New Series Announcement: So Much More

Well, it’s been a long year and a half, and I’m finally nearing the end of my Big Box. In fact there are only four lectures left in the Box now – Independence Day, George Washington: America’s Joshua, Pilgrims vs. Indians and Yankees vs. Rebels. However, since all these lectures are on specific historical topics, and there’s nothing I hate more than rushing research (esp. about history), I did not want to commit myself to a weekly Sunday post. So the four remaining Big Box reviews will appear as I finish them, on no particular timetable.

But fear not! That doesn’t mean that nothing will be going on at Scarlet Letters in the meantime. Shortly after the Doug Phillips-Lourdes Torres scandal broke last year, I obtained a copy of Anna Sofia and Elizabeth Botkin’s book So Much More: The Remarkable Influence of Visionary Daughters on the Kingdom of God. Since I’ve written in some detail about stay-at-home daughterhood (SAHD), I thought it would be appropriate to examine this; it is, after all, along with The Return of the Daughters, probably one of the most well-known items promoting SAHD. At the moment, I’m planning to structure the series the same way Libby Anne at Love, Joy, Feminism structured her many series on Michael and Debi Pearl’s books (i.e., by page numbers rather than chapters) – though obviously this remains flexible, and things may evolve as the series progresses.

So stay tuned, readers. Maybe you’ll learn “so much more” about SAHD.

Hollywood’s Most Despised Villain (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.

Gather ‘round, kids! It’s time for the creepiest show on earth – Hollywood’s Most Despised Villain by Geoff Botkin!

I know, I know, I don’t usually start posts like that. But in all seriousness, Hollywood’s Most Despised Villain was the creepiest lecture I’ve heard so far. In fact, by the end I felt unsettled even listening to it – and I was only hearing the audio, not seeing Botkin and his body language. So why is it so creepy? Bear with me for just a moment and I’ll show you.

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:

Gossip: The Plague of the Church (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.

So I probably ought to admit up front that I’ve been dreading this lecture for the entire box. (And, yes, that is one of causes underlying the month-long posting hiatus. Hester will now don sackcloth and ashes and hang her head in shame.) No, it’s not because I was expecting Brown to say something earth-shattering that would require me to rethink my position on patriarchy. It’s because gossip is one of the favorite clubs of cultic groups against those who attempt to report problems, and let’s just say there’s been a lot of beatings lately.

But does Scott Brown use gossip this way? You’ll find out in today’s post. But first let’s take a look his actual handling of the Bible.

Manly Friendships – Part 2: Odds and Ends (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.

Hello again, readers! When last we met here in cyberspace, I was dissecting the gender hierarchy lurking behind Doug Phillips’ (in my opinion, needlessly legalistic and gendered) view of friendship. I’ll be wrapping up that topic this week, as well as covering a few things that are only tangentially related to the main thesis of Manly Friendships.

Manly Friendships – Part 1: Covenant Central (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.

At long last, Lent and Holy Week are over, and that means Hester and the Big Box are back, this time with Manly Friendships by Doug Phillips. But before we get started on that, let’s have a “blast from the past” and review Phillips’ foundational material, which I first covered last March when I critiqued his lecture Manliness.

Hospitality: The Biblical Commands (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, so I said here that I would review Hospitality: The Biblical Commands around Halloween of last year. It’s now March, so obviously my posting schedule got a little thrown off. But hey, better late than never, right? So let’s get going and take a good, long, belated look the topic of hospitality, as explained by Alexander Strauch.

Christian Modesty (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.

There are a few topics on which any anti-patriocentric blogger will eventually be obligated to comment, because they are such a prominent part of patriarchal culture. Courtship, militant fecundity, submission – you probably know the lineup if you’ve been reading in this corner of the blogosphere for any significant amount of time. Modesty is one of those topics.

To be honest, Jeff Pollard’s Christian Modesty was not nearly as bad as I expected it to be. The first half of the lecture actually contained some decent advice – for instance, the idea that you can focus so much on purely external matters that you develop a holier-than-thou attitude. Not just patriarchal culture, but also many megachurches and their smaller spinoffs and wannabes would do well to reduce their focus on externals (are you cool enough?). That being said, however, we do encounter a familiar and predictable set of contradictions and tensions, which I’ll explore in the rest of this post.

Jennie B. and the Pilot (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.

It’s been a while since we got to meet a new speaker in the Big Box, but today we’re going to break that streak with Jennie Chancey, co-author of Passionate Housewives Desperate for God (she is, as you probably guessed, the “Jennie B.” in the title of today’s post). The pilot is her father, Jeff Ethell (you can read about him here), and a good percentage of the lecture was about their relationship. However, I’m here not to review Jennie Chancey’s childhood, but the patriarchal doctrines she used her family story and personal history to promote. And boy oh boy are there some doozies this week.

Toxic (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.

Last April, I attended MASSHope, New England’s largest homeschool convention. The convention began on a Friday morning, and I scheduled my Big Box article, A Home School Vision of Victory, to post automatically after I left my hotel room in the morning. When I returned from a long and tiring day in the indoctrination room teen track (read more about that here), I found that Scarlet Letters had received over a hundred hits, which at the time was a new high. A Home School Vision of Victory continued to receive large numbers of hits, and almost a year later remains the third most popular post in the Big Box.