Friday, June 26, 2015

Biblical Patriarchy Intro

I'd like to go back, first, to my experience with the UU church. UUs believe in the Beloved Community, and that by following the 7 Principles, by working to build a community that loves and respects each other, and treats people with dignity, we can create a bit of heaven here on Earth.

The family religion I grew up with had similar but different beliefs. As I understand my parents' teachings, they believed that "heaven on Earth" would come when everybody on this planet chose to live Biblically. (Exactly which Biblical lifestyle, was not necessarily as clear.)

My parents tried to teach us to live in the world, but not of the world.

With this series, I hope to raise awareness that Biblical Patriarchy includes a wide range of beliefs AND faith traditions

 The Duggars have increased awareness of the Quiverfull movement, which is one set of beliefs that can be involved in Biblical Patriarchy. A major difference between devout Catholicism and Quiverfull, is that the Catholic Church advocates Natural Family Planning (NFP) and periodic abstinence to prevent conception. The Quiverfull movement recommends no contraception whatsoever, including abstaining from sex during fertile periods.

Let me backtrack. I was raised in the Roman Catholic church, which is not typically Fundamentalist. My mother was a cradle Catholic, as were her parents. My father explored religions and ultimately converted to Catholicism as an undergraduate, before he met my mother. They were both active in the Catholic Charismatic movement as students, but when we moved to Nebraska, there wasn't a Catholic Charismatic community. The Charismatic aspects of their faith were carried out in family home worship.

We would listen to Focus on the Family on a regular basis, and that influenced my parent's beliefs about relationships and parenting. I may or may not link to specific arguments... it depends on how much I can stomach re-reading.

The Catholic twist caused two major differences between the traditions I was raised in, and common features of the demographic:
  1. None of us were homeschooled. The older four of us mostly went to Catholic schools, with varying years of public schooling. The younger two predominantly attended public schools.
  2. We were part of a local Parish, and always went to Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation. I gather from the blogposts that some homeschooling families also practice home-Church, and we did not.
Topics in this series will probably include:
  • Gender roles (for children)
  • Gender roles in Relationship
  • Parenting and discipline
    • Children & Chores
    • The Village
    • Children's Rights
  • Modesty culture vs. Fashion
  • Purity culture and sexuality
    • Fertility Awareness and modern Medicine
    • Abstinence and Marriage
  • Diversity: What about all the people who don't want to become Christian?
  • Eschatology (Millenialism / the End Times)
  • At-Home Parenting
    • The importance of true, free choice, and respecting those choices.
    • the Economics of it
    • Pluses & Minuses (things to consider)

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