Onward Christian breeders
October 13, 2005News & Politics
I know the good Lord said go forth and multiply, but surely even social conservatives must be calling for restraint in the case of Arkansas Republican Jim Bob Duggar:
Michelle Duggar just delivered her 16th child, and she's already thinking about doing it again. Johannah Faith Duggar was born at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday and weighed 7 pounds, 6.5 ounces. ...
Jim Bob Duggar, 40, said he and Michelle, 39, want more children."We both just love children and we consider each a blessing from the Lord. I have asked Michelle if she wants more and she said yes, if the Lord wants to give us some she will accept them," he said in a telephone interview. [LINK]The AP report above doesn't get into the details about the Duggars, but this profile of the family from 2001 -- during Jim Duggar's failed run for the U.S. Senate -- is a little scary:
The Duggars consider the Bible something of an owner's manual, a how-to for life. They sometimes employ "time outs" to discipline their children, but they also think the Bible teaches parents to spank and even instructs on how to do it.
The children and Michelle recite a new Bible passage each morning, and they have actions to go with the words. For instance, when reciting Exodus 20, verses 1-17, the children run a finger along their necks in a quick swipe, as if killing themselves, as they read the passage, "Thou shall not kill." ...
Jim Bob, who has only one sibling, and Michelle, who is the youngest of seven, didn't know how many children they wanted to have. And they didn't have any for the first four years they were married. They even used birth control until they decided the pills weren't right for them. They decided having children was for God to control--not them.
"I would like to have more," Michelle says.
They don't always agree, but Jim Bob and Michelle try to resolve disputes before the sun goes down each night, which they say the Bible instructs them to do. Michelle also believes she is to be submissive to Jim Bob, which she says does not mean he treats her like a doormat but that he is the head of the household.Think I'm actually in favor of an abstinence pledge in this case.
