Quiverfull
Quiverfull is a Christian theological position that sees large families as a blessing from God..
Some sources have referred to the Quiverfull position as providentialism,[5] while other sources have simply referred to it as a manifestation of natalism.[6][7]
It is most widespread in the United States but it also has adherents in Canada,[8] Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and elsewhere.[1] One 2006 estimate put the number of families which subscribe to this philosophy as ranging from "the thousands to the low tens of thousands".[4]
Historical background
As birth-control methods advanced during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many conservative Christian movements issued official statements against their use, citing their incompatibility with biblical beliefs and ideals.
In addition, there are those who contend that Quiverfull's "internal growth" model is a manifestation of a broader trend which is reflected in the lifestyles of such groups as
Anglican allowance of birth control
In 1930, the Lambeth Conference issued a statement permitting birth control: "Where there is a clearly felt moral obligation to limit or avoid parenthood, complete abstinence is the primary and obvious method", but if there was morally sound reasoning for avoiding abstinence, "the Conference agrees that other methods may be used, provided that this is done in the light of Christian principles". Primary materials on the contemporary debate indicate a wide variety of opinion on the matter.[12] In the decades that followed, birth control became gradually accepted among many other mainline Protestants, even among some conservative evangelicals.[13][14][15][16]
Early Quiverfull authors
In the 20th century, Quiverfull as a modern
In her book, Pride chronicled her metaphorical journey away from what she labeled
As the basis for her arguments, Pride selected numerous
The name of the Quiverfull movement comes from Psalm 127:3–5, which Pride cited in The Way Home:[19]
Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD:
and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man;
so are children of the youth.
Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them:
they shall not be ashamed,
but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.— KJV
Pride stated in her book: "The church's sin which has caused us to become unsavory salt incapable of uplifting the society around us is selfishness, lack of love, refusing to consider children an unmitigated blessing. In a word, family planning."[19]
Consolidation and growth of the movement
After the publication of Pride's The Way Home, her ideas spread through informal social networks. Around this time, numerous church pastors issued sermons which were in accord with Pride's ideas and various small publications and a few Quiverfull-oriented books appeared.[citation needed]
As the
From their onset, Quiverfull ideas have sometimes had a polarizing effect among Christians who hold to them and Christians who are skeptical of or disagree with them.[16][21]
Motivations
Obedience to God
Quiverfull authors and adherents express their core motivation as a desire to obey God's commandments as stated in the Bible. Among these commandments, "
Missionary effort
Quiverfull's principal authors and its adherents also describe their motivation as a
Population and demography
According to journalist Kathryn Joyce, writing in the magazine The Nation: "[T]he Quiverfull mission is rooted in faith, the unseen," even if "its mandate to be fruitful and multiply has tangible results as well."[4] Others remark that Quiverfull resembles other world-denying fundamentalist movements that grow through internal reproduction and membership retention such as Orthodox Jews (particularly Haredi and Hasidic Jews), and certain Christian denominations (such as the Amish and Mennonites, and Laestadian Lutherans in Finland). Many are thriving as seculars and moderates have transitioned to below-replacement fertility.[clarification needed][25][26]
Beliefs
The principal Quiverfull belief is that Christians should maintain a strongly welcoming attitude toward the possibility of bearing children. With minor exceptions, adherents reject birth control use as completely incompatible with this belief.
Majority doctrine
Most Quiverfull adherents regard children as unqualified blessings, gifts that should be received happily from God. Quiverfull authors Rick and Jan Hess argued for this belief in their 1990 book:
"Behold, children are a gift of the Lord." (Psa. 127:3) Do we really believe that? If children are a gift from God, let's for the sake of argument ask ourselves what other gift or blessing from God we would reject. Money? Would we reject great wealth if God gave it? Not likely! How about good health? Many would say that a man's health is his most treasured possession. But children? Even children given by God? "That's different!" some will plead! All right, is it different? God states right here in no-nonsense language that children are gifts. Do we believe His Word to be true?[1]
Quiverfull authors such as Pride, Provan, and Hess extend this idea to mean that if one child is a blessing, then each additional child is likewise a blessing and not something to be viewed as economically burdensome or unaffordable. When a couple seeks to control family size via birth control they are thus "rejecting God's blessings" he might otherwise give and possibly breaking his commandment to "be fruitful and multiply."[1][19][27][28]
Accordingly, Quiverfull theology opposes the general acceptance among mainline Protestant Christians of deliberately limiting family size or spacing children through birth control. For example, Mary Pride argued, "God commanded that sex be at least potentially fruitful (that is, not deliberately unfruitful). ... All forms of sex that shy away from marital fruitfulness are perverted."
Some Quiverfull adherents base their rejection of birth control upon the belief that the Genesis creation and post–Noahic flood Bible passages to "be fruitful and multiply" (see Genesis 1:22; 9:7) are un-rescinded biblical commandments. For example, Charles D. Provan argues:
"Be fruitful and multiply"... is a command of God, indeed the first command to a married couple. Birth control obviously involves disobedience to this command, for birth control attempts to prevent being fruitful and multiplying. Therefore birth control is wrong, because it involves disobedience to the Word of God. Nowhere is this command done away with in the entire Bible; therefore it still remains valid for us today.[27]
Quiverfull advocates such as Rick and Jan Hess and Rachel Giove Scott believe that the Devil deceives Christian couples into using birth control so that children God otherwise willed to create are prevented from being born.[1][29] In addition, a Quiverfull adherent was quoted in the 2001 Calgary Herald as making this statement: "Children are made in God's image, and the enemy hates that image, so the more of them he can prevent from being born, the more he likes it."[8]
Infertility
Adherents view
Some circles do accept medical interventions, since improving opportunities for pregnancy is not seen to guarantee it any more than with any healthy couple. Also, some reproductive health problems may be seen as symptomatic of other health problems which need to be addressed generally.[citation needed]
Minority doctrine
Not all Quiverfull families and authors agree with each statement which was made by the movement's principal authors.
Samuel Owens considers the possibility that some aspects of a fallen universe may sometimes justify the option to use a non–potentially abortive birth control method. These aspects of a fallen universe include serious illnesses, inevitable Caesarean sections, and other problematic situations, such as disabling mental instability and serious marital disharmony. Owens additionally argues that birth control may be permissible for married couples who are called to a "higher moral purpose" than having children, such as caring long-term for many orphans or serving as career missionaries in a dangerous location.[31]
Despite some variances, all Quiverfull families and authors agree that God's normative ideal for happy, healthy and prosperous married couples is to take no voluntary actions that will prevent them from having children.[1][3]
Practices
Non-use of contraception
Quiverfull adherents maintain that God "opens and closes the womb" of a woman on a case-by-case basis, and that any attempts to regulate fertility are usurpation of divine power. Thus, the defining practice of a Quiverfull married couple is not to use any form of birth control and to maintain continual "openness to children," that is to say, engaging in routine
Proponents of the Quiverfull movement also regard contraceptive pills and other similar contraceptives as unacceptable abortifacients.[33]
Some Quiverfull adherents advocate for
Family organization, homeschooling, homesteading
Quiverfull authors and adherents advocate for and seek to model a return to biblical patriarchy.[35] Mary Pride has more recently attempted to distance herself from the patriarchy movement and from a focus on the father's role in training daughters. In a column published in her magazine Practical Homeschooling in 2009, as well as in the afterword to the 25th-anniversary edition of The Way Home, Pride clarified her position that it is primarily mothers, not fathers, who should teach girls about women's roles and duties.[36][37] As Emily McGowin notes in her 2018 book Quivering Families, however, "[Pride] differentiates herself from these approaches without denying the underlying gender hierarchy and pronatalism."[38]
Quiverfull authors typically organize family governance to reflect an "umbrella of protection" with the mother as a
Sterilization reversal surgery
Quiverfull adherents Brad and Dawn Irons run Blessed Arrows Sterilization Reversal Ministry. The couple advocates for Quiverfull ideas while providing funding, physician referrals, and support to Christians wishing to undergo
Criticism
The movement has been criticized by journalists from Glamour Magazine for what they perceive to be sexism and a demeaning approach to women.[42]
Criticism from other Christians
James B. Jordan maintains that, while children are indeed blessings, they are only one among a wide range of blessings God offers, and prayerfully choosing foci among them is part of prudent Christian stewardship.[43]
John Piper's Desiring God Ministries has published some comments that relate to Quiverfull:
Just because something is a gift from the Lord does not mean that it is wrong to be a steward of when or whether you will come into possession of it. It is wrong to reason that since A is good and a gift from the Lord, then we must pursue as much of A as possible. God has made this a world in which tradeoffs have to be made and we cannot do everything to the fullest extent. For kingdom purposes, it might be wise not to get married. And for kingdom purposes, it might be wise to regulate the size of one's family and to regulate when the new additions to the family will likely arrive. As Wayne Grudem has said, "it is okay to place less emphasis on some good activities in order to focus on other good activities."[44]
Criticism from former Quiverfull adherents
Some women who have left the Quiverfull movement are now vocally critical of it.[45] Vyckie Garrison spent 16 years living the Quiverfull lifestyle and had seven children before leaving her husband and ultimately becoming an atheist. She told Vice that her health was negatively affected by so many births and that over time, her husband became "a tyrant."[46] Garrison founded the blog No Longer Quivering to share her own story and the stories of other women who had been harmed by the Quiverfull lifestyle.[47] The blog is now maintained by Suzanne Titkemeyer, another former Quiverfull adherent who describes her years in the movement as "disastrous."[48]
Likewise, some children who were raised in Quiverfull homes have grown up to speak out against the movement. In 2018, Eve [Hännah] Ettinger and Kieryn Darkwater started a podcast called Kitchen Table Cult in which they discuss their experiences of being raised Quiverfull and connect the ideology to current events such as the election of Donald Trump.[49] In a 2015 interview about their upbringing, Ettinger said that in Quiverfull families, "the parents are just as confused as the kids, and often are struggling with deep-set psychological issues and need as much therapy and compassion as the kids do to recover from the dehumanizing reality of trying to have a perfect Quiverfull family to please a demanding and holy God."[50]
CFCtoo, an advocacy group for survivors of the Quiverfull community Christian Fellowship Center, is advocating for New York to amend their mandated reporting laws to include clergy.[51][52][53] CFCtoo argues that such laws are necessary to combat the Quiverfull movement's propensity for "incest, child sexual abuse, and systematic abuse coverups based on a twisted understanding of biblical forgiveness."[54][55]
Notable adherents
- Vision Forum Ministries, a now-defunct organization which advocated biblical patriarchy, creationism, homeschooling, and Quiverfull. Phillips and his wife, Beall, have seven children.[3][56]
- Charles D. Provan, whose book The Bible and Birth Control is routinely cited by Quiverfull adherents as providing an important theological justification for their movement. Provan was mentioned in a November 27, 2006, article about Quiverfull in The Nation.[4] He also authored books and articles on other Christian topics. Before Provan's death in 2007, he and his wife had 10 children.
- theologian and the son of the noted Reformed theologian and founder of Ligonier Ministries, Robert Charles Sproul. Sproul Jr. and his wife, Denise, had eight children before Denise died.[57][58]
- Nancy Campbell, an author, speaker, and mother of 10 children. Nancy and her husband Colin run Above Rubies, "a ministry to encourage women in their high calling as wives, mothers, and homemakers. Its purpose is to uphold and strengthen family life and to raise the standard of God's truth in the nation."[59] Campbell's magazine has a worldwide circulation of over 160,000 and her daughters Serene and Pearl have launched a successful rebranding of Quiverfull values in their Trim Healthy Mama line.
- Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, known for the reality TV show 19 Kids and Counting.
See also
- Idiocracy
- Breeder (slang)
- Childfree
- Christian views on contraception
- The Handmaid's Tale
- Overpopulation
- Traducianism
- Turpin case
- Voluntary Human Extinction Movement
References
- ^ ISBN 0-943497-83-3.
- ^ Dennis Rainey (2002). "The Value of Children (11 July 2002 FamilyLife Today Radio Broadcast)". FamilyLife Today. Archived from the original (Transcript of radio broadcast) on October 1, 2005. Retrieved 2006-09-30.
- ^ ISBN 0-9724173-5-4.
- ^ a b c d e f Kathryn Joyce (9 November 2006). "Arrows for the War". The Nation. Retrieved 2010-09-18.
- ISBN 0-8028-3973-8.
- Christian Broadcasting Network. Retrieved 2006-10-07. (originally published by CBN News, archivedSeptember 24, 2008)
- ^ Brooks, David (2004-12-07). "The New Red-Diaper Babies". New York Times. Retrieved 2006-10-07.
- ^ ProQuest 244455568.
- ISBN 978-0-88755-410-0.
- ISBN 978-90-474-3063-6.
- PMID 3446212.
- ^ "Contraception".
- JSTOR 2172010.
- JSTOR 3509598.
- PMID 3363605.
- ^ a b c
Ellison, Christopher G. & Patricia Goodson (1997). "Conservative Protestantism and Attitudes toward Family Planning in a Sample of Seminarians". Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. 36 (4): 512–529. JSTOR 1387687.
- JSTOR 2578449.
- ISBN 9780807096222.
- ^ a b c d e f
Pride, Mary (1985). The Way Home: Beyond Feminism, Back to Reality. Wheaton, IL: Good News Publishers. ISBN 0-89107-345-0.
- ^ The More the Holier?. ABC News Nightline. January 3, 2006.
- S2CID 5886144.
- ^ Gen 1:22;8:17;9:1
- ^ Psalm 127:3
- ^ Gen 20:18;29:31;30:22, 1Sam 1:5–6, Isaiah 66:9
- ^ Kaufmann, Eric. 2011. Shall the Religious Inherit the Earth: Demography and Politics in the Twenty-First Century. London: Profile Books. Also see www.sneps.net
- ^ Toft, Monica Duffy. 2011. "Wombfare: The Religious and Political Dimensions of Fertility and Demographic Change." in Political Demography: identity, conflict and institutions ed. J. A. Goldstone, E. Kaufmann and M. Toft. Boulder, CO: Paradigm Press Archived 2017-02-26 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ ISBN 99917-998-3-4.. Quote and its chapter available at http://www.jesus-passion.com/contraception.htm
- ^ Robben, Donetta (2006). "Blessings by the Dozen" (PDF). American Life League Magazine. Sept.-Oct. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2006-10-07.
- ^ ISBN 1-59467-465-5.
- ^ "Enjoying YOUR Quiverfull". 2008-05-09.
- ISBN 0-89107-585-2.
- ^ Kathryn Joyce (30 November 2006). "Quiverfull: More Children For God's Army". RH Reality Check. Retrieved 2007-01-09.
- ^ Patrick McCrystal. "QuiverFull Pill Fact Sheet". Pharmacists For Life International. Retrieved 2013-05-17.
- PMID 21477680.
- ^ admin (2011-10-08). "How can a wife help preserve her marriage?". Institute in Basic Life Principles. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
- ^ "Homeschool World: Practical Homeschooling Articles: Patriarchy, Meet Matriarchy". Home-school.com. Retrieved 2011-09-19.
- ISBN 9781453699300.
- ISBN 9781506446608.
- ^ admin (2011-10-11). "What is an "umbrella of protection"?". Institute in Basic Life Principles. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
- JSTOR 1387857.
- ^ Brad and Dawn Irons. "Blessed Arrows: A Sterilization Reversal Ministry". Brad and Dawn Irons. Retrieved 2006-10-14.
- ^ Kate Graham (24 November 2015). "Inside the world's most women-hating cult". Glamour. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
- ISSN 1070-9495. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2008-10-31.
- ^ Desiring God Staff (2006). "Does the Bible permit birth control?". Questions and Answers. Desiring God. Archived from the original on 2006-10-26. Retrieved 2006-10-27.
- ^ Brethour, Dylan (2016-10-21). "The Women Fighting Back Against the Christian Cult that Forbids Birth Control". Vice. Retrieved 2020-01-02.
- ^ Thompson, Tiffy (2016-07-16). "What It's Like to Escape the Christian Fundamentalist 'Quiverfull' Movement". Vice. Retrieved 2020-01-02.
- ^ "Raising an army for Christ | Andrew Purcell". Retrieved 2020-01-02.
- ^ "About NLQ". No Longer Quivering. Retrieved 2020-01-02.
- ^ "About the Podcast". Kitchen Table Cult. 2018-07-11. Retrieved 2020-01-02.
- ^ Mathieu, Jennifer (2015-05-27). "What It Was Like to Grow Up Quiverfull". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved 2020-01-02.
- ^ Post, Kathryn (17 May 2023). "Former 'Quiverfull' church members push the needle on New York's CARE Act". Religion News Service. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
- ^ Post, Kathryn (3 February 2023). "New York debates whether clergy should be required to report abuse". Washington Post. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
- ^ Grindon, Lucy (September 8, 2022). "Ex-Christian Fellowship Center members call for clergy to be mandated child sexual abuse reporters in Potsdam protest". North Country Public Radio. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
- ^ "The Quiverfull Families Next Door: Part 1". CFCtoo. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
- ^ Post, Kathryn (August 25, 2022). "An insular 'Quiverfull' church in New York's North Country faces a reckoning". Religion News Service. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
- ^ "About the President". Vision Forum Ministries. 2006. Retrieved 2007-01-23.
- ISBN 1-58134-495-3.
- ^ "Highlands Study Center". Highlands Study Center. 2007. Archived from the original on 2005-05-06. Retrieved 2007-01-21.
- ^ "Ministry Overview". Above Rubies. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
Further reading
Books advocating a Quiverfull position
- Adams, Shelly and Morgan. Arrows in His Hand (children's book). Monument Pub., Monument, CO: 2007.
- Andrews, Robert. The Family: God's Weapon for Victory. Winepress Publishing 1996. ISBN 0-9715694-0-1
- Campbell, Nancy. Be Fruitful and Multiply. Vision Forum, San Antonio, TX: 2003. ISBN 0-9724173-5-4
- Flanders, Jennifer. Love Your Husband/Love Yourself: Embracing God's Purpose for Passion in Marriage. Prescott Publishing, Tyler, TX: 2010. ISBN 978-0982626900
- Hess, Rick and Jan. A Full Quiver: Family Planning and the Lordship of Christ. Wolgemuth & Hyatt Publishers, Brentwood, TN: 1990. ISBN 0-943497-83-3
- Houghton, Craig. Family UNplanning. Xulon Press, Longwood, FL: 2006. ISBN 978-1-60034-851-8
- Owen, Jr., Samuel A. Letting God Plan Your Family. Crossway Books, Wheaton, IL: 1990. ISBN 0-89107-585-2
- ISBN 0-89107-345-0
- ISBN 99917-998-3-4
- Chapter of Provan's book available here. Audio files of Provan's complete book available by searching with his name at sermonaudio.com
- Scott, Rachel. Birthing God's Mighty Warriors. Xulon Press, Longwood, FL: 2004. ISBN 1-59467-465-5
Books which advocate Quiverfull as a secondary focus
- Farris, Vickie. A Mom Just Like You. B&H Publishing Group, Nashville, TN: 2002. ISBN 0-8054-2586-1
Sources which are critical of Quiverfull
- Ettinger, Eve, and Kieryn Darkwater. Kitchen Table Cult podcast.
- Joyce, Kathryn. Women’s Liberation Through Submission: An Evangelical Anti-Feminism Is Born.
- Joyce, Kathryn. Quiverfull: Inside the Christian Patriarchy Movement. Beacon Press, Boston, MA: 2009. ISBN 0-8070-1070-7.
- McFarland, Hillary. "Quivering Daughters: Hope and Healing for the Daughters of Patriarchy". Darklight Press, 2010.
- McGowin, Emily. Quivering Families: The Quiverfull Movement and Evangelical Theology of the Family. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2018.
- McKeown, John. "US Protestant natalist reception of Old Testament "fruitful verses": a critique." Liverpool University PhD thesis, 2011. Revised as book God's Babies: Natalism and Bible Interpretation in Modern America, OpenBook, 2014.
- Mesaros-Winckles, Christy (2010). "TLC and the Fundamentalist Family: A Televised Quiverfull of Babies". .
- No Longer Quivering blog (originally created by Vyckie Garrison).