I don't know any religious ones though.   The ones I do know have very narrow interests, so that's why they don't attract me.  The typical personality I associate with engineers is not my cup of tea, but I'm sure my view of the world is not something they appreciate either.

[fundiefan]

Add me to the list of those confused by a trip to the park being something "special". Most kids spend countless hours at the park playing. That's what they're there for. I drive by two neighborhood parks every day driving to & from work. They both always have kids/families/dogs in them. Playing on the swings, monkey bars, whatever; in the sand, running around, climbing trees - all the things kids (and adults) do in a place specifically designed for playing and getting outside. 

I grew up spending more time in the neighborhood park than in my own yard. 

Kids & parks - not new, not exciting, not special. 

[NancyDrewFan1989]

@GrammyJ My dad is an engineer and he is very smart. He mentioned to me a couple of times that there are a few people who he worked with who sound fundie. Also, Steve Maxwell isn't the only fundie engineer father who has popped up. Donald Staddon and Brian Waller are engineers as well. I never understood how they could so ignorant about the outside world despite having a good education. I guess engineering is a field that attracts fundies for some reason. 

[JermajestyDuggar]

57 minutes ago, NancyDrewFan1989 said:

@GrammyJ My dad is an engineer and he is very smart. He mentioned to me a couple of times that there are a few people who he worked with who sound fundie. Also, Steve Maxwell isn't the only fundie engineer father who has popped up. Donald Staddon and Brian Waller are engineers as well. I never understood how they could so ignorant about the outside world despite having a good education. I guess engineering is a field that attracts fundies for some reason. 

That kind of science doesn’t really challenge their biblical views. If they were a high school biology teacher, then I would be shocked. 

[SassyPants]

7 hours ago, Caroline said:

I live in an area where there are lots of engineers, and my impression of them is the same:  smart, but black and white.  I don't know any religious ones though.   The ones I do know have very narrow interests, so that's why they don't attract me.  The typical personality I associate with engineers is not my cup of tea, but I'm sure my view of the world is not something they appreciate either.

My minister is a life long, retired engineer. He’s on his second career.

[MamaJunebug]

On 10/11/2019 at 5:43 AM, Jody said:

Nothing with an ingredients label? I thought labels were mandatory even for the super vegan foodstuffs (like €20) for some nuts/berries Miles that are completely organic. My friends are raw-foodists, and they always bitch about the food we serve them, even though it comes from a local farmer’s market where the farmer read it a bedtime story every night. So last year, i filled a big bowl with biological rabbit food. They were the only ones who couldn’t appreciate the joke?????

Nothing with an ingredients label. 

I haven’t been to his house — oh wait: he does use a variety of hot sauces, so hes flirting with an untruth there. But he claims to shop exclusively in the produce aisle. His family are omnivorous.  For Valentine’s day, each kid got a heart-shaped  hamburger. He received broccoli florets arranges in the outline of a heart andcwas very happy.  

I asked him about a friend who’s vegan and very overweight. He sniffed about vegan energy bars and vegan candy bars and frozen vegan meat-replacement patties and the  suchlike.

i think he’s straight about the no-labels, excepting the Tabasco, et.al.!

[grammyj]

When I was talking about engineers and black and white thinking, what I meant is that anyone who thinks in absolutes, ie black or white, decides what their stance on a particular issue is and then goes all in with that belief.

It can apply to diet, political views, religion, anything. Steve's rigid, all in-thinking  just happens to apply to religion. He's all in, his views are the only "correct" ones and he'll brook no discussion about this. Unfortunately, Teri has gone along and probably has never challenged him on any of his views. Steve's mindset and Teri's enabling has created this sad mess. And the kidadults and grandchildren are the collateral damage.

Hope this make sense. I'm not talking about engineering types and religion per se. I'm talking about how only black and white thought can have disastrous effects if it's not challenged.

[MamaJunebug]

Just t/w my vegan friend. He uses ground spices, not hot sauces. 

Hes not an engineer, by the way. LOL!

[princessmahina]

On 10/12/2019 at 9:34 PM, MamaJunebug said:

Nothing with an ingredients label. 

I haven’t been to his house — oh wait: he does use a variety of hot sauces, so hes flirting with an untruth there. But he claims to shop exclusively in the produce aisle. His family are omnivorous.  For Valentine’s day, each kid got a heart-shaped  hamburger. He received broccoli florets arranges in the outline of a heart andcwas very happy.  

I asked him about a friend who’s vegan and very overweight. He sniffed about vegan energy bars and vegan candy bars and frozen vegan meat-replacement patties and the  suchlike.

i think he’s straight about the no-labels, excepting the Tabasco, et.al.!

My husband and I are ~90% vegan. And we definitely are the “fat” vegans. Oreos are vegan, yo, and we take advantage of that pretty often ?

[SPHASH]

New post up.  Scripture memorization part 4 by Amish Anna.  Some friends of Gigi and Granddad's came to visit.  They are part of the most discriminatory Christian group in the world the Gideons.

[MamaJunebug]

12 minutes ago, SPHASH said:

New post up.  Scripture memorization part 4 by Amish Anna.  Some friends of Gigi and Granddad's came to visit.  They are part of the most discriminatory Christian group in the world the Gideons.

How so, please? 

[PennySycamore]

14 hours ago, princessmahina said:

My husband and I are ~90% vegan. And we definitely are the “fat” vegans. Oreos are vegan, yo, and we take advantage of that pretty often ?

I got a small package of Maple Creme Oreos on Saturday and they are almost gone.  I'm not quite vegan, but yeah.  I don't think I could be a Joyful Vegan /Vegetarian if I cut so much stuff out of my diet.  Eating is meant to be pleasurable from the moment you're born.  It's not just the milk sugar in breast milk either.  It's the very act of nursing. 

(The Joyful Vegan is a new book coming out November 12th by Colleen Patrick-Goudreu.  It's all about why some people stop being vegan and how to stay vegan joyfully. )

[SPHASH]

3 hours ago, MamaJunebug said:

How so, please? 

They won't let Catholics join.  They have a woman's auxiliary but women aren't allowed to pass out bibles.  Only business and professional or retired men are allowed to join.

[IReallyAmHopewell]

I feel sorry for which ever Maxhell grandson that is with Gigi's friends in today's posts. That boy has no future. This visit counts as "excitement" in his life. Plus--well, everything.

[Bethy]

I was surprised that they would align with the Gideons. If I'm reading the Maxwells right, their leaning is more like the super-separated IFB which would find an organization like the Gideons (which lets in people from denominations like Methodist, who have women pastors) unacceptable to rub shoulders with.

[princessmahina]

2 hours ago, PennySycamore said:

I got a small package of Maple Creme Oreos on Saturday and they are almost gone.  I'm not quite vegan, but yeah.  I don't think I could be a Joyful Vegan /Vegetarian if I cut so much stuff out of my diet.  Eating is meant to be pleasurable from the moment you're born.  It's not just the milk sugar in breast milk either.  It's the very act of nursing. 

(The Joyful Vegan is a new book coming out November 12th by Colleen Patrick-Goudreu.  It's all about why some people stop being vegan and how to stay vegan joyfully. )

I’ve been strict vegetarian for y’all r years. It isn’t hard for me at all. I think eggs are gross, so that’s also easy. I’m lactose intolerant and now that I’m breastfeeding, I’ve discovered that my rare dairy binges make for a fussy baby. So, it’s easy for us. I don’t see myself ever going back to eating meat personally but in generally I’m not terribly strict about eating things with egg and dairy if I’m out and about. 

[Eternalbluepearl]

I just came here to say "elderly saints" and roll my eyes with like-minded individuals. What the heck is up with these Maxwells? To them, a life well-lived is a life of Bible memorization? Don't help anyone, read this damn book as much as possible to absorb it and memorize it. Boom. Life well-lived. How sad. That will never be who I hold up as an example to my child. I pretty much can't with Maxhell lately. 

[Hane]

@Eternalbluepearl, I’ve finally figured it out: To these sola scriptura Biblical literalists, the Bible is virtually a fetish, in the Merriam-Webster sense of “an object believed to have magical power that will protect or aid its owner” or “an object of irrational reverence or obsessive devotion.” In no way am I saying that certain teachings in the Bible lack value—I’m saying the Maxwells have elevated it to magic amulet status. 
 

I’m reminded of those fundies who take their Bibles everywhere to broadcast how Christian (TM) they are, and of one fundie we followed some time back who bragged about putting a big Bible adorned with a large red ribbon on her mantelpiece, instead of having a Christmas tree.

Edited October 15, 2019 by Hane

[Eternalbluepearl]

It's very true, @Hane. Fetish is the perfect word. I like to read Maxwell blog posts and insert "Harry Potter" for "Bible" and laugh to myself. 

 

Is Anna Marie really nieve enough to think that if someone memorizes scripture they are a good person? People are people, Bible or not. There are definitely Bible reading people I'd want nowhere near me or my family. It's not a magical cure-all or a ticket to a life well-lived. It's a damn book. Meant to  control the masses, in my opinion, but first and foremost, a book like any other. Memorizing lines of Twilight (shh don't judge) doesn't get me closer to being a Cullen. 

Edited October 15, 2019 by Eternalbluepearl

[Captain Obvious]

On 10/13/2019 at 4:22 AM, fundiefan said:

Add me to the list of those confused by a trip to the park being something "special". Most kids spend countless hours at the park playing. That's what they're there for. I drive by two neighborhood parks every day driving to & from work. They both always have kids/families/dogs in them. Playing on the swings, monkey bars, whatever; in the sand, running around, climbing trees - all the things kids (and adults) do in a place specifically designed for playing and getting outside. 

I grew up spending more time in the neighborhood park than in my own yard. 

Kids & parks - not new, not exciting, not special. 

It wouldn't surprise me at all if the Maxwells - at least the Chris/Anna-Marie family - restrict the kids to playing in the backyard/the Fathership backyard so that an outing to the park actually IS a big deal for them. 

On 10/13/2019 at 9:03 AM, NancyDrewFan1989 said:

@GrammyJ My dad is an engineer and he is very smart. He mentioned to me a couple of times that there are a few people who he worked with who sound fundie. Also, Steve Maxwell isn't the only fundie engineer father who has popped up. Donald Staddon and Brian Waller are engineers as well. I never understood how they could so ignorant about the outside world despite having a good education. I guess engineering is a field that attracts fundies for some reason. 

It's not hard to understand. Engineering is quite black and white, I assume, and there's nothing in it that would challenge fundie thinking, in the way other branches of science do. I mean they can't be doctors because fundies object to treating mental health, allowing women to control their reproduction or giving any kind of treatment to gay or trans people. Pharmacists might have to prescribe contraception or abortion drugs There's not much of a career for evolution-denying biologists, geologists or zoologists - I mean they can't all work at the Ark Experience or the Creation Museum. 

Mathematics or physics are probably relatively "safe" fields, but what fundie has the money to hang around getting a PhD and therefore spending years at a likely secular university to do so?

[Hane]

I was married to an engineer for 14 years. He was of the agnostic ilk, and was frustrated that I (a theist) refused to have “logical discussions” about religion with him. He didn’t really want discussions—he wanted debates in which he could “prove” that he was right and I was wrong, because LOGIC. Everything he thought was, by default, “logical” and inferior to what I thought.

In hindsight, it kind of reminds me of when DPIARBT, in the VF glory days, invited folks to a “reasonable discussion” about feminism and the Bible.

[MamaJunebug]

1 hour ago, Hane said:

I was married to an engineer for 14 years. He was of the agnostic ilk, and was frustrated that I (a theist) refused to have “logical discussions” about religion with him. He didn’t really want discussions—he wanted debates in which he could “prove” that he was right and I was wrong, because LOGIC. Everything he thought was, by default, “logical” and inferior to what I thought.

In hindsight, it kind of reminds me of when DPIARBT, in the VF glory days, invited folks to a “reasonable discussion” about feminism and the Bible.

Yup. Circular reasoning is not restricted to religious groups. Anybody who is obstinate enough about their beliefs will use it.

It’s why I restrict my circle of friends to those who don’t want to discuss what they’re passionate about.  They prefer to live their values. Good folk!

 

3 hours ago, Captain Obvious said:

Pharmacists might have to prescribe contraception or abortion drugs 

Hi, friend. Having grown up with pharmacists on the family, they only fill prescriptions. Physicians prescribe medications. That said, I remember back in the day, a pharmacist refused to fill a birth control pill prescription for an unmarried woman, and was physically attacked pretty brutally by some radicals.  It was a scary time, as one of the pharmacists in our family wasn’t sure that he himself felt comfortable with selling BC to a single woman. SMH. I remember so clearly feeling so disappointed in him that day. 

18 hours ago, SPHASH said:

They won't let Catholics join.  They have a woman's auxiliary but women aren't allowed to pass out bibles.  Only business and professional or retired men are allowed to join.

Holy guacamole, I had no idea that was true about the Gideons.  Bless their hearts. 

[HereticHick]

Did you know that taking kids to a local park is wholesome and inexpensive?

FFS, Maxwells, do you really think there is any vertebrate on planet earth who doesn't know this?

 

PS Why doesn't Arnold have a down vest?

[tabitha2]

Arnold is a Maxwell male even though he has no junk anymore.Obviously He must be a still an immodest heathen or he would properly be wearing kitty Khakis.

[Black Aliss]

To be fair (for a change, I know, I know, I'm usually all BEC when it comes to fundies) the trip was to Weston Bend State Park for a walk and picnic, not to just a neighborhood playground. I'll be generous and assume they went on some kind of nature walk/interpretive trail before their picnic, and that it only occurred to Sarah to photograph them on the playset* and at the picnic table, because those are the things she is programmed to commemorate.

*I am pretty sure I have never been to a state park that had playground equipment. Typically, nature is the big draw. But, to quote the missionary lady in The African Queen, "Nature, Mr. Allnut, is what we are put in this world to rise above."

Edited October 15, 2019 by Black Aliss
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