This blog post has moved! It's now on my own website, here:
FFQF: John Adams on Motherhood
Friday, November 7, 2008
FFQF: John Adams on Motherhood
Posted by Hercules Mulligan at 12:00 AM
Labels: Founding Father's Quote Friday, France, John Adams, mothers, revolution, virtue
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 Comments:
As I was mulling this over, my first thought was, "yeah, but." Aren't the husbands supposed to be the head of the house? Aren't they supposed to be the leaders? Don't the major ills of society rest on their war-making, revengeful actions?
And then I thought of Abigail, falling to the ground and beseeching David not to shed blood without cause (1 Samuel 25) and his response to her impassioned pleadings:
Then David said to Abigail, "Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me, and blessed be your discernment, and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from bloodshed and from avenging myself by my own hand." (verses 32-33)
And then another passage popped into my head:
"In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives, as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior." (1 Peter 3:1-2)
Revelation this morning, Herky: Wives help their husbands by being a respectful, restraining influence.
Thank you.
My post is up: http://akagaga.blogspot.com/2008/11/ffqf-john-adams.html
Thanks for this thoughtful post. It reminded me of this article:
http://www.worldmag.com/articles/article.cfm?eid=709137F2-DA0D-1F10-0168C9EBB48CF257
and this quote from it:
I am blessed to have had parents who did look ahead. Half a century ago, my father said often: "If I fail to feed my children, the government will step in. If I don't house them, the government has programs to help. Of course, I don't intend to turn those duties over to the government. But I would much rather have the government feed and house my children than to have the government shape their minds."
The article doesn't mention mothers, but in all practicality, we are talking about mothers teaching children, which brings us back to your post.
Here is mine:
http://sophronismos.wordpress.com/2008/11/07/founding-fathers-quote-friday-motherhood/
Hello all. Thanks for taking the time to put up your posts and include them. I know this month's theme will probably be a bit tougher, because it's a narrow subject. If it should become too difficult, please know that you are not obligated to write a post on Friday, though I would appreciate it if you kept reading mine, and leaving your thoughts. :)
Jean -- you're right, husbands and fathers do have authority in the family unit, and therefore bear much responsibility for the state of our society and nation today. Their role is no less significant than that of the mother in this respect. And to let you in on next month's theme, the importance of fatherhood -- a responsibility which the Founders took seriously -- will be discussed. Perhaps quotes on that subject will be easier to find!
The reason am covering motherhood first, is simply because of Adams' statement, which makes sense to me, in light of the Scriptures (including those which you cited) and in light of history. Women have an incredible impact on their husbands and children. Their attitudes and conduct can ultimately determine the course of history. One of the reasons that our Founders were such great men, and could do the things they did, or had such great wisdom, is because they had such godly and industrious women standing behind them. Some of them have come to the surface, because many of their writings have survived -- like Abigail Adams, or Mercy Otis Warren. Others performed incredible roles, but their parts are not as well-known, because they willingly and successfully faded into silence -- like Eliza Hamilton or Martha Washington. But, that's another post in of itself. :) Stay tuned on my Hammy blog; that subject will be covered as we discuss the faith of his wife.
Dave, interesting quote. Thanks for sharing. And thanks for your post!
Off I go to check your links!
Post a Comment