Close Encounters of the Fundie Kind

[Ralar]

Lol, does his poop have sacred qualities.

I don't know, but it probably stinks to high-heaven.

BTW, I just realized the pics are white Jeebus and black Jeebus (even though we all know Jeebus was blonde with blue eyes).

[Mary C Doates]

I hate when people leave those stupid tracts in public places. The worst of the fundies will leave a tract instead of a tract in place of a tip in a restaurant. What makes the fundies think that a server is going to read a tract and think, "Wow, those cheap ass customers in the bad clothes stiffed me on my tip that helps pay my bills and feeds my family really show the love of god--I think I'll become one of them."?

When I worked in a bookstore, we often had people leave religious tracts between pages of books, usually in the self-help and erotica sections. Think "You're going to HELL!"-themed pamphlets. I never saw any customer drop to their knees and repent their lustful ways after finding one of them in a 1001 Sex Positions manual, so I'm guessing this was not a very successful way to save souls.

[meda]

This afternoon I took my hugely pregnant self into Target to grab some last minute baby related things. I was wearing a grey business suit and maternity shell, and no wedding ring because it no longer fits. I ended up in line behind a long haired, sneakered, denim skirted woman with 4 kids under the age of 7 and a squirmy baby. I am assuming she is a member of our one IFB church, since she was wearing the uniform. She spent the bulk of her time giving me dirty looks as I smiled at her silent kids and tried hard to look like an extra slutty career woman who would be putting kid in daycare immediately after the cord was cut.

[lizziesmom]

Guys, help, how do I tell a friend that her liking and sharing all the Debi Pearl facebook pages is making me ill? I'd just unfriend her but she's an actual RL friend who I *will* have to continue interacting with even if I unfriend her (we're members of the same dog club)

Why don't you just block her settings so you don't have to see it? I am addicted to several games on facebook and have 'friends' from all over with differing political and religious beliefs who I game with. During the election I was getting almost physically ill from the daily hate being spewed by some of them. So, I just blocked everything from them except gaming stuff. Worked like a charm.

[fatcat]

There are very few fundies here in Wales, I think. There is a Baptist (IFB) church near where I live, though. I sometimes jog past there on Sunday mornings and see the people come out. They are mostly over the age of 60, if not 70. The older women all wear long skirts, and the men (all ages) are in suits, but some of the young women wear some very defrauding clothing! From what I can tell, they seem like really nice people, to be honest, but of course they have beliefs I consider problematic.

When I lived in Switzerland I knew a few fundie-lite types who were in school with me, but they hardly ever talked about. It is generally considered impolite to talk about religion too much there, and people really don't like or understand extreme religious views. It almost made me feel sorry for them, actually. But of course the American fundies we talk about here are very different - definitely not shy about airing their beliefs!

I can't remember looking at someone and thinking 'this person is a fundie' anytime in the past few years.

[Smoochie]

I was in VA Beach the week before Memorial day weekend and there were 3 Mennonite (I presume) girls, in their colourful cotton dresses and white bonnets. I'm presuming they're from a more liberal sect as to my surprise they dropped their dresses & bonnets and underneath, one had on a tank bathing suit, one a tankini and the 3rd a dark tank top and shorts. They stayed on the beach all day in their suits, etc. and then about 5:00 put their dresses and bonnets back on and walked down the boardwalk. I got distracted as I was curious as to where they were staying, but by the time I was out of the water and even close enough to leave the beach, they were long gone.

I took a few pictures of them in their dresses, from my balcony before I hit the beach, because it was such a juxtaposition before they dropped their dresses. Bikini's, bare chested boys & men and the 3 of them.

[Mudball]

Yesterday my husband, daughter and I went to a really big homeschooling curriculum and book sale at a Christian school. My husband has tattoos, my 9yo has dyed streaks in her hair and was wearing a monster high t-shirt with a glittery skull on it and an above the knee skirt. My husband and I were dressed down in jeans and t-shirts. Before we left I didn't think anything about this.

So, we got to the school and it was a sea of women and girls wearing long skirts and their hair in buns. The few men there were dressed in khakis and tucked in polo shirts with belts. The man at the door taking our money was extremely frosty, humorless, almost glaring at us. Many of the people there were. My daughter was very uncomfortable because so many children there were outright staring at her. It was so bizarre! We were treated really rudely, not by everyone but by enough people that all three of us noticed it.

There were some really crazy "dinosaurs on the ark" school books for sale, too. :roll:

[Ralar]

Yesterday my husband, daughter and I went to a really big homeschooling curriculum and book sale at a Christian school. My husband has tattoos, my 9yo has dyed streaks in her hair and was wearing a monster high t-shirt with a glittery skull on it and an above the knee skirt. My husband and I were dressed down in jeans and t-shirts. Before we left I didn't think anything about this.

So, we got to the school and it was a sea of women and girls wearing long skirts and their hair in buns. The few men there were dressed in khakis and tucked in polo shirts with belts. The man at the door taking our money was extremely frosty, humorless, almost glaring at us. Many of the people there were. My daughter was very uncomfortable because so many children there were outright staring at her. It was so bizarre! We were treated really rudely, not by everyone but by enough people that all three of us noticed it.

There were some really crazy "dinosaurs on the ark" school books for sale, too. :roll:

Well, what would you heathens, in a sea of righteous, expect? :lol:

[Fundylicious]

Mud ball, my girls and I went to a used curriculum sale last week and my older daughter (14) was very u comfortable in her tank top and shorts! She said she got dirty looks. Everyone else was in floor length skirts, and I ought to have noticed the sale was sponsored by a group that is Fundy catholic (pre Vatican 2 types) so obviously, nothing to buy!

In other news, I can't start threads (I had an account, email got hacked, now back but I mostly read so I wouldn't have enough posts for years) so I am asking here. I did a few searches, but didn't see any threads discussing the Twelve Tribes community on here. They have been on my radar for years as an old friend joined and disappeared with her 6 kids. Not like killed disappeared, but no contact with anyone outside the group for years disappeared. There website is easy to find, don't want to link, but the practice communal living, patriarchal type religion, run delis and coffee shops. There are anti- tribes websites out there, too. they have been around a long time. If anyone can find a post on this group I will move this there, maybe my search skills suck.

I am having a sabbatical from home schoolin' and child trainin' next month when my headship takes the kids to visit relatives and I get blessed time alone. My goal is to go visit the 12 tribes community a few hours from me, and the Vision Forum Gettysburg reenactment toolery. My older daughter is very interested in communal living, so if the farm is not too weird, I may take her out there sometime, they allow visitors to share a meal and prayer and see what they are about. I figure they fit the Fundy profile (some consider them a cult) for free ginger purposes.

[yetanothermeg]

Funylicious,

So jealous of your impending road trippin / fundie sighting! I used to live in the Midwest and one of the things I miss is being within a couple hours drive of Amish and Mennonite communities. When my husband would go on a business trip I would go out to those areas and spend the day driving around and hitting up stores. I used to call it going on Amish Safari because I would drive around in my car, squealing, "oh look, there's one!" (God, when I read that it sounds horrible and "othering", but I called it a safari to describe my excitement at sighting people, not to imply they are less than human). I got even more excited if I had the opportunity to chat in a store with a Mennonite or headcovering Brethren lady. I Aw, those were the days. Anyway, now I live somewhere pretty liberal, BUT there is a 12 Tribes cafe maybe an hour away and last time my husband went out of town I thought, gee, I should take a trip down there for lunch, but I couldn't motivate. Can't wait to hear about your experience.

[salsa]

The funniest part of it to me was that as soon as they left the lady cleaning the dining area picked it up and threw it away without looking at it. I had a bit of a giggle over that. But yes, I also hate those things. Yesterday I had one of those church trifolds put on my mailbox.

I'm currently a cashier in a small, independent health food grocery store. The overall atmosphere is "new-agey" (not capitalized because I'm using the term *very* broadly). Pagans, Wiccans, and folks with an appreciation of Hinduism will find books, gifts, and CD's. It would be easy for more hard-core Christians to presume we were a bunch of heathens. We *are* very hippie-oriented, though hippie does not equal heathen. When Christians, including JW's, have passed me tracts, it's always been in a nice way.

The same was true when I waited tables; there was a reasonable tip with the tract.

I know some think that any proselytizing or tract-passing is - what's the word? not abusive, though a woman I know thinks that - but "in your face" or something - yet, I can honor a person's motivation to do their part to prevent me from eternal hellfire in that way. No one - yes, no one (at least while I have been in a service position) stiffed me or gave me a speech about getting saved. The tracts I've been passed have been the $1,000,000 bill (customer said, "thanks a million. I want to give you this" and it was with a smile and kindness) and versions of "God loves you." I don't have a problem with someone doing what they believe is their religious duty.

If I got a tract instead of a tip, I'd be pissed. That's never happened to me.

As a pedestrian on the street? Yes! I was hollered at because I wore slacks. I was handed a tract about the four-part plan to salvation.

I know there are jerks out there who will stiff a server and give a tract instead. I just wanted to chime in and say that this is not universal.

* and, incidentally, if evangelism were a motivator for other religions, I would not take offense at their passing tracts, either.*

[mercury-and-rain]

... I was handed a tract about the four-part plan to salvation...

You mean to tell me that someone bastardized the gospel of Calvin Jesus Christ by giving you a four-fold explanation of salvation instead of the five-fold TULIP? :pink-shock: Those ruffians must have been John Piper adherents. :snooty:

[djibouti]

Yesterday I was running some errands and spotted a family that definitely seemed fundie to me. It was a mom and three teenage/young adult looking daughters. The mom was wearing a floor length skirt that reminded me of the curtains my parents had in their house in the 70's, and a polo over a long sleeve shirt (it was 82 out), two of the daughters had long denim skirts and long sleeve striped shirts that looked several sizes too big, but strangely the other duaghter was wearing a skirt that hit below the knee and a short sleeve top. Not sure if she was rebelling or if everyone else was just cold...

[tuckerphez]

I got this brochure in the mail today about lectures saying that "archaeological data brings bible stories to life" and it calls Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and Turkey "Bible lands".

The dates are June 26-29 and admission is free. I'll be out of town then, but it's in western long island if anyone wants to go.

[EmiGirl]

An ex-boyfriend/ facebook friend of mine just asked for ideas for Jesus themed birthday party ideas for his daughter. Because that's exactly the kind of theme every little girl wants. :angry-banghead:

[ILoveJellybeans]

Arent you so glad you dodged that bullet?

[GenerationCedarchip]

Mud ball, my girls and I went to a used curriculum sale last week and my older daughter (14) was very u comfortable in her tank top and shorts! She said she got dirty looks. Everyone else was in floor length skirts, and I ought to have noticed the sale was sponsored by a group that is Fundy catholic (pre Vatican 2 types) so obviously, nothing to buy!

In other news, I can't start threads (I had an account, email got hacked, now back but I mostly read so I wouldn't have enough posts for years) so I am asking here. I did a few searches, but didn't see any threads discussing the Twelve Tribes community on here. They have been on my radar for years as an old friend joined and disappeared with her 6 kids. Not like killed disappeared, but no contact with anyone outside the group for years disappeared. There website is easy to find, don't want to link, but the practice communal living, patriarchal type religion, run delis and coffee shops. There are anti- tribes websites out there, too. they have been around a long time. If anyone can find a post on this group I will move this there, maybe my search skills suck.

I am having a sabbatical from home schoolin' and child trainin' next month when my headship takes the kids to visit relatives and I get blessed time alone. My goal is to go visit the 12 tribes community a few hours from me, and the Vision Forum Gettysburg reenactment toolery. My older daughter is very interested in communal living, so if the farm is not too weird, I may take her out there sometime, they allow visitors to share a meal and prayer and see what they are about. I figure they fit the Fundy profile (some consider them a cult) for free ginger purposes.

Oh, I can't wait to see the report on your upcoming sighting! I hope you get pictures.

[EmiGirl]

Arent you so glad you dodged that bullet?

I didn't end up with much better. lol

[fauxmenno]

A few weeks ago I was driving through TN on a Sunday after house hunting in GA, and stopped at a Cracker Barrel for lunch. BIG mistake. It was apparently the after-church rush and the whole restaurant was packed with fundie type families. Girls and women in long frumpers and skirts with the typical tank top over a t-shirt look.

[thetabmeister]

I haven't had any fundie encounters in a while...of course I do see fundylite types everywhere where I live, but don't have any interaction. But today a fundy friend from my dark fundy past (who I added on FB for some reason) commented on my status (where I joked that I don't understand the show Teletubbies) that each on e of the symbols stands for a witch craft devil. I had never heard that before. Unfortunately, if this is true, I now understand the show even LESS. So thanks for nothing, fundy fb friend.

[Mudball]

I haven't had any fundie encounters in a while...of course I do see fundylite types everywhere where I live, but don't have any interaction. But today a fundy friend from my dark fundy past (who I added on FB for some reason) commented on my status (where I joked that I don't understand the show Teletubbies) that each on e of the symbols stands for a witch craft devil. I had never heard that before. Unfortunately, if this is true, I now understand the show even LESS. So thanks for nothing, fundy fb friend.

:lol:

I just got this image of a group of satan worshippers conjuring a demon and up pops Lala or Tinky Winky. :o

[Palimpsest]

:lol:

I just got this image of a group of satan worshippers conjuring a demon and up pops Lala or Tinky Winky. :o

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Which one of the boy teletubbies is it that carries a purse? Some Fundies think that he's an ebil gay.

Until this past weekend at the Maxwell conference I would have said there were no Fundies around here.

But if anyone from this neck of the woods is ever in Costco and sees a chubby woman in her late fifties dressed like a Fundie, with a bandana as a headcovering on really bad hairs days, and pushing a cart loaded with 2 or 3 massive bags of dog food . . . that is not a Fundie, its ME! Say Hi! :D

[boxerlover24]

Yes, it was part of their homeschooling curriculum to go to the airport in order to people watch and figure out why people's clothing was defrauding. We discussed it here viewtopic.php?f=8&t=2383

They must have had a ticket though? I mean you aren't really walking through the airport(at least at ohare) until after you pass security- especially at ohare- basically you have ticket counters and that is all before security. They would surely notice people loitering outside security.

I would bet they were on their honeymoon/freaked by all the heathens

[Jumperhop]

Today at Walmart I saw a bunch of sister wives getting in their polygamist size van. Living in Utah has its perks. One of them being spot the polygamist game I like to play. They were not wearing normal clothes like Cody's family does.

Jen

[Trynn]

They must have had a ticket though? I mean you aren't really walking through the airport(at least at ohare) until after you pass security- especially at ohare- basically you have ticket counters and that is all before security. They would surely notice people loitering outside security.

I would bet they were on their honeymoon/freaked by all the heathens

It might've been before 9/11. I was 12 when it happened, but even I can remember people who weren't flying being allowed to go past security with you. I also remember there being more things outside security. It sounds like at least some of the children would've been raised pre-9/11 and thus get away with it more easily?

Plus I guess it would depend which airport. The really small one near where my parents live has literally nothing, not even a bathroom, after security. The area before security is designed in such a way that you wouldn't really notice someone loitering, at least, not for a few hours. They'd think you were waiting for someone's plane to get in.

In the Detroit airport, however, There's really no good waiting area; you'd get noticed right quick.

So, I guess it depends...