Introduce Yourself

[klf7412]

Female; grew up on the east coast; conservationist; No kids; Vegan.

[Closed Womb]

In Closed Womb you have a 40 yr old, childless (former) lurker with a BA and MA in English Lit who just can't stop herself from commenting any longer. Cheers!

[miffy]

I'm a 27yr old Anglican Australian woman.

I don't know if i've ever met a fundie. The closest thing would be my grandmother who as the daughter of a Methodist minister wasn't allowed to dance when she was young. However her father pretty much renounced formal religion towards the end of his life.

I find the Duggars fascinating & like the idealized TV version of their lives, but I doubt the reality is like that. Also I don't agree with the idea of converting/winning people to god or young earth creationism.

[f undies]

hi F undies. We work (well I used to) in the same field. Welcome to you. I'd love to hear more about the 70 Free Love Cult; cults are a fascination of mine, especially in the 60s and 70s.

Welcome to all; I haven't welcomed anyone in awhile..how rude!

I will do my best to stay out of all the newbies knickers, but do stay out of the Prayer Closet. I do my lurking and defrauding over there, and make NO promises...

Hi Angri la. I really enjoy reading your posts.

I thought I answered this, but I think my reply ended up in the magic internet bit bucket. Security is exciting stuff.....

The group they were in was the Children of God. This group was known for group sex, "flirty fishing" and for some bizarre child raising ideas among the founders family.

Flirty fishing was done by the women. They would seduce men into the group. Babies born from these unions were called "Jesus babies" and seem to have been raised by all. Children seemed to be raised communally in large houses.

The most well known incident from this group is when the founders stepson lured his childhood nanny to his apartment and murdered her. It was reported and there are photos to prove sexual abuse of the guy by this women and his own mother. He wanted to murder his mother but was not able to see her. He ended up committing suicide, because he could not live with the memories of what happened to him as a child.

[Deleted01]

I debated posting that part because it's something I still struggle with. Maybe someday I'll feel totally confident in my beliefs one way or the other. I used to be a young earth (Ken Ham type) creationist, so even believing billions of years has been a stretch for me. I'm not trying to not answer, I just don't have a coherent answer because I'm still working out the what & why of my beliefs. Here's a link that at least has given me stuff to think about. godandscience.org/youngearth/old_earth_creationism.html

Have you read Genesis and the Big Bang? It's fascinating - he talks about something very much like the tesseract in A Wrinkle in Time.

[CrazySister]

Have you read Genesis and the Big Bang? It's fascinating - he talks about something very much like the tesseract in A Wrinkle in Time.

I haven't. I'm loving all the recommendations :D

[Patsy]

Hi Angri la. I really enjoy reading your posts.

I thought I answered this, but I think my reply ended up in the magic internet bit bucket. Security is exciting stuff.....

The group they were in was the Children of God. This group was known for group sex, "flirty fishing" and for some bizarre child raising ideas among the founders family.

Flirty fishing was done by the women. They would seduce men into the group. Babies born from these unions were called "Jesus babies" and seem to have been raised by all. Children seemed to be raised communally in large houses.

The most well known incident from this group is when the founders stepson lured his childhood nanny to his apartment and murdered her. It was reported and there are photos to prove sexual abuse of the guy by this women and his own mother. He wanted to murder his mother but was not able to see her. He ended up committing suicide, because he could not live with the memories of what happened to him as a child.

Just want to point out here that that same mother, who molested children including her own son, is still the leader of the group.

[Antipodes]

I echo Patsy's post.

I'm an Aussie newbie and am freaking scared of the way fundamentalism in several forms is seeping into our society.

[Independent Thinker]

I am 32 live in Houston, TX. I currently am a SAHM but only because my husband's career has recently taken off and mine needed to go on the back burner for a while. We have been married 11 years. I was raised in the Assemblies of God church which is fairly fundie and currently attend what people in Houston have nicknamed "Diet Church". Diet churches don't pick apart the bible verse my verse instead focus on the helping the community and being kind to others. I was raised on the east coast and I will be honest I am not crazy about Texas I hope at some point we will move on from here. I actually live very close to fundie superstar Voddie Bachmann from Vision Forum. I am socially liberal and fiscally conservative. I learned about the Quiverfull movement after a friend of mine I had known since I was is my teens lost her mind and decided to join the movement. The more I learned the more I became deeply troubled by her situation. The final straw came while she was pregnant with child number six.

[Miss T]

Hi everyone,

I have only posted a couple of times but would like to be polite and properly introduce myself (is there a waving smiley?).

I am Australian, early 30s, thoroughly and comfortably atheist with an upbringing that equally spanned Methodism of the literal-creationist kind (one grandma), Judaism of the Viennese between-wars, ultra-liberal kind (other grandma), and Tibetan Buddhism and Hinduism (parents' particular interests). It was happily ecumenical and academic, and I am now married to an ex-altar boy who describes himself as a 'recovering Catholic'.

I have lurked for a long time and am always grateful to read FJers responses to some of the fundie madness - it makes me relieved that there are people who are also as shocked, outraged (and sometimes amused) as I am who can respond in such intelligent, thoughtful and well-argued ways. I learn a lot reading he range of views and experiences on here and appreciate it immensely.

I am also about to pop out my first kid and don't want it to grow up in a world where its occupation, clothing, education, sexual orientation and worth as a a person is determined solely by its sex.

[Buggaboo]

Chatter's where we talk about all the fun non fundie related stuff :D You need 75 posts, so you're almost there! It's a pretty fun sub forum, sometimes it even gets fundie visitors. Definitely need to stick around to see a troll show up and everyone post pictures of hot guys and girls. In addition to the FJ Prayer Closet, many of us would like to polygamously gay marry each other :D We also have gay cocktails and show off manicures a lot. It's a whole fun love fest for you to discover! And no need to ask your headship to participate in gay orgies with us.

Awesome! Thanks for the reply -- I can't wait but I'll try not to over post. I have to stop myself from commenting on every freakin' thing some days because I work on the internet so it's just too easy. I'll be patient. ;)

[angelahuman]

Have been reading a while ...... lurker here.

Shocked that fundies can STILL surprise me

Am 22 and live in the UK - no really fundy fundies here and don't know anyone who shares the fundie obsession.

[Jinger Jar]

Hello everyone,

I've been lurking here since FJ's inception, I think. A couple of years ago I fell down the rabbit hole of fundie American bloggers, and since then I've probably spent far too many hours of my life struggling to understand the Christianity these folks present versus my understanding of the Gospels. I developed a rather morbid fascination with Christian fundamentalism in general after reading Salvation on Sand Mountain in the late 90s. It's been a downward spiral since.

I'll be 47 in a couple of months. I'm a cradle Catholic whose struggles with the Magisterium and the USCCB have gone on long before I even knew of the existence of SAHDs. I'm married to a self-described 'devout agnostic' and am the stepmother to twin girls I love more than I can put into words.

[ElphabaGalinda]

Awesome! Thanks for the reply -- I can't wait but I'll try not to over post. I have to stop myself from commenting on every freakin' thing some days because I work on the internet so it's just too easy. I'll be patient. ;)

I reply on every freakin thing all the time, so nothing wrong with that ;) But then, I'm also unemployed, so super bored, but even when I had a job, it was FJ I was secretly checking, not Facebook like most people.

[constantgardener]

Have been reading a while ...... lurker here.

Shocked that fundies can STILL surprise me

Am 22 and live in the UK - no really fundy fundies here and don't know anyone who shares the fundie obsession.

Hello from another UK FJer! I know we ought to be pleased there are so few fundies here ... but I do sometimes wish someone would try to convert me at the checkout in Tesco, just so I could slap them down. :lol:

[shrillharpy]

I'm 35, and a mother of three. We homeschool, though not using the SOTDRT method. I used to comment occasionally back in the Yuku days. I was raised fundie-lite (Assemblies of God) and never went back to that particular denomination once I left home. I am a Christian, and consider myself mainline ("liberal") these days. My interest in the fundamentalists has a bit to do with my own background, and much to do with the experiences of various friends and acquaintances over the years. In some places I've lived (my family has moved many times due to my husband's career) fundamentalists make up a sizable percentage of homeschoolers, and their worldview is one that I find both fascinating and bewildering.

[clibbyjo]

I'm 35, and a mother of three. We homeschool, though not using the SOTDRT method. I used to comment occasionally back in the Yuku days. I was raised fundie-lite (Assemblies of God) and never went back to that particular denomination once I left home. I am a Christian, and consider myself mainline ("liberal") these days. My interest in the fundamentalists has a bit to do with my own background, and much to do with the experiences of various friends and acquaintances over the years. In some places I've lived (my family has moved many times due to my husband's career) fundamentalists make up a sizable percentage of homeschoolers, and their worldview is one that I find both fascinating and bewildering.

I am a secular homeschooler to 3 kids. I hear you on Christian homeschoolers compared to the secular groups. Its hard, but we are growing. :clap:

[shrillharpy]

I've noticed a definite increase over the last 10 years, thankfully. :clap:

When I was homeschooling my oldest in deepest, darkest MS a decade ago, it was tough sledding. I live near Houston now, and we just joined a secular homeschool group that looks promising. I don't even bother with the Christian groups anymore. They all require a statement of faith, which I refuse to sign. :roll:

[CrazySister]

I've noticed a definite increase over the last 10 years, thankfully. :clap:

When I was homeschooling my oldest in deepest, darkest MS a decade ago, it was tough sledding. I live near Houston now, and we just joined a secular homeschool group that looks promising. I don't even bother with the Christian groups anymore. They all require a statement of faith, which I refuse to sign. :roll:

:shock:

[Soldevi]

Thirty-something from Finland here. University student in Sciences and Information Technology and I am going to apply to paramedic (science) studies this fall. I have been interested in religions since teenage and tried to find my path though all kind of spiritual experiences (but I hate proselytizing so I have never been vocal about my 'phases'). At the moment I identify myself publicly/governmentally atheist, closeted agnostic ;) I am married and we have several dogs. Childless not by choice. Umm...what else? Human rights are very close to my heart and I am very vocal locally. I cover my head just because I just lovelovelove to do that, some sort of fashion statement, I think. I just think scarves and tichels make me look better. Maybe I heard vanity call instead of divine call :D

Oh, and this is for jericho and co. I LOVE my country's socialised medicine and education. Nyah-nyah!

Edit: I forgot to mention that I come from religionless family. There are some in my extented family who practice new age-ish things but mainly we are agnostic-atheists. The only exception is my uncle and his family who hold some weird views of christianity. Like you cannot cremate bodies because your soul burns as well and you cannot go to heaven. Eh...That has been the only reason why even my grandparents said they should be buried in casket because no-one can't stand that whine my uncle's family make every time they feel they are done wrong. It lasts years and years...

[LostSamurai]

Hello all!

First time poster, longtime lurker here. I lurked at TWOP thru the Duggar board, which is how I found out about this site. Used to watch the Duggars in a 'So different from me but I can't stop watching anyway' way; but no more, because I can't watch someone who turns into something private like a funeral for a miscarriage into Princess Diana's funeral.

I'm the worst nightmare for Fundies....I have no quiver to speak of, no lolheadship, I have hobbies as diverse as reading(OH NOES A WOMMIN WHO CAN READ?), to geeky stuff like comics and baking. Oh, and I"m bi.

And I grew up being raised by single divorced mother.

I have had friends with all sorts of religious backgrounds from my own as a Catholic, to a few who are, I guess you can say, 'fundie lite'. However, nowadays, I find the fact that certain groups in the US are damn intent on turning America into some fundie nation where God is everywhere and if you're not in the crowd, you're going to hell, scary...and personally? I'm a little scared because my own rights as a woman and bisexual will be threatened.

Anyway...sorry if I ran on too long. I do find most of the fundies to be fascinating in a trainwreck way, the same reason why I'm hooked on Hoarder shows: It's something that's so far removed from my world but yet I can't stop reading or watching.

Thank you.

[lost_not_found]

Hello! I've lurked for a couple of months and decided to join up. I found you through the Duggar thread on TWOP, and now FJ has opened my eyes and disturbed my soul. :shock:

I'm a 30-something single mom of a fantastic infant. I spent half my adulthood in a (straight) marriage, and half with a female partner, and I have now purposed to spend a good long time alone. :dance: No headship here. :snooty: I was raised Catholic, dropped out early, and hope to send my kid to this Quaker school in the area that believes in peace, justice, integrity, and simplicity.

My interest in fundies developed when I was doing my undergraduate in cultural studies. I remember the Duggars from way back, and the Jeubs et al from the short series of mega-families. It snowballed from there, and here I am. It's good to find a group of people paying attention!

[VaSportsMom]

I'm not sure if I've ever introduced myself, prior to the past few days I was mainly a lurker anyway. I'm Rhon, a 36 year old, married mom of 2 boys from VA. I'm currently staying home and going nuts doing it. I love cooking, reading, playing World of Warcraft and I'm addicted to the "With Friends" games on my phone. I spend most of my time going from one sports field to the other.

My father's family is fundy lite but I'm atheist so the influence didn't hold. I'm the black sheep because of it. I'm compelled yet repelled by the whole culture.

[Independent Thinker]

I've noticed a definite increase over the last 10 years, thankfully. :clap:

When I was homeschooling my oldest in deepest, darkest MS a decade ago, it was tough sledding. I live near Houston now, and we just joined a secular homeschool group that looks promising. I don't even bother with the Christian groups anymore. They all require a statement of faith, which I refuse to sign. :roll:

Don't want to creep you out but if the group you belong to is on the northside of the city and begins with a "P" I am part of the same group.

[bluestockings]

22, female, proud Torontonian, and (literally) card-carrying NDPer.

I'm a few credits away from a degree in broadcasting, I intern at City Hall, and I have a pet rat named Neville. He is pretty rad.