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I spent my whole life in a Baptist Church, until 12 months ago. However, I think Australian Baptist Churches are nothing like American Baptist Churches. Here they are considered very "mainstream" christian.

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I spent my whole life in a Baptist Church, until 12 months ago. However, I think Australian Baptist Churches are nothing like American Baptist Churches. Here they are considered very "mainstream" christian.

Just as an FYI, there is a Baptist denomination in the US called "American Baptist Churches, USA" that is quite mainstream and relatively liberal, as Baptists go. There are many other types of US Baptists as well, ranging from reasonably liberal (Cooperative Baptist Fellowship) to very conservative (Southern Baptists) to crazypants (Independent Fundamentalist Baptists).

I have been in Baptist churches my whole life, of the more liberal variety. I doubt that the IFB people would even consider me Christian, let alone Baptist.

Edited to ask what's up with my post count? Last I checked it was over 400.

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Well that is good to know, whenever I read about Baptists on here, I always think how vastly different it is to what I have experienced!

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I was born and raised Southern Baptist. I even went to the church's private school from 3 years old to 15 when we had to move. We had to wear skirts that at least came about an inch below our knees from the age of 7. We were taught that the husband is the head of the family (the reason for our move btw, bad idea) and his word was final. The wife had to be a Prov 31 helpmeet. Dancing was forbidden as was alcohol. Lets see, what else? Oh, they used to bus us to pro life events to picket clinics and passed out brochures with graphic pics of aborted fetuses to all of us from 2nd grade on up. I have never been in a more restrictive, hypocritical, and just plain bad environment. Organized religion and I parted company many years ago and I blame the people in the church and the fact that I had religion crammed down my throat for that.

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I was raised in an IFB church, the church my parents go to now is less conservative but still baptist. I went to the church school for a while and then was one of the few kids in the church who went to public school. I stopped going in HS.

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been there done that... managed to get out before it drove me totally crazy... I was lucky to have boys so did not have to do the hypocritical only skirts speal. The church was run by one man and his family... and his family was always fighting amongst themselves, heaven forbid that you think about moving out of town for a better job because "God always provides" Cant God provide something in another town? sigh yes there was some good done there but the pastor was a real peace of work...

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my husband and I went to an IFB church here in QLD for a bit till we were excommunicated/kicked out!! It was a church that started as a homegroup and an IFB pastor from the states came to "grow it" as missionaries. Its been a couple of years since we got out (and thank goodness we GOT OUT!!)

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I was raised nominally Southern Baptist. Fall out with religion. Recoverted. Started attending a IFB. Hated it and fundamentalism. Tried to hold onto religion by becoming Roman Catholic and finally admitted that I had not believe.

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Women wore skirts or dresses to the knee. Shoes & purses had to match. Stockings ALL year round. Women over 60 in hats. Men had to wear a tie. No sneakers or khakis. Deacons on the left side of church. Could not have bread & wine unless you were baptized. That was about 30 years ago. Men can wear jeans now. :roll:

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I am a former Independant Fundamental Baptist. I went to Metro Baptist Church in Bellivelle, Mi. Spent 1st year of college at Hyles Anderson College in Hammond, In.

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I was raised nominally Southern Baptist. Fall out with religion. Recoverted. Started attending a IFB. Hated it and fundamentalism. Tried to hold onto religion by becoming Roman Catholic and finally admitted that I had not believe.

That is supposed to read, "finally admitted that I did not believe." Honestly, I can form complete sentences.

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Former Independent Fundamental Baptist reppin! *fistbump*

Crazy times. Namely one preacher saying we only need to watch Fox News. And another saying that his corvette belonged to God?

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I am about 90 percent sure that the church my parents attended while I was growing up was Independent Baptist. It was a Baptist church. My parents were never as deep into the church as some. My dad was a deacon but he didn't seem as entrenched as many other of the deacons.

For instance, I went trick or treating and wasn't chastised if I danced, unlike one of my friends at the church. There were Chick tracts in the lobby and a push to distribute them to the heathen masses.

Women couldn't teach men, and boys over age 10 or so were men. The youth group leader was a raging misogynist. There was awful orange drink and I once was screamed at because my bathing suit I wore to the water park was too revealing. From what I can ascertain, I was screamed at for having developed breasts young as my bathing suit was full coverage.

It wasn't the most tramatic and devastating experience but it was pretty uncomfortable and bad in retrospect.

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Former IFB here as well, born and raised. Even spent some time at PCC before the spiritual/psychological abuse got to me and I transferred. I don't attend church anymore at all, but my parents and siblings still go to the same church I grew up in.

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Former IFBer, my grandma was a founding member of the church, my mom was a baby in the nursery, we sat in the same pew for 22+years, and then me, "the harlot;" or at least that's what I was told by the deacons in the 7th grade when a wore long red jumper/dress on Valentine's Day. If It wasn't for the fact that I was smart, it scares me to think how I might have turned out. After doing well on some church nursery school tests, my parents realized my potential, and did make education a priority- I ended up going to our boy Dougie's alma mater- although we never EVER claim him as one of our own- we prefer Jon Stewart :)

My family eventually left when I was in college and started going to a more Fundie-lite church. But for me the damage was done. I have one part of me that refuses to compromise my intellectual integrity and claim that the earth is only 6000 years old, evolution is of the DEVIlL, I need a man to make my decisions for me, etc.,: but I have another side of me that is absolutely, sick-to-my-stomach-terrified of burning in hell for all eternity and kinda likes the idea of being reunited with my Mema again in Heaven. To be honest, if it weren't for her, I don't think heaven would have all that much appeal to me.

I am who I am because of my IFB church, so part of me is almost grateful for that experience. But a much larger part of me wonders who I could have been if I hadn't had my mind polluted by legalistic insanity cloaked in the name of Jesus' love. Part of me wonders if there really is a God who has just been distorted by crazy asses, and the real one is a God that I would want to believe in. Surely God doesn't care if I trick or treat, wear panty hose in 100 degree weather, listen to music with a syncopated beat, speak in the church sanctuary, and wear as much red as I want and not be called a whore. But nothing can or will change the fact that because of all of it, I'm damaged.

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my husband and I went to an IFB church here in QLD for a bit till we were excommunicated/kicked out!! It was a church that started as a homegroup and an IFB pastor from the states came to "grow it" as missionaries. Its been a couple of years since we got out (and thank goodness we GOT OUT!!)

oh please tell me this was in a city starting with the letter T! if so, pls PM me!! :mrgreen:

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I spent my whole life in a Baptist Church, until 12 months ago. However, I think Australian Baptist Churches are nothing like American Baptist Churches. Here they are considered very "mainstream" christian.

similar situation. Spent 6 mths in an independent Baptist church tho, which is closer to what the Americans experience with their Southern Baptist churches. Regular baptist churches in AU are indeed very mainstream, for the most part! Some are quite pentecostal these days.

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I tried to message you Petal but I am not sure if it worked!! I am quite near the city beginning with T

Thanks, got it and replied, think it's a slightly different T- city a little way from the one u mean.

My goodness, fundy baptists everywhere! ;)

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I spent my whole life in a Baptist Church, until 12 months ago. However, I think Australian Baptist Churches are nothing like American Baptist Churches. Here they are considered very "mainstream" christian.

There are Baptists and then there are Independent (Fundamentalist) Baptist. Yes, even in Australia.

IFBs, like the name suggests, are more fundamentalist. They take the Bible literally, are YEC, conservative in their views, some are dresses-only, etc.

'Regular' Baptist are more mainstream.

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Sorry you had to go through that, Punkypie. They were evil bastards for saying things like that to a child. FWIW, I think you sound ace!

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Here! I was raised in a KJV only, literal 7 day creation, Jesus turned wanter into juice, dancing is the evil, card games are evil, pawn shops are evil, we are the only people who really follow the Bible, IFB church. As a child I was taught to say "Baptist born, baptist bred, and when I die I'll be baptist dead". But women could work, no one thought anything about women going to college as being bad, public school was the norm, and all the women wore pants at home.

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Former IFBer, my grandma was a founding member of the church, my mom was a baby in the nursery, we sat in the same pew for 22+years, and then me, "the harlot;" or at least that's what I was told by the deacons in the 7th grade when a wore long red jumper/dress on Valentine's Day. If It wasn't for the fact that I was smart, it scares me to think how I might have turned out. After doing well on some church nursery school tests, my parents realized my potential, and did make education a priority- I ended up going to our boy Dougie's alma mater- although we never EVER claim him as one of our own- we prefer Jon Stewart :)

My family eventually left when I was in college and started going to a more Fundie-lite church. But for me the damage was done. I have one part of me that refuses to compromise my intellectual integrity and claim that the earth is only 6000 years old, evolution is of the DEVIlL, I need a man to make my decisions for me, etc.,: but I have another side of me that is absolutely, sick-to-my-stomach-terrified of burning in hell for all eternity and kinda likes the idea of being reunited with my Mema again in Heaven. To be honest, if it weren't for her, I don't think heaven would have all that much appeal to me.

I am who I am because of my IFB church, so part of me is almost grateful for that experience. But a much larger part of me wonders who I could have been if I hadn't had my mind polluted by legalistic insanity cloaked in the name of Jesus' love. Part of me wonders if there really is a God who has just been distorted by crazy asses, and the real one is a God that I would want to believe in. Surely God doesn't care if I trick or treat, wear panty hose in 100 degree weather, listen to music with a syncopated beat, speak in the church sanctuary, and wear as much red as I want and not be called a whore. But nothing can or will change the fact that because of all of it, I'm damaged.

Your post is really moving and makes me thankful my parents never tried to brainwash me with this stuff. You have so much self-awareness; surely that will help you heal. I hope so, anyway.

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