Griego Family Likely Quiverfull

There’s something very odd about opening the news and seeing clips of information that make you realize you probably have a better understanding of the backdrop of a story than do the people reporting it.

…ten children…

…unregistered homeschoolers…

…Nehemiah … Zephaniah … Jael…

…prison ministry…

Honestly, it’s like having a checklist in my head. Check. Check. Check. Check.

Yesterday tragedy visited the Griego family. Fifteen-year-old Nehemiah shot and killed both of his parents and three of his nine siblings. While the news media is not yet reporting this, the Griegos were, almost certainly, Quiverfull. The family size, their sheltered homeschool lifestyle, their names, even their high involvement in church and prison ministry. It all fits. Quiverfull. And what with the children’s names and the family’s involvement in prison ministry, I suspect that they were followers of Michael Pearl and his No Greater Joy ministries. Sure, I could be wrong about all of this, but I don’t think that’s likely. Time will tell.

Of course, I don’t know why Nehemiah killed his parents and siblings and I don’t know what went on in the Griego family. My heart goes out to all of them, most especially to the smallest of the children.