Unfundamentalist

Above All, Love

The Cross and Gendercide

by in Book Reviews

In the United States one out of every four women has experienced domestic violence and one out of six has experience attempted or completed rape.

Throughout the world, millions of girls have undergone the brutal practice of female genital mutilation. Millions of women have been forced to undergo sex-selective abortions. Millions more have experienced the horror of sex trafficking.

More girls have been killed in the last fifty years, precisely because they were girls, than men were killed in all the battles of the twentieth century.

These statistics are the very definition of gendercide: the intentional effort to harm and injure millions of women and girls based on their gender. Elizabeth Gerhardt’s new book The Cross and Gendercide: A Theological Response to Global Violence Against Women and Girls offers a Christian response to the heart-wrenching plight of women across the globe by engaging with the cultural, religious, historical and political context of this violence and offering a proposal for how the church can work toward ending these heinous crimes.

Gerhardt readily acknowledges that Christianity has failed to meaningfully engage the problem of gendercide. Within the church violence against women is all too often treated as an ethical issue that receives only token acknowledgment. And though there is clearly value in pragmatic and direct responses to violence against women, given the pervasive and systemic nature of these crimes… [Read more…] about The Cross and Gendercide

"God Loves Uganda" highlights anti-gay Christian imperialism

by in Movie Reviews

God Loves Uganda, the 2013 documentary by Roger Ross Williams releasing today on DVD and airing tonight on PBS’s Independent Lens, sheds a much needed light on the ongoing struggle for the heart and soul of Uganda. Framed by the infamous Anti-Homosexuality Act of Uganda, the documentary provides a sobering exploration of the American evangelical mission to impose right-wing Christian values on Africa.

The film offers a ground-level view of the struggle taking place in Uganda through looking at Kansas City’s International House of Prayer (IHOP) and its “God-given call” to bring the Gospel message to the people of Uganda. The Christians of IHOP are on fire for God, eager to spread the Good News of Jesus and to train Africans to continue spreading that news far and wide.

The passion and excitement of IHOP’s workers is palpably sincere. But, as this film deftly demonstrates, the shortsightedness of their work, and the practical outworking of their faith, is cause for great alarm. Their well-meaning naïveté gives implicit support to the vicious hatred of people like Pastor Robert Kayanja, Pastor Martin Ssempa, and Pastor Scott Lively, “Christian” leaders who share a near-frothing obsession with eradicating homosexuality. These men see homosexuality as an abomination that must be eradicated, and Uganda—nearly half the population of which is under the age of 15—as fertile ground to plant and grow that message. So they have spared no measure of zeal teaching Ugandans… [Read more…] about "God Loves Uganda" highlights anti-gay Christian imperialism

I lost my editor's job–but marriage equality won

by Don M. Burrows in LGBT

I am proud of my home state of Arkansas this week. Not just because a circuit judge rightly ruled the state’s ban on same-sex marriages unconstitutional, a pleasing albeit perhaps temporary victory.

No, I’m proud because even against a majority that seems to be against same-sex marriage, the state now has an attorney general who supports the right to marry for all, and is only defending the state’s ban out of professional obligation. I’m proud because my hometown courthouse in Fayetteville’s Washington County is gleefully still issuing licenses to same-sex couples despite the threat of a stay or appeal.

And I’m proud that, even if an appeal ends up keeping same-sex marriage illegal in Arkansas, the momentum is clearly heading in favor of marriage equality. Dozens of couples have received licenses the past few days, and Arkansans of all stripes have joyfully cheered them on. I have personally waited a long time to see this. Gay marriage is headed to God’s heartland.

The picture did not always look so promising. I was there 16 years ago when the issue of gay rights first officially arrived in Northwest Arkansas, a 22-year-old reporter for the Fayetteville newspaper and recovering fundamentalist. A plucky young alderman proposed before the Fayetteville City Council the Human Dignity Resolution, a nonbinding (except on the city) resolution that urged nondiscrimination in hiring and firing, including over matters of sexual orientation.

You’d have thought he set off a big gay… [Read more…] about I lost my editor's job–but marriage equality won

The Lies Christian Fundamentalism Taught Me

by Christy Caine in Fundamentalism

We recently published here a piece called Getting Over “Get Over It,” in which Sylvie King Parris asked the question:
How does one “get over” discovering that everything they’d been taught about God and religion since childhood was a lie?
Since then we have received comments challenging the idea that so much of what Christian fundamentalism teaches is, in fact, a lie. We’ve also been asked why some people can’t simply stop believing what they were taught as children. As one commenter to Ms. Parris’s piece put it on our Facebook page:
Everything they’ve been taught is a lie? Who has the authority to say this? … We CHOOSE what we believe – all of us.”
I was raised a fundamentalist Christian. Here is some of what we were taught, both explicitly and in a million different little ways, every single day of our lives:

You are worthless.
God hates you, unless you love him.
Obedience is love.
Punishment is love.
The Bible is infallible and not to be questioned.
The pastor is infallible and not to be questioned.
Our interpretation of all Scripture is without error and not to be questioned.
Outside the church bubble waits evil.
Everyone who is different should be feared.
Bad things happen to you because God is trying to teach you a lesson.
Bad things happen to you because God let Satan tempt you.
Bad things happen to you as a punishment for disobedience.
Depression is a sign of sin in your life.
To resist what you are taught is to rebel… [Read more…] about The Lies Christian Fundamentalism Taught Me

The (surprisingly!) profound theology of "Heaven Is For Real"

by in Movie Reviews

“Heaven Is for Real” certainly isn’t worth going out of your way to see – it’s a solidly mediocre and benignly forgettable film. But questions about heaven, hell and the fate of every person who ever lived are always worth pondering, and in that regard “Heaven Is for Real” offers a few theological diamonds in its dross.

“Heaven and hell have always been concepts that have been used to control and frighten people.”

So says church board member Nancy Rawling (Margo Martindale) when she’s confronted by the possibility that heaven may be more than a fairy-tale. Pastor Todd Burpo (Greg Kinnear—and yes, it’s “Burpo”) is dismissive of such concerns. But isn’t Nancy correct? Haven’t the promise of reward and the fear of punishment been used as a means of manipulation and control throughout the history of religion? Shouldn’t we, at least, take such concerns seriously?

Later, Nancy queries Todd about the fate of her deceased son:

Nancy: Do you think my son went to heaven?
Todd: Do you love your son, still?
Nancy: Of course.
Todd: Do you think I love mine?
Nancy: I know you do.
Todd: Do you think I love my son more than you love yours?
Nancy: No.
Todd: Do you think God loves my son more than he loves yours?

Beautiful! And it strikes to the very issue: Who goes to heaven? Does love win?

Finally, in his closing sermon, Todd Burpo frames heaven in terms of our world:

“Haven’t we already seen… [Read more…] about The (surprisingly!) profound theology of "Heaven Is For Real"

Evangelicals eagerly trade public prayer for their most "cherished" fundamental beliefs

by Don M. Burrows in Christian Issues

There is perhaps no greater irony in Christendom just now than fundamentalist Christians’ new and oft-repeated assertions that prayer is merely cultural or ceremonial, that Christians must not proselytize, and that their own religion should never be pressed upon the unwilling masses.

Oh, that doesn’t sound like the fundamentalist Christianity we have all so often witnessed and experienced? It sounds decidedly opposite of the ideologies for which Christian fundamentalists are so well known?

Well, that is precisely what is now routinely being argued by the legal teams representing conservative Christians who are fighting to “reclaim America for Christ,” or “take America back” or who lament “kicking God out of our schools,” etc., etc.

That’s just how it was rationalized in Monday’s Supreme Court case allowing prayers before city council meetings in Greece, N.Y., a decision hailed by the American Family Association as a victory for “religious liberty.” And what exactly was the majority opinion in this case? That it is okay for city council meetings to start with prayer, even prayer of a decidedly Christian stripe – and that if the town is going to invite a clergyperson in to pray in the first place, it cannot then censor that person’s prayer.

But like virtually all modern cases of this nature involving public prayer, the prayers before council meetings are restricted to being purely “ceremonial.” Writing for the majority, Justice Anthony Kennedy stipulates, no less… [Read more…] about Evangelicals eagerly trade public prayer for their most "cherished" fundamental beliefs

Church Beyond Church

by in Christian Spirituality

The other day a fellow left this question in the private message area of the UC Facebook page:
I am recently in the process of leaving an evangelical church. Any pointers? Any resources regarding being a Christian without a church would be great.

Christy Caine, UC’s director of social media, wrote him an answer. First she recommended a few books for him to read (Leaving Church by Barbara Brown Taylor; Too Soon Old Too Late Smart, by Gordon Livingston; Traveling Mercies by Anne Lamott; and The Heart of Christianity by Marcus Borg).

Then she wrote him this:

Others in similar situations have found “Christian community” outside of church by practicing service as worship, by getting involved with community programs that serve the poor or the needy in some way. This might be building houses with Habitat for Humanity, or serving meals and talking with men at the homeless shelter, or working in another area of interest in your community where you can “do church” with others who have a similar interest and a serving spirit.

This creates opportunity for connection—which is really a way of allowing the spirit to move us.

One thing I learned along the way after leaving my conservative denomination was a new way of worship and prayer. I understood it no longer as a “special thing” I needed to set aside a specific time to do, in a certain prescribed way. Instead, I found that in my everyday searching for God, the world opened up: Walking with… [Read more…] about Church Beyond Church

Fundy Christian college students who fear knowledge

by Don M. Burrows in Fundamentalism

In the wake of my review of the movie God’s Not Dead, a movie which I submit plays into conservative evangelicals’ narrative fantasy about secular universities, many have responded with anecdotal stories about this or that professor or university where they witnessed outright hostility toward fundamentalist Christians.

Does this hostility toward fundamentalists and/or Christians generally exist among college faculty? Sure, sometimes. But should anecdotal instances be inflated into a grand narrative concerning all of the thousands of professors who teach at our colleges nationwide? No.

Yet this narrative persists. At the beginning of almost every school year, some conservative pundit writes up a piece about how college will negatively affect your Christian children, with some even going so far as to say they shouldn’t attend at all. The drumbeat is always the same: university campuses are a hotbed of liberalism, where good Christian students will be tempted away from their faith.

This narrative is a fantasy, yes. But it’s true enough that sometimes there is grousing in faculty offices about fundamentalist students turning in papers—but not for the reasons many of these fundamentalists assume. It’s not because the professors simply disagree with them on the issues that they are asked to address. It’s because often said students reject the entire methodology of the class from the start; from the outset they reject the very critical tools they are supposed to be there… [Read more…] about Fundy Christian college students who fear knowledge

Professor Strawman and the Right-Wing Fantasy Circus: a review of "God's Not Dead"

by Don M. Burrows in Movie Reviews

God’s not dead, but if he had to sit through the movie currently in theaters by that name, he might wish he were. A cinematic romp through stereotypes, caricatures, and gross generalizations, “God’s Not Dead” is one of the worst movie experiences I’ve had in a long, long time.

I suppose I should give a spoiler alert here, though it’s hard to imagine spoiling a movie already so thoroughly rotten.

For those who haven’t seen its comical trailer, “God’s Not Dead” is about a heroic Christian college freshman named Josh who defies his maniacal philosophy professor (Kevin Sorbo) by refusing to write and sign “God is Dead” on a piece of paper in a bizarre opening assignment, earning him the course requirement of defending the antithesis: that God exists and is very much alive.

I’ve taught college classes, and Sorbo’s class bears little to no resemblance to reality, but then neither do the myriad other caricatures throughout the film. Indeed, that is really all this film is: a Christian Right exercise in stereotyping all manner of God haters and God deniers.

There’s an anti-religious, vegetarian reporter who ambushes one of the Duck Dynasty crew to get him to admit he kills ducks when he hunts them (a very strange scoop indeed). She ends up with cancer and of course converts.

Her corporate tycoon boyfriend, played by Dean Caine, cares only for himself and his success, going so far as to ask her if their discussion about her cancer diagnosis can’t “wait till tomorrow.”

There is… [Read more…] about Professor Strawman and the Right-Wing Fantasy Circus: a review of "God's Not Dead"

Getting over "Get over it"

by Sylvie King Parris in Fundamentalism

I belong to a wonderful private Facebook group. What makes this group part of my daily social networking addiction is what we all share in common. We are all former members of a fundamentalist Christian cult.

We share our stories, really bad jokes, get brutally and often profanely honest, connect with old friends, and generally support one another as we all work through what growing up in a very controlled and toxic environment has done to us. Personally, it has helped me finally have a place to share with those who truly understand what my past was really like, something I’ve not been able to do completely until I found this crazy cavalcade of cult survivors.

Every so often someone joins our group, and is dismayed by the raw and painful emotions they encounter there. They don’t quite understand the anger and the pain displayed, often by people who escaped the cult years ago. And so they usually end up offering the same advice: Get over it.

I really hate that platitude.

How does one “get over” discovering that everything they’d been taught about God and religion since childhood was a lie? How does one get over needless deaths or prolonged illnesses brought on by church teachings? How does one get over being inculcated into a “religion” that fostered rape, child abuse, spousal abuse, forced divorce, abandonment of every sort—that created and insisted upon poverty?

How does one “get over” losing family members who will no longer have anything to do with you,… [Read more…] about Getting over "Get over it"