Duggars in the news.

[rockvillemom]

My thought exactly when I saw the picture!

[Madison85]

http://okmagazine.com/photos/cinderella-duggar-jana-babysitting-josh-kids-rehab/photo/1001312819/

Jana, aka Cinderella Duggar, is busy babysitting.

[VeryHappy]

I imagine Jana’s parents “volunteered” her.

[twoinanddone]

I have a brother who is 8 years younger than me. I considered him mine. There is rarely a picture of either of us where I’m not holding him, carting him around on a bike, feeding him.

Some people just like babies.

[romanigypsyeyes]

True, twoin. My partner is one of them despite being the baby of his family. I’m not.

However, in that family you don’t have a choice.

[teriwtt]

While there’s nothing new in this article, it’s a good overall summary of the Duggars’ rise to fame, ATI and Bill Gothard’s influences on their lives. It has stories (not anonymous) from people who have escaped the cult. I found this to be particularly damning (the judging exercise):

Gothard enticed followers with promises that his teachings would lead to great knowledge and achievement. ATI, Gothard has written, “was designed to train up world changers,” the heart of a grandiose vision that many former followers say intrigued them—at first. Gothard actively discouraged his followers from attending public school, college, or even medical school, instead urging them to address medical issues on a “spiritual level.” The Wisdom Booklets are a dizzying application of Gothard’s “principles” to every conceivable discipline—law, medicine, history, linguistics, math, science—all instilling the fundamental belief that one must discern and follow God’s will, not the dictates of the secular world, in every aspect of life, right down to, say, choosing a toothbrush. “As we commit the work of buying a toothbrush to Him,” one Wisdom Book advises, “He has promised to make His will known to us.”

The Wisdom Booklets were also designed to give ATI families a sense of godly superiority. The very first one, for example, suggests a family outing to a supermarket parking lot in order to “to develop the spiritual skill of ‘seeing’ people as Jesus saw them.” The booklet gives examples of how when one carefully observes strangers, one can perceive, for example, that a teenage boy had “low esteem of himself by the way he dressed and by his appearance,” or that his eyes and dress display “a spirit of rebellion toward authority.” Or one could discern “that the young woman walking toward the store has the attire of an immoral woman,” and that she needed “to overcome bitterness toward those who have wronged her.”

The supermarket parking lot assignment, said Mark, was “an exercise in judging,” part of the ATI mentality that “everyone else is wrong and we are elite.”

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/theslice/duggars-bill-gothard-iblp

[rockvillemom]

Interesting. You do see this applied when watching the Duggars - the parents are always advising the children to pray to receive answers - as opposed to be taught how to problem solve, think, use logic, trust your gut, etc.

An excerpt from that article:

In IBLP seminars, girls were taught that boys were “almost unable to control their lust,” Rose said. “It was our responsibility to help them control it by dressing modestly. And if we didn’t, we just got what we had coming to us.”

A girl or woman who didn’t dress modestly and “cry out to God” is, in Gothard’s view, just as guilty of rape as the assailant—and any sexual assault within families should be kept within the family and ATI if at all possible. Another former follower, Mark*, who worked at IBLP in the 1990s, said he was not surprised by the revelation of sexual abuse within an ATI family, because he had been made aware of many similar instances during his time there.

[VeryHappy]

What’s “ATI”?

[teriwtt]

ATI = Advanced Training Institute - the home schooling curriculum that Gothard created.

[Madison85]

I like Sonicare toothbrushes. …

[VeryHappy]

Well, maybe God wants you to use Oral B. You should pray about it.

[Madison85]

http://m.etonline.com/news/171635_jill_duggar_and_derick_dillard_under_fire_for_taking_vacation_from_their_mission_work_el_salvador/

Jill, Derrick and Israel taking multiple vacations from their mission work this summer…

[Quote]
Another day, another Duggar scandal.

[Madison85]

^^

[Quote]
Fans quickly took notice of their vacation from their missionary work.


“So what exactly are you doing to help people in El Salvador? Your donors would like a detailed statement of what their money is being used for,” one Facebook comment reads. “As far as I can see, all you guys are doing is going to Spanish class and making fun of the locals. Oh, I forgot. You also did that stupid interpretive dance thing. Have you done anything worthwhile to actually help people, or are you just there to convert Catholics?”

“Jill, how did you spend my donation for your mission trip?” another user asks. “Where are the pictures of the hospital, schools and bible studies you helped with? Can you post them so I can show everyone why I donated to your cause?”

[rockvillemom]

Why am I not surprised. Verging on scam artists.

[rockvillemom]

http://dillardfamily.com/blog

Travel, packing, asking for donations, travel, Spanish lessons, asking for donations, packing, moving, asking for donations. Missionaries?

[abasket]

Fishy.

[Madison85]

…and not fishers of men

[twoinanddone]

Maybe they are better serving the mission as fundraisers? I don’t really care if they come back every weekend as long as they are running the foundation under the rules, reporting their funds correctly. They could be making a fortune in appearance fees, meetings, book signings, whatever. Look here we are all talking about them, and I doubt anyone on this list has donated a cent. Their target audience may love seeing them supporting their families, love seeing the baby, love that they are stoic in this time of family turmoil.

Their marketing methods seem to be working.

[lookingforward]

It’s not uncommon for missionaries to need to raise funds to support themselves and the program. I think the wrench here is with all those quickie weddings, they can’t do much to plan in advance. They left July 5 or so, Amy got engaged July 13 and married about 8 weeks later.

[greenwitch]

Did the Duggars cast some shade on Cousin Amy? The expert weighs in. It’s the third “case” down.

http://jezebel.com/shade-court-grace-jone-shaded-no-one-1730077617