Fun fundie finds in Boston

[clibbyjo]

Ok, we just got to Boston this afternoon and spent a few hours walking around. EXCITING things I hope are back tomorrow so I can take pics.

In Boston Common area, a table of young men in suits giving out "free stress tests" with a fancy machine. There just happens to be piles of the Dianetic's books!!!! Scientologists in person! ACK! I wasn't prepared, I should have forced DH to do it!!

Close to this little set up, a BIG tent that said REVIVAL,Praise Jesus Here etc... I was hoping that would be going on tomorrow duing the day, as maybe we missed it today? Or, it was Pride here last week so maybe it was set up for that?

Anyway, we saw fundie teen sprinting around the restop and my daughter said "mom, mom, a van of Christians! She is turning into me.

I am more excited to find the fundies in Boston than anything else so far.( we tagged around on DH's work trip) Tomorrow we are doing the Freedom Trail and its schooly so I am hoping for some Christian homschoolers along the way. Its freaking freezing here and I WILL be wearing a floor length skirt and a hat so I will fit right in.

[Lillybee]

Don't believe what Sarah Palin said about Paul Revere. lol

[treemom]

We were once in Dallas and went to a mall to see a movie. In the mall was a Scientology/dianetics kiosk. It amused me.

[VodouDoll]

I've lived in Boston for eight years, and besides that revival tent that shows up on the Common sometimes and the occasional brimstone street preacher in Harvard Square, I don't think I've ever seen fundies in the wild. I once went googling for a fundie church in the city that I could visit, just out of curiosity, and the closest one was way out in Quincy.

[Aristeia]

Anyway, we saw fundie teen sprinting around the restop and my daughter said "mom, mom, a van of Christians! She is turning into me.

LMAO.

I walk past a little Scientologist building all the time in Toronto. They gave me a few free tickets to see one of their movies and I can take a friend. :D

Good luck on your fundie hunt and have fun in Boston! (I love Boston. Wonderful city.) I've had more encounters with "fundieland" in Western Massachusetts. No frumpers, but anti-choice billboards and Bible bumper stickers for all!

[Swamptribe]

Did you ask to see the FDA warning on the e-meter?

[Cassandra]

I love how the scientologists lure you in with a 'stress test' and don't actually use the word scientology. That's not a sign of a cult or anything.

I ran across a stand at our state fair last summer and got really excited and said way too loudly "Ew! Scientologists!". I definitely got a dirty look after that.

[OnceModestTwiceShy]

No way! I've lived in the Boston area for most of my life, and I've never seen fundies in the Common! Clibbyjo, I think you might have picked up fundie-attracting vibes from the Maxwells. ;)

[PBrooke]

I admit, Boston would be the place I would least expect to see fundies. Hippies, sure...

[SweetTexasCrude]

There isn't a lot of fundie activity in New England, so enjoy what you can get! Occasionally Mennonites from Central Mass. will set up in Harvard Square, singing hymns and handing out tracts. I had a very nice conversation with a girl who was about by age (early 20s) who had been married at 17 and had 4 kids already.

[Kelya]

No way! I've lived in the Boston area for most of my life, and I've never seen fundies in the Common! Clibbyjo, I think you might have picked up fundie-attracting vibes from the Maxwells. ;)

I don't know, I lived there for 21 years (i.e my entire life, I just moved to the West Coast of the US) and I saw quite a few. The history of religious freedom/people fleeing from England's persecution makes for some good rhetoric. There are a few VF churches in Weymouth and the North Shore, and there's a lot of Church of Christ people and then bunches of nondenominational charismatics right in town. I saw an actual baptism take place on the Common and one group was there pretty frequently two or three years ago. There was also a really awesome/terrible mini parade of anti gay toads who would march up and down the common a lot...haven't see them in like three months though.

Ironically when I went to the Dyke March last year there was only a few people there to protest, and only one man holding a sign. I didn't go to Pride proper (yum commercialism), but a rally for Title X a few months ago made all the fundies crawl out of the woodwork...you had your few non religious looking anti women people, and then hordes of jesus people who ran the gamut from otherwise normal looking but wearing jesus paraphernallia to modest modern to headcoverings and all skin but face and hands covered.

If you ever want a liberal religious experience, go to Dignity/Boston...its a gay catholic organization and it ROCKS. The day I went they had a gay male mormon and a catholic lesbian giving the sermon!

ETA: I think my definition of fundies may be looser than a lot of people's, which is probably why I see them more! When I lived in Western Mass there were more extremely obvious fundies, like my library encounter I related here once.

[Erinf]

I live in Quincy, but I go into the city all the time. Lately, at least once a week, I've been seeing these two guys standing on my street holding these big signs saying that you'll go to hell if you don't believe in God. They seem to be recruiting for this Baptist church in the area. Sometimes the lead guy uses a bullhorn. There's also this guy that I've seen EVERYWHERE who holds this crazy sign about hell. He goes to the train stations, the Common, the theater district, parades. I think he goes wherever there's a crowd.

A couple years ago, I was at a bookstore and I saw a group of teenage girls who looked sort of fundie. They all had really long hair and were dressed alike in skirts and dresses. I got kind of excited because I thought they were the Duggars. :lol: