“A&E” refers to Anna Sofia and Elizabeth Botkin, authors of So Much More. I chose the abbreviation to save space and time.
So yeah, can you tell I was out of ideas for how to title an “odds and ends” post before moving on to the next topic, and it was really late at night? But I promise that title isn’t just random crap, and that each of those words actually has something to do with one of the subjects covered in the post. I’ll go through them one and a time. Continue reading
“A&E” refers to Anna Sofia and Elizabeth Botkin, authors of So Much More. I chose the abbreviation to save space and time.
Chapter 6 of So Much More is entitled “Fathers, Daughters, and Their Enemies.” I think the title was well-chosen. Why? Because in this chapter, A&E put their persecution complex in full throttle and go for broke.
If you desire to live godly in Christ Jesus you will be persecuted. And the more you embrace your calling to love and honor your father, the more your enemies will strike out at you in more fearful ways.
Translation: when you embrace stay-at-home daughterhood (SAHD), people will criticize you for doing so and object to your ideas. Those people are ungodly, and your spiritual enemies. Continue reading
“A&E” refers to Anna Sofia and Elizabeth Botkin, authors of So Much More. I chose the abbreviation to save space and time.
Near the end of chapter 5, A&E ask a question that many of the rest of you have probably been asking as well:
What should a girl do if her father no longer wants to be her authority figure?
But don’t worry, A&E have the answer! Well, sorta:
This is such a complex problem we should not offer any specific advice. Each situation should be dealt with separately and with as much advice and counsel a girl can find among trusted authorities. We dare only offer the most general guidelines.
I have mixed feelings about this answer. Continue reading
“A&E” refers to Anna Sofia and Elizabeth Botkin, authors of So Much More. I chose the abbreviation to save space and time.
If you’re familiar with debates surrounding headship and submission within marriage, you’ve almost certainly read 1 Peter 3:1-6:
Wives, likewise be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives, when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear. Do not let your adornment be merely outward – arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel – rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are if you do good are not afraid with any terror.
No matter what your views on headship and submission, one thing is plain: that this passage is about marriage and married couples. Continue reading
“A&E” refers to Anna Sofia and Elizabeth Botkin, authors of So Much More. I chose the abbreviation to save space and time.
As most of my readers know, So Much More was sold and heavily promoted by Doug Phillips’ now-defunked ministry Vision Forum. As its name indicates, this organization was borderline obsessed with the concept of “vision.” I spent a lot of time in my Big Box series trying to figure out what “vision” meant exactly. That was hard to do, but what did emerge clearly was that “vision” is something reserved for men only. In fact Doug Phillips explicitly taught that it was a “perversion of God’s natural order” for a woman to be a family “visionary.” So in keeping with my last post, let’s examine how A&E use this concept in such a way that it enables husbands and fathers to abuse and control their families. Continue reading
“A&E” refers to Anna Sofia and Elizabeth Botkin, authors of So Much More. I chose the abbreviation to save space and time.
Remember the last post, where I said that A&E came off as clueless about abuse in the church? Well, now I know they’re clueless. I’m also 100% convinced that if they ever encountered an abuser or manipulator in real life, they would be completely taken in by him (and yes, obviously abusers and manipulators can also be female, but So Much More is about fathers so I’ll be using “him”), and either disbelieve his victim(s) or minimize their experiences. They are dangerous to anyone who is being abused, and I would never recommend So Much More or any other material by A&E to an abuse victim.
How can I say this with such confidence? Because in chapter 5, A&E attempt to address “less than perfect” father-daughter situations. Continue reading
“A&E” refers to Anna Sofia and Elizabeth Botkin, authors of So Much More. I chose the abbreviation to save space and time.
At the beginning of chapter 4, A&E write:
Before we get into submission, we should let the reader know that we are fully aware that “submission” is seen as a dirty word to our generation, especially when connected with pejoratives like “hyper-patriarchal tyranny.” The Church at large is made very uncomfortable by these passages, because they seem to violate our fallen sense of what’s “right” and “fair.” The few Christians who recognize that this command does actually appear in the Bible and therefore needs to be obeyed, tend to be ashamed and apologetic of the fact. Why is this? What is there in God’s pattern for authority and submission that is not wonderful, wise, loving, and perfect? We should rejoice in it and make the most of it!
After reading this, I thought to myself that A&E might as well wear a big neon sign on their heads, reading “I AM 100% CLUELESS ABOUT ABUSE IN THE CHURCH.” Continue reading
“A&E” refers to Anna Sofia and Elizabeth Botkin, authors of So Much More. I chose the abbreviation to save space and time.
So I said last time that I was going to devote at least one post to the abusive relationship dynamics held up as positive in chapter 4. Well, as expected, there’s going to be more than one post. I’ll begin this first one by giving some necessary background information that’s related to something I explored in a previous post on stay-at-home daughterhood (SAHD) – an unhealthy breakdown of boundaries between fathers and daughters. This has been explored at length at the site Overcoming Botkin Syndrome (see here for their explanation of the term “Botkin Syndrome”). Continue reading
“A&E” refers to Anna Sofia and Elizabeth Botkin, authors of So Much More. I chose the abbreviation to save space and time.
As I suggested last time, chapter 4 of So Much More is a very important one. Not only do A&E lay out the precise rules of their gender bureaucracy for all to see, they also come out and say exactly what we’ve all known and/or suspected for years, in no uncertain terms: fathers stand in the place of, and are the nearest earthly equivalent to, God, in relation to their daughters. Continue reading
After receiving complaints from readers that they did not know who “A&E” was referring to, each So Much More post will now include a note at the top clarifying this information. “A&E” refers to Anna Sofia and Elizabeth Botkin, authors of So Much More. I chose the abbreviation to save space and time.
A few weeks ago, I questioned whether Michael Farris had really, as claimed by others, “strawmanned” patriarchy in his white paper “A Line in the Sand.” At the end of that post, I stated that I was confused and that A&E seemed to be logically contradicting themselves. Then in a second post, I covered some more of A&E’s statements about gender relations, in which they seemed to be saying that all women should submit to all men.
Well, today I am pleased to announce that I don’t have to use the word “seem” anymore (at least not about this). That’s because, in chapter 4 of So Much More, A&E finally lay out all the details of their gender bureaucracy in a clear way. Continue reading
Scarlet Letters 