title:  Duggar-Linked Ministry Building A ‘Retreat’ Where Christian Dads Can Trade Their Teen Daughters
text: It s becoming increasingly clear that when TLC decided to promote a story of the fundamentalist Christian Duggar family, they weren t just idolizing right-wing anti-gay bigots, they were legitimizing a toxic cult that for years had lived in the shadows and now   thanks to increasing exposure   has begun to fester and grow. Quiverfull,  the fundamentalist movement run by a man named Vaughn Ohlman, works to silence and control women in ways that wouldn t seem entirely out of place in regions controlled by the Taliban. Its  pitch  is that women should be subservient to their husbands, and relied on primarily for household chores and churning out babies. (The  full  quiver in the name is a nod to the number of children each family is encouraged to have   as many as possible.)But if mature women are reduced to home- and baby-makers, then girls are seen as less than that.Enter Ohlman s brand new  retreat  designed specifically for Christian dads to meet up and plan who they will give their daughters to, particularly troublesome ones who may be nearly out of high school and haven t found a husband yet.Called the  Get Them Married!  retreat, the group s announcement is deeply disturbing.We at Let Them Marry Ministries are excited to finally be able to announce our plans for the Get Them Married Retreat. We ve set our plans and are accepting applications. Pending sufficient signups and barring unforeseen contingencies, we will be hosting the first Get Them Married Retreat this fall. Unforeseen contingencies  might include the fact that nowhere in Let Them Marry Ministries  lengthy post is the consent of the children ever acknowledged.  Let them marry  really means  let us marry them off. This is made explicit in the  rules :For the purposes of this conference we ask that a young man who is interested in a young woman approach her father (mother, brother, etc.) before approaching her. In the case where he is interested in a young woman who is not accompanied, we ask that the young man speak privately to one of the retreat staff members.As Raw Story points out, Ohlman is very big on the idea that children should be married as soon as possible. His criteria for when a girl is  ready  is between the ages of 13 and 20 (they claim they take a hard stand against 12-year-olds getting married. That is their red line). The specifics are even more disturbing:How much will this retreat set you back? Depends. If you want a family sized cottage, be prepared to spend around $1200. If you just want to send your  older, marriageable kids  to a gender-specific bunkhouse with other older, marriageable kids, they can stay for as low as $130.That gets you a bed, meals, and a schedule full of lectures, activities and what they call  intentionally blank spots for networking. So the next time you come across a Duggar (and yes, they re back on TLC, despite everything), remember that the  family values  and longing to return to the good old days means this sort of theocratic nightmare. They have a very specific vision, and it s not pretty.UPDATE: The Salvation Army, which had originally agreed to host the retreat on their property in Wichita, Kansas, has reportedly backed   and quite possibly ran   away from this incoming disaster. The group will now have to find a new place to hold their child marriage swap.Featured image via YouTube screengrab