The Duggar Family and the Quiverfull Movement: Why They Are Anything but Harmless

[LongTomH]

28. There are many articles linking the Duggars to the Quiverful, Dominionist, and patriarchy movements

From Patheos: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/nolongerquivering/2009/11/christian-dominionism-part-1-the-ties-that-bind-extremist-politics-to-christian-patriarchy/

In recent years, most popular culture discussions of the Christian Quiverfull movement center on the charming Duggar family of TLC reality fame. The Duggars—parents of eighteen children with another on the way—are seen by many as a wholesome—if quirky—example of a healthy family with astoundingly polite and well-behaved children. It is nearly impossible to have a discussion with a well-meaning Quiverfull-illiterate without hearing that familiar refrain: “They just seem like such nice people!”

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The overwhelming majority of Quiverfull families—who comprise a miniscule percentage of the American population—are followers of an extremist brand of right-wing politics called Christian Dominionism. Motivated by such writers as RJ Rushdoony and Francis Schaeffer, they want to establish a militant Christian theocracy in the United States. Not only that, but they have imperialistic designs on the rest of the world.

In this era of Christian Right ascendancy, there are at least three names that those of us who remain committed to transparent democratic processes should know: RJ Rushdoony (intellectual father of Christian Dominionism), Bill Gothard (Quiverfull’s figurehead for stealth political organizing), and Erik Prince (CEO of Xe—formerly Blackwater—and the first Christian Dominionist to amass a private army capable of successfully overthrowing a government). The rest of the posts in this series will show what each of these men is about and shed light on this often dismissed—but increasingly powerful—fringe minority. It appears as though TLC will continue to romanticize the Quiverfull lifestyle for the foreseeable future, and it’s up to those of us who know better to shed a brighter light on its politics.

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/nolongerquivering/2009/11/christian-dominionism-part-2-r-j-rushdoony-and-the-ties-that-bind-extremist-politics-to-christian-patriarchy/

Born in 1916 to Armenian immigrants in the United States, Rousas John Rushdoony was a Calvinist theologian whose fundamentalist teachings would provide the intellectual foundations for Christian Dominionism—or Christian Reconstructionism—in North America. In his writings, Rushdoony laid the groundwork for the establishment of a Christian theocracy not unlike Calvin’s Geneva in the contemporary United States. Rushdoony’s multi-volume opus, The Institutes of Biblical Law, has provided much of the movement’s political framework.

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Rushdoony today remains a popular figure among fundamentalist Quiverfull families. He was an early proponent of the view that Christian families should homeschool their children in order to shelter them from secular schools in the United States. Among other works, his Philosophy of the Christian Curriculum was heard as a rallying cry for parents who shared Rushdoony’s disdain for the evils of secular humanism. For Rushdoony, the Christian homeschool was seen—almost literally—as a military training ground for the children who would become the foot soldiers in this war to replace the secular government of the United States with a fundamentalist one. In defense of these goals, Rushdoony famously wrote that “Christianity and democracy are inevitably enemies.”

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/nolongerquivering/2009/11/christian-dominionism-part-3-bill-gothard-and-the-ties-that-bind-extremist-politics-to-christian-patriarchy/
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/nolongerquivering/2009/11/christian-dominionism-part-4-erik-prince-and-the-ties-that-bind-extremist-politics-to-christian-patriarchy/
Erik Prince? Remember him? He's the Blackwater / Xe guy:

One thing that has not been widely reported, however, is Xe’s Dominionist allegiance, up to and including the fact that its former CEO—and now chairman—Erik Prince, is the biological heir apparent to the U.S. Dominionist community.

Scaryyyyy!!!!!!!

Oh, while you're at it; read the Wikipedia pages on the Quiverfull and Dominionist movements.