Introduce Yourself - Part 2

[snark_bait]

I'm Brit, I'm a grad student in Maryland. I can't look away from the Duggar train wreck after 10 years. I've been lurking FJ since the old forums, and I wish FJ talked more about the "Kody Brown Family" (I'm being facetious by using that name, but I do love Sister Wives). I'm wasting time while I should be writing my thesis.

[Walking Cat Bed]

Hi, y'all.

I'm an upcoming grad student (rhetoric and composition -- basically the middle ground between technical writing and creative writing), Air Force veteran, and I live in Raleigh, NC. I'll be 30 tomorrow and was raised in cultish churches, left those behind for still controlling evangelical (and, for a while, Pentecostal) churches, and have since contented myself with semi-annual visits to Episcopal churches. Usually when I know there will be food.

When I'm not doing academic things, I knit, read (fiction and non-fiction; I'm on a horror kick right now, so lots of Stephen King and HP Lovecraft) and pick on my roommate's cat. Well, *technically*,the cat is ruler of the house and everything in it. In addition to cults, I spend a lot of time reading about veterans' issues (especially Lady Veterans).

[klynn]

Hi! New here.

I'm a stay at home mom of a 2 year old little girl. Not a fundie, I promise :)

I was raised by an atheist father and a sunday school teacher (later turned atheist) mother. Great folks. I don't know what I'd consider myself. Learning, I suppose.

Anyway, great to be here. I've been lurking for awhile and decided to join so I could be involved in conversations too. I live in the midwest, actually I recently discovered my hometown's baptist church is, in fact, an IFB church. Which explains a lot.

[melon]

Hi!

I have been lurking for awhile,and decided to join the fun.

I am in my 50's,married,all my children 3 sons are grown,sadly we lost our youngest son almost 3 years ago.He was in a car wreck.We all miss him a lot.

I few years ago,the company I worked for was sold and we all were laid off.During my 15 months of unemployment,I started watching the Duggars.

I was raised Lutheran.But my great grandmother's family and my grandmother ,too.We raised Baptist.My great grandmother's family was very close and loving.No dancing,drinking , or smoking.

When my grandmother was born,the doctor told her mother (great grandmother) to drink beer to help boost her milk supply(brewer's yeast).So,while she was nursing,she drank a few beers,daily.And my grandmother used to say that's how she obtained her taste for beer! Lol

[utter solitude]

Hello all! Just a bit about me...

As a lifelong atheist, I find religion fascinating. Especially the more extreme sects/beliefs. When I can't sleep late at night, I often read about different religions.

Another major passion for me is astronomy. When I'm not researching religion late at night, I'm reading about various space theories. I'm hoping to back to school to study astrophysics.

Outside of that, I have a somewhat decent full time job. I enjoy watching a few TV shows, playing videogames, and working on websites dedicated to topics I enjoy. And drinking. :margarita:

[Four is Enough]

Hi! I'm actually 60, with three kids still living at home, the youngest of whom is 17. I didn't give birth to ANY of my four; they're all adopted. I'm the anti-chelle! I, like many others in this group, see a mess but can't look away from the Duggars. I'm learning slowly about the other (others? There are MORE of them!) families, and it just grows and grows. I foresee a long relationship with all y'all. I live in the Mid Atlantic area, US.

[happy atheist]

Welcome everyone!

[browncoatslytherin]

i sorta jumped in and forgot about doing an intro post. oh well.

i used to be on these boards before a couple of years ago, under the name shotgunopera. but i had a bunch of shit happen, my internet access was touch and go, yadda yadda yadda. i forgot my password and the email i used to sign up with is one i no longer use and can't access anymore. soooo...had to make a new one.

i'm pretty much a new person. i was unemployed, going to go to college, engaged, etc. well, i did go to college. finished and graduated as valedictorian of my program. i dumped my fiance of the time because i had finally had enough of his pillhead, lying, manipulative ways. i moved from ohio to minnesota to live with my brother. got another job (and now another). met a lovely man (in a geek group on fb) and got together and now we're engaged as well.

i'm also at a vastly different place spiritual-wise from when i was last here. at the time i was posting, i was an agnostic theist who was very resistant to religion due to an upbringing in a fundie environment. i'm now a polytheistic pagan who has actually even "come out" to all friends and family members, including the religious ones and dad who is a former pastor.

for anyone who might actually remember me, i'm still me. just a very different me than i was before.

so, hi!

[RecoveringFundie]

I've been lurking on here for awhile, but couldn't get a username for a really long time because it kept having an error. Finally made it! So I feel like I know many of you. I think I'm pretty clear on the rules and etiquette of the boards.

I mainly follow: Duggars, Bates, ZZ/PP, Schraders, and just beginning with the Maxwells. Who are your favorites and must-follows? I read Emily and Dna back in the day which is I think where I first found this forum.

My husband is a pastor---he used to be fairly fundamentalist---but not nearly like these families--but in terms of beliefs (no gay marriage, literal 6-day evolution, etc.....) but he has changed significantly (as have I) in the past 10-15 years (we are in our 30s--no kids....gasp). He's actually getting ready to perform his first same-sex wedding. Although even when he believed that gays were sinning, he still voted FOR gay marriage in our state because he believes in human rights and that there should be a separation of church and state.

[RecoveringFundie]

Also---is Helpmeet not an "approved word" for your username? I had no idea what to pick and kind of panicked :) Can you change your username?

[Rita]

Hi! Welcome!

There's a SODRT forum that has lots of info on introductions and how the site works. Helpmeet is an official title for members who help Curious (our kind bunny overlord) run the site. Perhaps one of the them will be able to contact you to help you sort out your username.

Hi!

(I'm excited because I've always been too late to welcome new posters. Hi!)

ETA:

Welcome to New Members! viewtopic.php?f=2&t=15470

The SOTDRT: viewforum.php?f=32

[FundieWatcher]

My gateway fundie was Candy from Joyful Christian Homemaking. She is also the one I like the most for some reason. Kelly Crawford from Generation Cedar is my most hated fundie.

I read the blogs of Lady Lydia and and several others connected to LAF.

I try to check in with those connected to Vision Forum, usually through Facebook.

[kpmom]

Welcome to FJ.

I'm curious what prompted you and your husband to change your views?

[DomWackTroll]

Welcome, RecoveringFundie!

I follow the Vision Forum crowd almost exclusively, and my gateway was Doug Phillips' post about Peter and Kelly Bradrick's wedding (which was posted on a gay gossip site called Datalounge). I get nervous/upset following people whom I believe to be mentally ill (Sparkling Lauren, Kidist, Lady Lydia), so I take long breaks from them (Lauren, Lydia) or just don't read them at all (Kidist).

Edited for grammar.

[Rescinded and Mended]

Welcome, RecoveringFundie. ;)

My favorite fundies tend to be the Duggars, but I started with pretty much anyone from the FLDS. I've since begun following the Maxwells, the Rodrigues Family, and all things Doug Phillips. I hope to eventually get caught up on the Schrader family and Sparkling Adventures threads.

I hope you'll be happy here. :)

[Marian the Librarian]

Welcome, RecoveringFundie!

I follow the Vision Forum crowd almost exclusively, and my gateway was Doug Phillips' post about Peter and Kelly Bradrick's wedding (which was posted on a gay gossip site called Datalounge). I get nervous/upset following people whom I believe to be mentally ill (Sparkling Lauren, Kidist, Lady Lydia), so I take long breaks from them (Lauren, Lydia) or just don't read them at all (Kidist).

Edited for grammar.

Welcome! My story is similar to DomWackTroll's - I found a copy of the Botkins' "Return of the Daughters" DVD in one of my libraries. That led me directly to all things Vision Forum, first on DataLounge (hi and all hail DWT! ), then on FJ. You could do worse than the Botkins, if you're looking to go down a deep Dominionist rabbit hole. Take the Maxwells in small doses, or at least have an oxygen tank at the ready. And I concur re: following the truly mentally ill - they leave me feeling like I need a Silkwood shower.

[Wenny]

Hello! I am Wenny, mother to a newly mobile 8 month old and married to my high school sweetheart. I am enrolled in LVN (nursing) school and looking for a job.

I was raised in the church of the Nazarene and had a couple quiver full families come and go. That what started my interested. We we're consider a "liberal" church because we weren't skirts only. I'll still go with my mom but try to sneak away to the UU church or a Pagan meetup My mom loves the Duggers and we have seen them every time they come to Tx.

My husband is 7th in his family of 9. Ironically all his brothers names start with J until him. (He was the first baby his mom got to name). I will talk a lot about my inlaws, my fil just celebrated his first year of prison (and sobriety), we are working with my bils to that goal.

[RecoveringFundie]

Hmmm....what changed my husband and I on our views (yes, it is possible!) A lot of thinking, prayer and studying, to sum it up.

My parents are both attorneys---I'm a nurse practitioner. We are a fairly educated bunch--parents went to Harvard and didn't become Christians until after I was born. So I was never raised to believe in super conservative values (a la Creationism only)---although the church that we attended would have probably leaned that way. But never a skirt-wearing, quiver-full bunch. I grew up in a very affluent area, so even the conservative bunch wasn't all that conservative.

My husband's family was much more conservative, although they were Pentecostal, so not KJV, but definitely believed in a literal 6-day creation, alcohol was bad, gays were the worst, etc....

For me, I had childhood friends at the age of 7 that my parents knew were gay even then. So while my family tended to lean towards the "love the sinner, hate the sin" type of attitude, the more we knew gay people and understood science, we started believing that God created people to be gay and it definitely wasn't a choice.

My husband went to a Christian college (while I went to a top-20 liberal arts school) and we got married when I graduated. He started becoming more progressive during his college years (i.e--believing in Evolution and evolving in his own thinking). Then we moved to California which is definitely a more liberal state and just started to change our thinking as a whole. I think all along both of us were looking for a way to accept gay people for who they were and believing that it was OK without also throwing away our entire belief system. My husband ended up going to Seminary here in California and decided he was more than OK with believing that the Bible isn't perfect, but it was written by man.

A book that I feel I could have written myself in terms of the progression of my faith is called Faith Unraveled by Rachel Held Evans. Would recommend checking it out if anyone can relate (or know someone who can relate) to the things I'm saying.

[Shirley Blest]

Hey I'm S. I've been lurking here for a loooooong time. I finally decided to join. I'm a divorced mom to just two kids. I am a nursing supervisor of a drug and alcohol detox center. I live in sin with my boyfriend of two years. I am a reformed JW.

I picked my user name because there was a letter or something on here that I read a fundy did made me LOL because they said Shirley Blest and I think that surely blessed would have fit better...but I found it funny. My name isn't Shirley...but it does start with an S. :dance:

[HuggleMonster]

I hate doing intros. I never know what to say.

Anyways, I'm Sarah, married, 4 kids. I live in Australia. I've been a lurker for so long and have always wanted to join in. Admittedly I was a duggar fan for a long time. Then when the actual series started I saw a whole new side to them.

I'm not sure what else to add? So if I missed anything or anyone wants to know something, feel free to ask.

Oh, my username is from Henry HuggleMosnter. It was on Disney Junior when I was making my account and I have no imagination :D

[PearlKrabs]

Hello, everyone. I'm a mid-twenties female military spouse. I've been content to lurk for years, but I've decided to take the plunge and join the conversation. :banana-dance:

[trailmix2014]

I guess I should introduce myself since I've already been posting for a while. I'm a single mom of 2 wonderful boys. I have been divorced from their abusive father for 2 years. We were married for almost 13 years. I was raised fundie-lite and am now rethinking everything I was taught about God.

My mom and I are sharing an apt. since my dad died by suicide. in Dec. We still attend church together.

[gypsywanderer]

Hello everyone. I'm April, mom to three boys, 26 and also a fundy escapee. I wasn't raised that way and neither was my husband but went down that path after being gifted the godly home series. We ended up Mennonite for awhile Finally we woke the hell up and got out of that and back to reality. I give Doctor Who the credit for that. Well, that and internet. Two things we found we couldn't live without. So... yeah. That's me. Sorry I'm not great at this intro stuff :D

[ButterscotchEquinox]

Greetings. I'm a 30 y/o female living in Colorado, but I'm moving back east in a few weeks. I have two young kids and a morbid fascination with religious fundamentalism. It started with Mormon fundamentalism (yes, sucked in by the Browns) and has grown to encompass fundies in many forms. I've been lurking here for a few months now and finally decided, I need to join the conversation! I first heard about FJ through comments on a Patheos blog (Love, Joy, Feminism) and I am so glad I started reading.

I grew up in an anabaptist church that had fundie-lite tendencies, though I (very thankfully) didn't have most of the principles pushed on me too hard. Even so, I've had to deal with some fallout from those teachings (specifically purity teachings) and that has led to a deeper interest in the groups spreading those beliefs.

I'm glad to be here and I hope I will be able to contribute to the forums in a positive, interesting way!

[bluehydrangea]

Hello! I'm 24, female, farm girl with city girl tendencies from Illinois, now live in Indiana...would much rather live in Illinois. I got married 3 weeks before Jill, but don't worry...no arrows in my quiver yet :roll:

My fascination with fundies mostly has to do with my attending a fundie (fundie-lite?) Baptist school from a very young age. But oddly, I didn't attend because my parents were like-minded, but because my birthday was a couple of days after the deadline to start Kindergarten, but I had already completed preschool. Public school wouldn't take me, so my parents miscellaneously sent me to this school because it happened to be in this very small town near our home. Skirts had to be below the knee, collared shirts for boys, culottes for girls *if* we could change into them fast enough to participate in PE with the boys. We couldn't, so girls were not allowed to participate in PE. The school actually used to run an ad in local papers stating, "Our school may not be for you" with ten bizarre rules listed beneath to deter any different-thinking folks that might think of sending their kids. It was a haven for fundies and parents with wayward children they wanted to scare. Manners class taught us boys could swing their arms and girls could not, chapel taught us that children at public school carried guns, etc. While it was unaccredited, those who went on to get their GED usually went to Bob Jones or Crown College of the Bible. Anyway, my parents figured out after several years that this was all rather strange, and I was transferred to public school, which felt like I imagine one of the Duggars might feel like if they were randomly dropped in a normal family one day.

So when the Duggars came on TV when I was in high school, I was SHOCKED to find that these people looked, sounded, and followed rules just like the school I'd gone to! I realized that I wasn't the only one who experienced this (everyone in my area who learned I went to the "school" would gasp and say "you were in the cult?!") So now I peruse the occasional fundie blog. Currently, my husband and I are hooked on the gay pecan thief and his wife and their Youtube videos...they are so earnest...and hilarious.

I have a mild fascination with religion in general, as I grew up in an area with a high population of Amish people, strict Apostolic/Pentecostals, and Mormons. But fundies amuse me the most. I don't have a disdain for most of them (except for the crazy patriarchs who force their families into a hell of his own making - Maxwells anyone?), but I dislike most of their teachings and hope that those who need to get out can do it as easily as I did, though I know that's usually not the case. I am a moderate/liberal Christian. So there ya go! Bring on the fundie WTF-ery! ;)