beyelzu

isolationism is not a good idea. but it is interesting to note that such people are more or less giving up on the evil atheist morrally bankrupt world.

while i might feel bad for the children, i am still glad that at least these fundies wont try to apply their religion to education issues.

HelenM

Thanks for the response. I didn't realize Anna was from a family like that.

I do remember hearing a professor at a Bible college saying that some students who were homeschooled all the way through high school have a difficult adjustment to college.

Helen

tdekeyser

Anna came from a fundy family that isolated themselves quite well. No cable TV, no secular anything, no non-xian friends...etc....

Then she met ME! ha ha.....

HelenM

How did she meet you, Tim?

Carlos

With seven children and a single breadwinner, I imagine it would be tough making ends meet if they tried to follow a more traditional lifestyle. They're saving a good bit by cutting out the usual educational and entertainment expenses.

I grew up in a semi isolated environment - other than school and immediate family, I saw very little of others. Summers were hell; I kept wishing for school to start again. As we moved from city to city my isolation went from being directed from above to being self imposed. Out of habit or lack of familiarity with the alternative, I found it easier to be alone. You can fight it, but it's still a part of who you are. Mind you, this was not a result of religion. In other aspects (e.g. science) I was exposed to many ideas and have no trouble considering or adopting new beliefs or behaviors.

While I disagree with the extremes to which the Scheibners have gone to, there is a point behind their way of life - and no, I don't mean religion. Without some sort of structure, life is a mess. The trick is finding the right level of control so that kids turn out "right," somewhere between the narrow minded views and the anything goes mentality.

MattofVA

Although there were a few(very few) positive elements to the fundie lifestyle presented in this article(those kids won't get venereal diseases-at least not before they have driver's licenses). Much of this is palpably nauseating-the extreme indoctrination, the extreme isolation to the point of probably producing ice people, the quasi-arranged marriages, the strictly enforced gender roles. One day I hope some people are actually smart enough to produce a balanced way of family life-not permissive, but not kooky and totalitarian(yeah dream on-that sort of synthesis is way beyond the mental capacity of most americans). Will these kids rebel? Well, the extreme indoctrination may well keep them from doing so, at least until they move the hell out is my guess-maybe a delayed reaction in their late 20s or so-like I seem to have had more or less-and my situation as a xtian kid wasn't as extreme as this. One or two may become black sheep-that very term seems to stem from large, devout families. Will these kids be happy as adults? Hard to say. They will need a spouse and social circle who share their values-maybe mommy and daddy who they will always be codependent on will provide them with that. And they half to somehow acheive a decent standard of living without much secular education. If any of them even come close to figuring out that their beliefs and lifestyle were rooted in an intricately contrived, detailed, absurdist fantasy, it would be one heck of an existential crisis-more so than for the average evangelical/quasi-fundie. In short, this article was just plain surreal, and I grew up just outside of Allentown, Pennsylvania like this family. A real eye-opener, I thought all the ultra-religious talk in this country was ONLY that-TALK. :banghead: