Let's discuss fundamentalism in the UK!

[blessalessi]

Ishmael is still accepting love offerings to support his "ministry". Those 79p soundbites of misogyny just aren't as profitable as he hoped, apparently.

Not gonna nag him, but the Lord seems to be laying this particular song on my heart for him today

Spoiler

Don't be lazy, lazy, lazy! 

@kettlingur, you might want to minister to your unwashed friend with this? http://www.ishmael.org.uk/song/you-never-put-a-light-under-a-dirty-old-bucket/ 

I think I only turned Pentecostal for a while as an act of rebellion against the strict, Baptist bible chapel stuff of my youth. Amongst students though, it was considered acceptable practice to create irreverent additional verses for the more banal worship songs of the time.

For this one we added the final verse: "Lord you put a beer in my hand, and I'm gonna drink for you!"

 

[Palimpsest]

No need to post your friend's blog @Apricot.  I get the impression that there are quite a few scattered Fundies (skirts only, quiverfull, and home schooling) in the UK who get their support mostly from US Fundies.

I'm really not aware of any of the big parachurch groups like IBLP or the late lamented Vision Forum getting a strong foothold in the UK.  They do seem to be well established and growing in Australia, however.  I think the British are just a bit too cynical.  Of the Evangelical types, Billy Graham wasn't that successful.   I remember Arthur Blessit dragging his cross around the UK and being treated as a joke.  One of my room mates in University was a God Squadder converted by Pat Boone, though.  We were quite good friends although I refused to come to her Bible Study groups.  She became a Methodist missionary.

The Hodnett Family seems to have taken down their mission to Glasgow website.  Perhaps their leghumpers got tired of funding their long tourist trip to the UK.  For your viewing pleasure though:

And here's Grace Mally (Bright Lights) witnessing to heathens in the UK.

http://tomorrowsforefathers.com/gracenotes/?cat=26

[blessalessi]

@Palimpsest, wow, thank you for the Hodnetts!

I love to read all of the reasons that God is sending grown adults from one wealthy country to another, to live comfortably on "love offerings" for His name's sake. 

[caszandra]

We have an Elim Pentecostal church in my town, it doesn't look fundie on their website, no skirts only in the pictures. Will look a bit more into them as I haven't really taken much notice of them before.

As to the Hodnett family, glad to know that everyone I know is going to hell when they die. Strange thing is the schools are either RC which has a priest attached and they go to chapel or non-dom schools have a chaplain from the Church of Scotland do school assemblies and go to church for services like Christmas and Easter, I would say most people do know Jesus, just not the right Jesus according to these people.

I knew a woman who was a 7th day Adventist, skirt only, no Halloween  who on learning I didn't go to church decided to try and get her pastor to come talk to me to save my family. When she saw my new charm bracelet she brought me a used charm with I believe in Jesus on it, it went in the bin lol.  I swiftly backed away from her and thankfully she moved her daughter to a different school so I didn't have to see her at the school gate anymore

[Palimpsest]

@caszandra The Hodnetts were glorious to snark on. Here are the Brinkleys in Perth who are boring in comparison. http://www.bbcperth.co.uk/  

@blessalessi I love the confused looks but determined politeness of the people Grace Mally confronted too.  Also to answer your question above - weddings and funerals only these days.  I've written about this before on FJ at length.  I'll see if I can find the post for you rather than write it out again.

[caszandra]

6 minutes ago, Palimpsest said:

The Hodnetts were glorious to snark on. Here are the Brinkleys in Perth who are boring in comparison. http://www.bbcperth.co.uk/  

Just had a quick look, to the Pastor who writes "I hope to hear from you soon, so that our paths may cross on your journey to truth." Um no thank you, will bookmark the page and read more later, thanks @Palimpsestfor the link.
 

[samurai_sarah]

There are a handful pentecostal churches in my city, in Scotland, but American- style fundies are either few, or keep it very quiet. Off the top of my head, the only Scottish fundie that I can think of is the Catholic fundie lady in Orkney. Here's the one she wrote for the BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/islandblogging/blogs/005391/

I can't recall what her other blog was called, but she stopped updating that quite a few years ago. That's the one, where she aired her hateful views.

 

[blessalessi]

1 hour ago, Palimpsest said:

I'm really not aware of any of the big parachurch groups like IBLP or the late lamented Vision Forum getting a strong foothold in the UK.  They do seem to be well established and growing in Australia, however.  I think the British are just a bit too cynical.  

There are organisations like the Evangelical Alliance that are much more mainstream than, say, the Christian Voice. The EA is the kind of charming organisation that refers to Marriage Equality law as "Legal Fiction". It has quite an influence over its member churches, but I think it is much harder here for those member churches to impact on their communities, as you say because of the low numbers vs the critical mass of cynicism.

In some ways, the EA is more progressive than its US counterparts, eg, you will find a condemnation of domestic abuse here, albeit discreetly hidden under the title How the Archers is serving the Gospel.  (So as not to upset anyone who enjoys being taught to Think by John Piper, I guess).  

I think, ultimately, any para-church organisation can only be as effective as its constituent members and this article nicely sums up the UK evangelical Christianity that I grew up with:How my car breaking down became the best day of my life. 

The tl:dr version:

• Christian man-dude's car broke down, interrupting his charmed middle-class day.
• God used said event in mighty God-way, enabling Christian man-dude to have "good conversation" with Breakdown Recovery Car driver.
• Christian man-dude gave gift of his own book to Recovery Car driver, and met with no resistance from said driver, whose heart was softened and who shared that he had also had a long day and had two more jobs to complete after finally ejecting Christian man-dude from his vehicle.
• Mission accomplished. Jesus exalted. Christian man-dude felt "very very special".
• Best. Day. Ever.  

[brokenminded]

Not to out her or myself but I see the glasgow mental health team and years ago a lady who has now left the city was a person I saw regularly. Her husband was a pastor with Elim Pentecostal and she once told me, AT HER WORK, working in mental health in the UK, that it was wrong for me to be gay. I never did anything at the time but now years later wish I had made a formal complaint. She implied my fear that a car accident my mum and I were in was because I was gay was true. I hope she no longer works with vulnerable people and wish I had been well enough at the time to do something about her.

So IMO Elim is fundie-ish/lite 

[caszandra]

I am sorry that happened to you @brokenminded, I hope you were able to get the proper support you needed and you are well now.

I have just watched a Dispatches programme on you tube about Fundamentalist Christians in the UK. It is quite frightening how they were able to get into government and influence an amendment on abortion time limits in 2012. I had no idea that they wrote it and worked so closely with Nadine Dorries the MP who tabled the amendment in parliament. It also showed a school that is fundamentalist which teaches creationism and featured a science test which had the question 'How many days did it take God to make the world'. The more I watched the more I realised I have to learn about them.

Link to the Dispatches programme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gqhlRdOxJg&feature=youtu.be

 

[brokenminded]

I remember that dispatches if only because of the 'science' lesson.

I believe we have at least one fundamentalist creationism teaching school in Glasgow.

Other highlights for me have been the man who used to go to the city center with his poster about how the Titanic was predicted in the bible, wtf?

I also encountered a bunch of teens/early 20's dressed like anyone else their age would be who were trying to get people to go healing rooms to cure mental illness and cancer and probably everything in between.

There used to be a man who was outside marks and spencers every christmas yelling into a megaphone about why buying presents was wrong.

There are also a team of 'street pastors' who were featured on a tv show about one of the main streets in town, they go out Friday and Saturday nights and hand out bibles and flip flops to the homless and drunken people heading home from clubbing, I believe they were started by some Americans so possibly missionaries?  http://streetpastors.org/locations/glasgow/

[caszandra]

57 minutes ago, brokenminded said:

I believe we have at least one fundamentalist creationism teaching school in Glasgow.

I didn't know this, will need to look into it.

57 minutes ago, brokenminded said:

There used to be a man who was outside marks and spencers every christmas yelling into a megaphone about why buying presents was wrong.

I vaguely remember seeing him a few years ago. I live not far from Glasgow and don't go into the city centre that often. The shopping centre near me has a group of people who give out leaflets and have a big board with religious stuff on it, I usually give them a wide berth and ignore them which is why I'm not sure what the board really says.

[ladyaudley]

I remember that dispatches if only because of the 'science' lesson.

I believe we have at least one fundamentalist creationism teaching school in Glasgow.

do we??

I like the wildly bearded man in dungarees who hands out church flyers near Maryhill Lidl. He's a weird one.

[brokenminded]

Found it for you sunrisechristianschool.org.uk I am pretty sure they are creationist.

Never seen beardy man but have a friend who shops there so may ask her.

There's always the JW who are at central station, but they just stand there and only talk if you speak to them. During the commonwealth games they were not allowed in the city and they seemed to obey that rule. Whither it was because they would cause offence or just be in the way of huge numbers of people I don't know, but since I usually get off the bus right next to where they stand I was delighted to have a few weeks without them.

[caszandra]

17 hours ago, brokenminded said:

Found it for you sunrisechristianschool.org.uk I am pretty sure they are creationist.

Thanks for the link, I tried google but couldn't find it. Yep they are a creationist school, here is their curriculum page http://www.sunrisechristianschool.org.uk/about/prospectus/curriculum/.

 

[ladyaudley]

Huh, in knightswood! It must be pretty small.

There are always JWs outside maryhill tesco, too - next to the socialist party ^^ and I see quite a lot of Mormon missionaries about town.

Eta: "All pupils will hear the Gospel regularly, study the Word of God, memorise Scripture and catechism, and be disciplined according to the Word of God." Spanking alert!

[sawasdee]

Is anyone old enough to remember the guy with a sandwich board who walked up and down Oxford St. in London for decades - according to him, the end was nigh, but being delayed  by eating beans and lentils, amongst other things?  And animal protein promoted evil lust? He was - unique.

[brokenminded]

2 hours ago, ladyaudley said:

Huh, in knightswood! It must be pretty small.

 

There are always JWs outside maryhill tesco, too - next to the socialist party ^^ and I see quite a lot of Mormon missionaries about town.

Eta: "All pupils will hear the Gospel regularly, study the Word of God, memorise Scripture and catechism, and be disciplined according to the Word of God." Spanking alert!

It must be close to me I'm practically in Knightswood. 

I assume they can't spank in the school due to the law, but it is a very creepy choice of wording. I bet they encourage parents to smack their kids.

I went to college with a girl who was mormon, she was very personable, I'm not sure nice is the right word because I'm sure she was looking to convert people, she got a boy at college to convert anyway. We had to do video projects in groups and I had to go and help film her's at the mormon church, I think I was there about 5 times. Saw a baptism and several services, it wasn't as bad as I was worried it might be but damn did every last person I met want me to go to dinner or come back. I was like no thanks. I always give them a wide berth when I see them in town or if they come to the door, which they still do around me.

[Naga Viper]

2 hours ago, sawasdee said:

Is anyone old enough to remember the guy with a sandwich board who walked up and down Oxford St. in London for decades - according to him, the end was nigh, but being delayed  by eating beans and lentils, amongst other things?  And animal protein promoted evil lust? He was - unique.

There must be a post title in "Fending Off the Apocalypse with Flatulence" or something similar.

[docmom]

On ‎4‎/‎11‎/‎2016 at 0:54 PM, ladyaudley said:

Huh, in knightswood! It must be pretty small.

From what I can tell from the website it's around 10 kids.

[Palimpsest]

On 4/11/2016 at 0:59 PM, sawasdee said:

Is anyone old enough to remember the guy with a sandwich board who walked up and down Oxford St. in London for decades - according to him, the end was nigh, but being delayed  by eating beans and lentils, amongst other things?  And animal protein promoted evil lust? He was - unique.

Of course!  Stanley Green, the protein man.

[sawasdee]

10 minutes ago, Palimpsest said:

Of course!  Stanley Green, the protein man.

YES!!!!!! Thank you! He was such a fixture on Oxford St for so many years.....I'm so glad someone other than me remembers him

[Palimpsest]

I remember the first time I went to Oxford Street after he died - early nineties?  

I felt awful when I didn't see him - it was the passing of an era.

[kunoichi66]

Does anybody remember the weird preacher guy who used to stand and preach near St Enoch's Centre subway?

 

He called everybody 'my brothers' and talked about the Endtimes a lot, but I haven't seen him on my last few trips into Glasgow.

[caszandra]

http://metro.co.uk/2016/05/03/these-american-teens-are-coming-to-help-glasgow-and-scotland-isnt-happy-5857443/

Two Christian teenagers from Hope Scouts want to come and "save" Glasgow from its self, apparently Glasgow is a city of industrial wasteland don't ya know. They want to spend two weeks cleaning up, help with a reconstruction project and share a message of hope and enthusiasm (code for the Gospel?) with local youths, they seem to think this will turn the 'situation' around *snort*. Good luck with that, they will be laughed right out of town (or worse) if they start that shite.