Spring Break
A cradle full of arrows
A patriarchal religious group plans to procreate its way to dominance
By: Kaitlyn Drinkwater
Issue date: 4/29/09 Section: Opinion
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"Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him.
Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth.
Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate." (Psalm 127:3-5, NIV)
From these verses, the trouble begins. Followers of QuiverFull equate all forms of birth control with abortion. According to the movement's publications, they trust in God to determine their family size and accept every child He chooses to give them as an unconditional blessing. As you might expect, this quickly leads to large families - sometimes very large. The group operates a Web site to provide support and resources to QuiverFull families, including a handy due-date calculator on the sidebar of every page. (No joke. QuiverFull means never having to say you're kidding.)
Many of you are probably familiar with some of the more prominent QuiverFull families, like the Duggars of TLC fame. Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar welcomed their 18th child this past December and, given their birthrate for the past 20 years, probably already have another on the way. As seen on the show, the Duggars are a successful, loving family full of bright, happy children; they are the poster family of QuiverFull.
Other families do not paint such a pleasing picture of the movement: Vyckie Garrison, a former QuiverFull mom who left the movement, has become the leader of a small countermovement called "No Longer Quivering" for women who escape the lifestyle of QuiverFull. She tells her story of a family which sometimes did not have enough money for food and clothes and a husband who couldn't be the leader he was "called" to be, but demanded her submission nonetheless.
Because QuiverFull is closely associated with the Patriarchy movement, women are typically not allowed to work outside the home. They are also required to submit to their husbands in every regard, leaving decisions and family leadership to him. This places all the responsibility of sheltering and feeding the rapidly multiplying mouths on the husband.
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