tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-882699495059104312.post364255090111474210..comments2024-01-24T04:02:06.466-05:00Comments on Why I De-Converted from Evangelical Christianity: Characteristics of Fundamentalist Evangelical ChristianityKen Pulliamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12161943466797514854noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-882699495059104312.post-51518411841133817792010-07-05T20:09:15.280-04:002010-07-05T20:09:15.280-04:00The fundamentalists that I know are anxious to dif...The fundamentalists that I know are anxious to differentiate themselves from the Jerry Falwell types. When I called them "Evangelists" they corrected me and said "No, we are Evangelicals" We are not like the TV evangelists. (they were Baptist missionaries)Clarehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17836679819711814306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-882699495059104312.post-7496959812403472332010-07-05T16:57:38.486-04:002010-07-05T16:57:38.486-04:00As usual, lots I'd love to say, but have to be...As usual, lots I'd love to say, but have to be brief: Lynn, you've said it well, and accurately... the damage does vary a lot from person to person. In my own case, I think it "ended up" well, with minimal trauma or scaring (tho I'm not dead and still learning, growing), but that is often not the case.<br /><br />My departure was unusually long and gradual, actually beginning in college studying psychology, later practicing it, and still later studying psych and theology at a progressive seminary (Claremont). But I remained "Evangelical"--not fully fundy--until after that seminary experience of 4 years. Many people do not get the educational supports and inputs that I did, nor have the relentless curiosity and do the unending analysis as I did (and still do, as an "outsider"). When they can't see the reasons for the inconsistencies, etc., nor see any alternatives to make sense of the world and their experience, they remain confused (often unknowingly), perhaps doubt-ridden, and often become all the more closed and "us/them" as a result. <br /><br />Ken, great material again... I also read parts of a great, fascinating book by a young woman -- can't recall her name now, nor the title -- about her going, under "deep cover," to Liberty U. and it's parent, Thomas Road Bapt. Church. She was assumed to be a true believer. She never was, and the ending about her agony of coming clean with some key friends and a leader, and whether/how to write her planned book are a fascinating study in the power of relationships, some of the "magic" of church services and worship, etc., even to a non-believer. Highly recommended to peruse if not read entirely... and don't miss the last 2 or 3 chapters, once you have the set-up clear. Sorry I can't give even part of the title at the moment... published around 2008 I think, or a year or so after Falwell's death, which was in her time frame. <br /><br />Just as to the point on "cosmic struggle:" This is a particularly powerful mental (and group) dynamic, especially with the more passionate followers of any kind of fundamentalism. I recall a book that does a great job of detailing this, in historical development, particularly in the Palestinian or Arab/Muslim-Israeli conflict. It traces the same dynamic of this and other aspects in the fundy mindset and organizations of Christianity, Judaism and Islam--equally all three. "Terror in the Mind of God," by Jurgensmeyer.Howard Pepperhttp://www.coachpep.usana.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-882699495059104312.post-80599180364819330872010-07-05T12:28:13.280-04:002010-07-05T12:28:13.280-04:00Ault is a sociologist who spent two years as part ...<i>Ault is a sociologist who spent two years as part of a Fundamentalist Baptist Church in Massachusetts.</i><br /><br />Tragically, we do have a few. <br /><br /><i>My close childhood friend told me that very thing-"You read too much." </i><br /><br />I think this says all that needs to be said, really.Jeff Eygeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11967707883565162538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-882699495059104312.post-82503332306366665962010-07-05T07:52:41.391-04:002010-07-05T07:52:41.391-04:00I think the sociologist got it right. It's ab...I think the sociologist got it right. It's about personalities and their using the Bible to back them up. It's not about studying the Bible in every way imaginable. It's like an over-simplification of the Bible. You start with the fundie views, then find your back-up in the Bible.<br /><br />Yes, the personalities and the separation and definitely an US vs. THEM worldview. <br /><br />May I say again how all this causes harm to the serious-minded child. I was struck by a friend saying how he grew up in a religious home but wasn't paying much attention. THAT'S what saved him from the psychological damage it does.<br /><br />And fundies stay in their world by limiting what they read and by refusing to open up their minds. Why would they want to open their minds to the devil, after all? That's what they've been taught will happen if they start questioning. My close childhood friend told me that very thing-"You read too much."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com