Quoting Quiverfull: “Hanukkah” Parents?

January 3, 2013 By 12 Comments

QUOTING QUIVERFULL is a regular feature of NLQ – we present the actual words of noted Quiverfull leaders and ask our readers: What do you think? Agree? Disagree? This is the place to state your opinion. Please, let’s keep it respectful – but at the same time, we encourage readers to examine the ideas of Quiverfull honestly and thoughtfully.

Nancy Campbell at Above Rubies Blog  – December 17,2012

 

It is Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” The word “train” is “hanuk,” the verb of Hanukkah, meaning “to initiate, dedicate, consecrate.” It is not enough to celebrate Hanukkah for eight days. As parents, we are in a FULLTIME HANUKKAH CELEBRATION!

When we understand that to train our children means to dedicate them to the Lord, it gives us new vision. Everything we do is now in the light of dedicating our children to the Lord and setting them apart for His service. It’s not a one-time dedication. It is a verb which requires daily action.

When our children are disobedient or don’t complete what we have asked them to, we can sometimes be lazy and let it go. But, not if we understand we are daily dedicating them to the Lord. How can we let things go when we consecrating them to God’s holy service. We have the responsibility to train and prepare them for Him.

As children get older, they may become more worldly and want to do what other teens are doing. We could think, “Oh that is the stage they are going through.” But, not if we understand that we are daily consecrating them to the Lord. We will pray up a storm. We will fight the devil. We will work with our children to keep them on the narrow road that leads to life. We will do everything to save them from the broad road that leads to destruction. WE ARE HANUKKAH PARENTS!

Comments open below

NLQ Recommended Reading …

‘Breaking Their Will: Shedding Light on Religious Child Maltreatment‘ by Janet Heimlich

‘Quivering Daughters‘ by Hillary McFarland

‘Quiverfull: Inside the Christian Patriarchy Movement‘ by Kathryn Joyce

 

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About Suzanne Calulu
  • http://krwordgazer.blogspot.com krwordgazer

    No mention of grace or mercy anywhere here.

  • http://www.facebook.com/lucrezaborgia Lucreza Borgia

    Makes perfect sense…once you drink a gallon of antifreeze and adjust the antenna on your tin-foil hat!

  • Tori

    Of course, the answer to any child rearing issue is to exercise ever increasing control. That didn’t send me off the rails AT ALL…..

  • KarenH

    Increasing, I wonder less and less that some of the children walk away from this kind of parenting and more and more that any actually STAY.

    • Nea

      Break ‘em bad enough, and they won’t have the strength to fight, especially after Stockholm Syndrome cuts in.

  • shadowspring

    Strongly disagree. Obvioulsly God cuts the Campbells a tremendous amount of slack, since they are not yet ashes left behind by a sudden appearance of fire and brimstone. They really need to back off the discipline for the kids, in light of God’s obvious slack hand.

  • Andrew

    Since when did Christians celebrate Hanukkak?

    • Jenny Islander

      White Western Christians from relatively comfortable backgrounds used to dabble in diluted Hinduism and grow their hair long. Now they playact at being Jews* and wear frumpers.

      *No slam against Christians who actually make serious study of Judaism with the assistance of a rabbi. But assuming that this proverb means “make your children obey and don’t let them make friends on their own” instead of asking what dedication means in this context is just putting some blue and white frosting on a stale American fruitcake. Also, since when was Hanukkah about ordering kids around and being suspicious of their friends?

  • Mary

    Being “Hanukkah Parents” is fine, as long as that means a multi-cultural holiday celebration with your Jewish friends, sharing in their fun, drinks, presents, and history. I would honestly be a bit offended by this if I were Jewish- it’s like saying “Christmas Parents” are people who abuse/control/brainwash their kids every day, not just at Christmas. What the what? Keep your un-christian, abusive parenting away from the holidays- all of them. I like my holidays, and I don’t like the association Ms. CAmpbell would bring to them.
    ALso, while praying for and with your kids is great, you can’t pray away puberty or the difficulties that accompany it. Seriously.

  • http://omorka.blogspot.com/ Omorka

    Cultural appropriation ahoy!

  • saraquill

    *facepalm* Hanukkah’s not even a major holiday! To play that up and ignore say Passover and Yom Kippur is thoughtless at best. Did she even bother to research?

  • Meggie

    In contrast to everyone else I actually found this really interesting, although I disagree with Campbell’s conclusion. It is always good to go back to the original words used (Ancient Hebrew, Ancient Greek) as what was a good translation 500 years ago for King James or even 40 years ago for Good News, is not a good translation for todays use of the language.

    I like the word “initiate”. To me, this means I should get my child started in understanding what it is to be a Christian. I did this; I read them bible stories and took them to Sunday School when they were little. That is initiating, isn’t it? I always taught my children that Christianity was what I believed to be the truth but that they would have to find their own truth. As teenagers now, it is fascinating to watch them explore their own beliefs and I stand beside them and support them as they explore. (This is based on the logic that they are intellegent, well educated children and if Christianity really is true, they will find their way there no matter how far away they search.)

    Initiate to me is about starting somebody off on the right path. There is nothing in the word that suggests you should beat your child until they comply with what you want or believe what you say. Train, on the other hand, is a more forceful word. You train an army. This does suggest more rigid discipline to force your child to do what you want.