Vision Forum was an evangelical Christian organization based in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1998; its president was Doug Phillips, son of U.S. Constitution Party leader Howard Phillips. Vision Forum Ministries was a 501(c) non-profit organization which was closed by its board of directors in November 2013 after Doug Phillips' confession of marital infidelity. The associated commercial operation, called Vision Forum, Inc., continued to operate until January 2014, when it was announced that it too was shutting down operations. Vision Forum advocated Biblical patriarchy, creationism, homeschooling, Family Integrated Churches and Quiverfull beliefs.
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Distinctive beliefs
Vision Forum was an advocate of "biblical patriarchy". The "Tenets of Biblical Patriarchy" article on its website advocated such beliefs as:
- God reveals Himself as masculine, not feminine.
- God ordained distinct gender roles for man and woman as part of the created order.
- A husband and father is the head of his household, a family leader, provider, and protector.
- Male leadership in the home carries over into the church: only men are permitted to hold the ruling office in the church. A God-honoring society will likewise prefer male leadership in civil and other spheres.
- Since the woman was created as a helper to her husband, as the bearer of children, and as a "keeper at home," the God-ordained and proper sphere of dominion for a wife is the household and that which is connected with the home.
- God's command to "be fruitful and multiply" still applies to married couples.
- Christian parents must provide their children with a thoroughly Christian education, one that teaches the Bible and a biblical view of God and the world.
- Both sons and daughters are under the command of their fathers as long as they are under his roof or otherwise the recipients of his provision and protection.
- The age-integrated communities of family and church are the God-ordained institutions for training and socialization and as such provide the preferred pattern for social life and educational endeavors.
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Events
The organization sponsored the Christian Filmmakers Academy and the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival.
In 2007, the group organized an alternative celebration of the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, Virginia, saying that the official celebration did not give enough emphasis to the Christian perspective of the settlers.
Criticism
Vision Forum was criticized for allegedly holding views that demean women and view them as property. Don and Joy Veinot of Midwest Christian Outreach interpreted the Vision Forum statement to imply that "women really cannot be trusted as decision makers" and "unless a daughter marries, she functionally remains pretty much the property of the father until he dies." They also argued that Vision Forum promoted a "pagan top-down view of authority".
Similar criticisms were voiced when a lawsuit was filed against Doug Phillips and Vision Forum, Inc. by a woman who had worked as the Phillips family's nanny. Her suit alleged that Phillips had sexually abused her for years. Phillips acknowledged an "inappropriate relationship" but denied all charges of sexual abuse, "calling them sensationalist and suggesting that they are motivated by a desire for financial gain."
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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