posted on February 22, 2007 08:55:35 PM
It was a simple case of Conservative Baptists (that's the denomination) KNOWING that theirs was the true word of God and they were interpreting the Bible EXACTLY the right way. Our church even condemned Southern Baptists because they smoke, and Northern Baptists because they were misinterpreting the Bible, etc. etc. Not to speak of the Methodists, who sprinkle instead of immerse (tsk tsk), Presbyterians who were a bit lax about the 7 days of creation, Lutherans and Episcopalians who were just one step from the Papish Roman Catholics who we KNEW were all going to hell. What a way to live, huh.
_____________________
People who want to share their religious views with you almost
never want you to share yours with them.
posted on February 23, 2007 09:37:24 PM
Usually people who've been brainwashed never really get over it. How come you turned out so level-headed, Roadsmith?
posted on February 23, 2007 11:04:22 PM
Well. . . I was a smart girl and a bit rebellious in my own little Baptist way and was fortunate to go to a Protestant college that helped me in many ways. It was quite liberating for me; imagine, not HAVING to go to church on Sundays! I've just grown in my thinking and understanding with each decade that I've lived.
We don't attend church now, haven't for at least 20 years.
Someday I'm going to write a book; I don't think there's been one yet on growing up as a preacher's kid mid-century in a conservative Protestant church. I've seen just about everything in those years, including traveling evangelists who complain if the offering isn't up to their standards.
_____________________
People who want to share their religious views with you almost
never want you to share yours with them.
posted on February 28, 2007 09:17:37 PM
Obviously you're a leader and not a follower. I think writing a book is a terrific idea. There are so MANY people out there who are confused about religion, as you can see at the RT.
posted on February 28, 2007 09:40:29 PM
Kraft: I've been a leader since I was a little girl; this isn't bragging, because often it's a burden!
I've been a newspaper reporter, a newsletter writer, an English teacher--but I have writer's block--probably because I'm afraid what I write won't be perfect. I'd like to get over that.
Last fall I attended a small reunion of friends from our youth group at my dad's Phoenix church. Since I was the preacher's kid, I felt sort of on the spot; we were a diverse group, 2 gay men, 2 divorced women, several who don't attend church any longer, and two genuine Bible-thumpers (a couple), 10 in all. Those who came to the church as teenagers, escaping from awful home situations, saw the church as a haven; those of us who grew up in it saw it as a prison. We all agreed that we were survivors, but not without peripheral damage!
I was telling a writer friend about the reunion, and she said immediately that I should write a book about growing up in that atmosphere and have Chapter One be a description of the reunion weekend before swinging into the history. Wish I had the nerve to start!
_____________________
People who want to share their religious views with you almost
never want you to share yours with them.
posted on March 1, 2007 03:58:19 AM
Roadsmith: I come from a long line of Texas Baptist ministers and missionaries. Had a completely different experience. More George Truett, less Elmer Gantry.
There is something to be said for soul competency and priesthood of the believer. I enjoy my church family but know some PK's that had REALLY bad experiences.
posted on March 1, 2007 09:19:45 AM
Beth: It's great that you had a different experience. So did my husband, whose father was a Presbyterian minister. They actually had a family life of their own, went to the beach !!! on Sunday afternoons, had birthday parties. We didn't.
On the other hand, the pluses are there, too. There was a whole church family watching out for us("it takes a village. . . ", and we were immersed, several services a week, in that beautiful King James version of the Bible. We're able to use the language well because we listened to the cadence of those words being read and quoted. We learned to sightread music, through the hymns. We learned to be quiet when in an audience (a lost art these days!).
The main thing that underlay everything, though, was how very right we were and how very wrong every other sub-sub-denomination was. It was a judgmental existence.
_____________________
People who want to share their religious views with you almost
never want you to share yours with them.
posted on March 1, 2007 12:17:17 PM
Amen to that!
Reminds of the old Baptist joke, where a new soul is being shown around Heaven. They come to a high wall and ask what's behind there? The angel answers: Those are the Baptists, they think they are the only ones here.
Beth
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posted on March 1, 2007 12:52:32 PM
Beth: Yup, and we used to tell that joke about Catholics, Mormons, Episcopalians, even those bad bad Methodists. When we lived in Utah for 21 years, we outsiders ("gentiles" had lots of Mormon jokes and the best were the BYU jokes, which all were variations of the jokes Minnesotans tell about Iowans and vice versa. "Why does the BYU playing field have artificial grass? To keep the cheerleaders from grazing." "What's a Mormon girl's favorite after dinner wine? WHEN are we going to get MARRIED?" (Wine=whine, get it?) "Why do you bring two Mormons with you on your fishing trip? Just one along would drink all your beer."
If there is a God, and I believe there is, he/she must be shaking his head over the silliness on this earth in His name. The wars, the violence, the bigotry.
_____________________
People who want to share their religious views with you almost
never want you to share yours with them.
, and we were immersed, several services a week, in that beautiful King James version of the Bible. We're able to use the language well because we listened to the cadence of those words being read and quoted. We learned to sightread music, through the hymns. We learned to be quiet when in an audience (a lost art these days!).