So Much More, p. 75-93 – Part 3: Promises, Promises

“A&E” refers to Anna Sofia and Elizabeth Botkin, authors of So Much More. I chose the abbreviation to save space and time.

So in the last post, I promised I would explain how A&E aim to convince their readers to follow their vague and self-contradictory modesty rules. As it turns out, A&E do this by making several promises of their own. I suspect, though, that they won’t be able to follow through on them, mostly due to the inconvenient fact that they can’t control the general (male) public’s behavior. Let me explain.

What the Bible Says About Scorn and Mockery (TBB)

The “TBB” in the name of this post means that it is part of The Big Box series. If you’re new to Scarlet Letters, read the introductory post to see what the Big Box is all about.

Brace yourselves, readers! S. M. Davis is back…and since I mercilessly mocked his wonky ideas about birth order back in January, I imagine he wouldn’t be very pleased with me.

Let’s cut to the chase and examine the claim around which Davis framed most of the lecture:

The Influence of Older Children on Younger Children (TBB)

The “TBB” in the name of this post means that it is part of The Big Box series. If you’re new to Scarlet Letters, read the introductory post to see what the Big Box is all about.

Well, readers, the moment we’ve all been waiting for has finally arrived. (At least I’ve been waiting for it. Eagerly.) As soon as this post goes to print, this “series within a series” on parenting will be over, and I will not have to listen to S. M. Davis again for at least six weeks or so. Honestly, I never thought I would prefer Doug Phillips to anybody. But I suppose stranger things have happened – and as those of you who’ve stuck with me for the past three Big Box posts will remember, Davis took exquisite pains to outdo himself (and caused me exquisite pain in the process).

What to Expect from a Twelve-Year-Old (TBB)

The “TBB” in the name of this post means that it is part of The Big Box series. If you’re new to Scarlet Letters, read the introductory post to see what the Big Box is all about.

Well, after recovering from last week’s disaster post, I’m pleased to report that What to Expect from a Twelve-Year-Old (hereafter referred to as 12YO) will not be a repeat of Why Satan Wants Your Firstborn. That’s not to say that 12YO didn’t have its fair share of wrongheaded ideas, just that they weren’t quite as extreme or ridiculous as the ones in Why Satan Wants Your Firstborn. And since I’m short on time (it’s Saturday night – all hail Hester’s mad time management skillz) and not in the mood for a lengthy or clever introduction, let’s get right down to business and take a look at Davis’ central thesis in 12YO: that some Biblical accounts give us specific developmental goalposts for our children.

Why Satan Wants Your Firstborn (TBB)

The “TBB” in the name of this post means that it is part of The Big Box series. If you’re new to Scarlet Letters, read the introductory post to see what the Big Box is all about.

Okay, confession time. Sometimes, I have a love-hate relationship with this series. I know many people have been helped by the Big Box. I know it’s even more relevant now that patriarchy, in the wake of Vision Forum’s spectacular implosion, has become more decentralized and its proponents’ relationships even murkier than they already were. But it still happens occasionally that when Monday night rolls around, and with it the prospect of listening to yet another hour of patriarchal drivel, I cringe and put it off till Tuesday. I think this week’s post will show you why.

How to Develop Character in Your Children (TBB)

The “TBB” in the name of this post means that it is part of The Big Box series. If you’re new to Scarlet Letters, read the introductory post to see what the Big Box is all about.

As I’ve said before, when I first looked at all the lectures in my Big Box and tried to put them into a logical order, I realized that they fell into some natural groupings. This post is the first in one such grouping, which will be a kind of “miniseries” within the Big Box. This “miniseries” has four parts and will examine four lectures on child training by S. M. Davis, whom I previously critiqued in Seven Bible Truths Violated by Christian Dating.

How to Evaluate a Suitor (TBB)

The “TBB” in the name of this post means that it is part of The Big Box series. If you’re new to Scarlet Letters, read the introductory post to see what The Big Box is all about.

This post is a first for Scarlet Letters. Not because there’s anything particularly special about the post itself, but because it will be the first Big Box post to analyze a lecture by Doug Phillips since the rather…erm…exciting events that have transpired at Vision Forum over the past week and a half. But never fear, dear readers: romantic indiscretions, no matter how lengthy or inappropriate they may have been, will never stop the Big Box. And so we press on, this time into the nebulous, but also strangely familiar, waters of How to Evaluate a Suitor.

Seven Bible Truths Violated by Christian Dating (TBB)

The “TBB” in the name of this post means that it is part of The Big Box series. If you’re new to Scarlet Letters, read the introductory post to see what The Big Box is all about.

Well, it’s finally time to cover one of patriarchy’s most (in)famous practices: courtship. As anyone who grew up in the Christian homeschool “bubble” will tell you, courtship is pushed hard from all quarters in that community, often by organizations like Vision Forum that promote “purity”-based products, programs and events (see here and here). But what exactly is courtship, and how does it differ from dating (which courtship’s proponents often malign)? S. M. Davis’ lecture will give us lots of opportunities to explore those important questions.