Fundy educations

"This was a world far removed from the mild Methodist devotion of my infant baptism, but I conformed to it quickly." This quote couldn't be more true for me, but they are the words of Christine Rosen, author of My Fundamentalist Education: A Memoir of a Divine Girlhood.

The difference between Rosen's indoctrination and mine is that I embraced fundamentalism at age 18 when I went away to college rather than when I was in Kindergarten. The reason I chose a fundamentalist college was because I wanted to know God and to escape the demons that I knew from life to that point, and I figured that going someplace with strict rules and lifestyle standards would beat the Hell right out of me. Of course, I learned that while fundies place a lot of emphasis on outward appearance, they also have a mostly accurate view of scripture. And it's from within scripture that I learned that only faith in Christ would draw me closer to God, not rules.

Perhaps being an adult when I embraced fundamentalism made it easier to turn away from it while still in college (philosophically anyway). In any case, I learned that fundamentalism isn't God, and I never left my faith in Christ. Unfortunately, many people equate the two and wind up throwing the whole kit and kaboodle on the same trash heap.

I recognized many of the situations Rosen writes about. Certain aspects of fundamentalism are the same regardless of age:

• The Bible is to be taken literally in every instance, except when it mentions wine, in which case it really means "grape juice."
  
• Your outward appearance can and will either draw others to Christ, or cause them to turn away, so don't cuss, smoke, drink, or chew, or go with girls that do.
  
• No dancing. Ever. This is a non-negotiable. I learned that this was because it would lead to "other things" (wink, wink, nudge, nudge). I figured that logic would dictate that that dancing was perfectly acceptable after marriage, since the "other things" were not only acceptable, but encouraged. I was wrong. Dancing is still bad.

There are others, but those are my favorites. The aspects of the fundy culture I had never experienced myself I knew of vicariously thanks to my lovely fundy-trained wife, who grew up going to fundy schools all the way through high school. More than once while reading this book I burst out in laughter saying, "did you guys do that?" Her hollow stare back said it all.

That's not to say that I dislike fundamentalists. I am related to fundamentalists that I love. I was taught the Bible and other subjects by fundamentalists. I learned what it was to grow in Christ because of that teaching.

What I reject, and what I never fully embraced, is the "circle the wagons" mentality that permeates the fundy culture. I always felt that insulating themselves (indeed, often throwing up barriers) from the rest of the world keeps people at arm's length and usually pushes people away from the very gospel they are trying to share. I offended friends and relatives by dispensing my moral rectitude upon all that would listen in an effort to see them come to Christ. Some of those relationships are still broken.

Rosen's portrait is free from animosity and often humorous. She supplies a "where are they now" chapter at the end where she offers fond updates on her friends and teachers that are featured in the book, and tells a little of her now fully secular life. Still, she makes it clear that she respects and even appreciates the education she received as a child and credits fundamentalism with her forays into intellectual pursuits later in life. It makes me sad, however, whenever I hear or read about someone turning from their faith; whether because they just decide they don't believe it, or because of the extremes they have experienced at the hands of well-intentioned people.

Christmas CD rotation

The leftover turkey and stuffing have been packed away in the refrigerator after another excellent Thanksgiving, which marks the beginning of the second most wonderful time of the year: Christmas. (Yes, I think Thanksgiving is better. But that's for another post.)

In the spirit of the season, I present to you, the discerning reader, a list of my favorite Christmas albums:


Various Artists: Happy Christmas, Volume 2
This is a surprise addition to this year's Christmas rotation. I purchased it last year at the 90% off sale at a Family Christian Store that was moving to a new location. I think I paid 47 cents, but it was a well spent 47 cents. The cover art evokes that of Larry Norman's seminal "Upon this Rock", only it features Santa Claus flying through the air instead of Mr. Norman. The standout track from this collection is Sixpence None the Richer's version of "You're A Mean One Mr. Grintch" followed closely by All Star United's "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday". I could do without the opening MxPx track, since it sounds just like everything else they have ever recorded, but most of the rest of the album is worth a listen. I don't recommend paying full price, but for 47 cents this diamond in the rough is good enough for anyone's Christmas rotation.


Bing Crosby: White Christmas
I purchased this album during one of my many and frequent memberships in the Columbia House Record and Tape Club. I'm not into the crooners like my brother, Ensign Genius, but this album was almost enough to convert me. What is most impressive about this collection is the songs that are featured. Besides the Bing Crosby standard "White Christmas", consider "Faith of Our Fathers"--a song rarely heard in church anymore, much less on a Christmas album. And this was a pop record! Nowadays even Christian singers seem more comfortable singing the "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" styled songs. Unfortunately, my copy was stolen along with the rest of the contents of a bag that my wife left lying on a sidewalk outside our home in Springfield, OH. Considering we lived in a crack neighborhood, this is understandable, but it's funny to think of the thieves getting that excited about finding this inside.


Various Artists: Christmas
This takes me back to my freshman year of college. The gentlemen with whom I roomed in Dorm 10 at Liberty University and I strung up Christmas lights and enjoyed canned egg nog as we played this album over and over. Notable mostly because of Steve Taylor's mariachi-inspired "Winter Wonderland", this album can be found in the discount bins of Christmas music at most Christian retailers.


Nat King Cole: The Christmas Song
My dad passed his love of music on to me. One of the best things about his record collection was the fact that it was so eclectic. The Christmas music he owned, though, was fairly selective. This is one of those gems. I can't think of a guy with a smoother voice than the late Mr. Cole, and the orchestration arranged by Ralph Carmichael is perfect. The music dances, capturing the grandeur and joy that Christmas represents. From the opening strains of the familiar "Christmas Song" (Chestnuts roasting on an open fire...) to the beautiful "Silent Night", this album will remain in the canon of classic Christmas albums for a very long time to come.


John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together
I hear you tittering out there, but this is my favorite Christmas album of all time. No joke. Like many people my age, I grew up in a home where John Denver was played constantly and my parents went to see his shows every year at Wolf Trap. As a result, anytime he was on TV we watched him. One year, he was in this Christmas special with the Muppets, and this album is the music from the special. I remember the Christmas morning sometime after that (I think it was 1981 or 1982) when my mom opened this record and she played it all day. And then, every year after that, we played it all season. It was the tree-decorating music. About 7 or 8 years ago, my mom purchased a copy of the CD for me and each of my siblings, and it's now a staple in my house for the season. Yes, it's corny and childish, but it also contains some of the most beautiful original Christmas compositions ever written by a contemporary artist. And besides, isn't Christmas supposed to be a little childish and fun?

The reason for the season?

If this story offends you because you feel that the Marine Corps or Toys for Tots is somehow discriminating against Christians, you aren’t looking at it properly. Shouldn’t we rather be asking whether it’s appropriate to market an action figure modeled after the Holy Son of God?

Then again, it does have that cool kung fu action grip…

The power of black

I thought the video for Johnny Cash's "God's Gonna Cut You Down" could be interesting with the all-star cast of Kris Kristofferson, Bono, Dennis Hopper, Chris Rock, Kanye West, Iggy Pop, and others, but I had no idea how powerful it could be. See for yourself...

One more sign of the apocalypse

My brother-in-law is a fan of Billy Idol. Yes, that Billy Idol. When I first met him about 3 years ago, I thought this was a little peculiar. No, not because I didn't enjoy some Idol's songs--I mean, what's not to love about such toe-tappers as "White Wedding", "Rebel Yell", "Cradle of Love", and my personal favorite, "Dancing with Myself". What makes that last one so great is the fade out, where Billy starts chanting "Sweat! Sweat! Sweat!" Ah yes, what a wordsmith.

So, like I was saying, my brother-in-law is a big fan. By big fan, I don't mean that he will pause when scanning the radio for a good tune and finds out it's 80s weekend on the top 40 station. By fan I mean that he owns all the albums. I don't think he has any posters or tour shirts, but I wouldn't put it past him. I only ever knew one other person ever that was that big a fan, and that person was a girl...back in 10th grade. So, now I know two.

So, I'm chatting with my sister, who found my brother-in-law irresistable despite this strange obsession with Mr. Idol. Don't get me wrong, I think she picked herself a mighty swell guy. He's a good American and one that I quite like having as part of our family. Anyway, she and I were talking about my kids, and I told her how after recently scanning the radio for a good tune, I found that the 80s station was playing a Billy Idol song. As a bonus, it just happened to be my favorite Idol tune, "Dancing with Myself". I told my beloved sister how much I enjoyed laughing with my kids about the way he started the "Sweat" portion of the song. Good times.

Thanks to the miracle of modern technology, we were both able to surf the Internet as we talked, and we both ended up on Idol's site. And what is Mr. Idol up to these days? Why, doing what all former punk rockers do...recording a holiday album!

Yes, that's right kids, Billy Idol is now in his 50s and has mellowed a bit. He's at that age where he's ready to be the modern equivalent to Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, and David Bowie...well, he only did that one thing with Bing, but we'll leave him on the list anyway.

Wanna judge for yourself? Ladies and gentlemen, I present you with White Christmas! If that's too much, start with Jingle Bell Rock. Be prepared to start dancing with yourself.

As shocking as it was to discover this latest album, these selections aren't all that bad. I might purchase a copy after all.

Amish vs. lunkheads, part 2

Quick, what’s the first thing that comes to mind after reading the following paragraph?

A man breaks into your children’s school and shoots seven students, killing five. The man then takes his own life.

Now, what popped into your head? Anger? Revenge? Apparently, if you’re Amish, you think of forgiveness.

Did you do poorly with that last hypothetical situation? Don’t worry dear reader, here’s another chance. Remember, think of the first thing that pops into your head…and be honest:

There is an outpouring of support from all over the world. You receive large sums of money, gifts, and words of encouragement from people you’ve never met.

What came up this time? A gun? Disney World? Retirement?

How about setting up a fund for the murderer’s family? This article nearly brought me to tears. I wonder what the members of Westboro Baptist would have done with the money…

Will the real Christians please stand up?

The recent murders of Amish schoolchildren in Lancaster County, PA is a disgusting example of evil in action. As this community grieves the loss of five young girls in a senseless murder, the world is watching. A CNN article relays the story of a grieving grandfather standing by the body of his granddaughter in a casket and telling the family, "We must not think evil of this man." I can't help but notice the disbelief and respectful murmurings of the press as they watch the reaction of the Amish. I am in awe myself, especially when reading quotes like the following from this article:

Rita Rhoads is a midwife who was present at the births of two of the girls who were killed. "If you have Jesus in your heart and he has forgiven you, then how can you not forgive other people," Rhoads says.

Wow. In 450 years of Anabaptist history, pacifism and forgiveness are still on display for the world to see—and the world is noticing.

Now for some contrast, consider the freaks over at Westboro Baptist Church (WBC). These are the “God Hates Fags” folks that seem to believe that they will effectively share the good news of the gospel by picketing people and screaming God’s judgment upon all that would dare disagree with the leader of this cult, the “Reverend” Fred Phelps.

The newest outrage being perpetrated by this “We Wish We Were Waco” crowd is the picketing of funerals of fallen US soldiers (the announcements of which listed on their disgusting Web site under the incongruous title “Love Crusades”). They claim that they do this because the soldiers are fighting for a country that tolerates fornication and homosexuality, and therefore their deaths are God’s judgment against our nation. Well, that was the newest outrage, but they really outdid themselves when they announced that they were going to picket the funerals of the innocent young girls that were gunned down in the schoolhouse in PA.

If we are to believe the members of WBC, God caused this to happen in order to punish Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell because of his “blasphemous sins against WBC." What sin did he commit against this church? He denounced their practice of protesting those funerals. Now, if you’re anything like me, your nose is wrinkled up and you’re saying, “Errr?”

(The church called off this particular “Love Crusade” after they used it to blackmail someone for airtime in order to spew their skewed version of Christianity. Radio personality Mike Gallagher relented for the sake of the victims and their families.)

Westboro’s site is a piece of work, full of vitriol targeted not only towards homosexuals, but also anyone that would dare speak out against WBC. (Sorry, I refuse to link to it. If you want to see it, use Google. If you are at work, I would advise against it. You have been warned.) Perhaps this post can get me added to their list.

I agree that the Bible calls homosexuality and fornication sins...as well as greed, idolatry, gossip, etc. But the way to confront sin is not with anger, name-calling, and controversy. WBC seems woefully ignorant of scripture on this one. Jesus is the Author and Perfecter of our faith, the One Who came and lived with and loved the unlovable so that we could then know God, and He confronted sin often…but always with love. Jesus walked in a sinful world, and yet was not tainted by it. He went to men and women that were full of sin, and from them He built His church.

So, I was processing all of this, considering the way Christ is presented by both groups: One group forgiving a vile man for murdering their children and another threatening to picket the funerals of the victims in some misguided attempt denounce homosexuality. (I still don’t understand the reasoning, but I consider that a good thing.) One group is offering the world a picture of Christ that accepts all that turn to him in repentance and humility, and another that presents their agenda in Christ’s name. Both groups seem to have at least an understanding about how Christ offers us new lives, and yet only one group has found a way of expressing that idea without looking like complete nut jobs—aliens in the world, for sure, but only because of the extreme love they are willing to show one so undeserving.

For anyone out there that is looking at Phelps and his angry band of loudmouths as an example of Christianity, I think you should consider the alternative. If you see anything there worth emulating, consider the One that makes it possible.

Sunday night fellowship

I just returned home after visiting with the folks of The Journey Church, a start-up currently meeting in peoples' homes. The singing was amazing, Pastor Harold preached on servant-leadership, and Chris and Cindy supplied their beautiful home and plenty of goodies to eat. What a great group of people! We're looking forward to getting to know them better on Sunday nights.

Confessions of a recovering Baptist

I just received my September 2006 issue of Christianity Today. I was drawn to flip through the magazine as soon as I saw it because of the very cool "Jonathan Edwards is My Homeboy" t-shirt featured so prominently on the cover. What caught my eye while flipping through was a little more surprising (and amusing):
"Two Degrees of Separation
GARBC distances itself from college after Southern Baptist endorsement."

Now, for my friends that don't have the same fundamental independent Baptist church background that I do, "GARBC" stands for the "General Association of Regular Baptist Churches". This group is officially an association of churches and organizations (colleges, mission agencies, and social service ministries) that are held in confederation by a commitment to a common doctrinal statement. They like to stress the fact that they are NOT a denomination, and besides the fact that they have a titular head (called the "national representitive") and a college of cardinals (the portentously-named "Council of Eighteen"), they aren't really. Each church retains its autonomy, and as long as they stick to every jot and tittle of the doctrinal statement, they get to retain their association. Pastors are ordained through local churches, and the member bodies can leave the association at any time and without fear of losing property because it's owned by the church rather than the association (power that many of my friends in the PCUSA would love to have about now).

The GARBC was formed in the 1930s in response to the modernism that was creeping into the American Baptist church. Because any churches that left the denomination were forced to give up their property, GARBers have tenaciously guarded two points of doctrine that most churches don't think as much about: Autonomy of the local church and Separation.

I've already explained the reasoning for the autonomy issue, and this makes sense. Where things get a bit kooky is when it comes to separation. Separation is a scriptural principle of disassociating oneself from people that profess to be believers, but that adhere to a willful disobedience to God (1 Cor. 5:11) or apostasy (2 John 9-11). Disobedience to God is also known as "sin". Sin is easily identified since it's called out in scripture by name: sexual immorality, drunkeness, idolatry, etc. By willful, it means that even if a person is confronted about their behavior, they refuse to change.

Apostasy is basically denying one of the main tenets of the Christian faith. The strange thing is what qualifies as a main tenet: for example, the GARBC has an almost cultlike allegiance to dispensational premillennialism and to them, it DOES qualify as one of the essentials of the faith (to many anyway). The GARBC church I attended was once faced with a situation where a certain GARBC-affiliated mission board was separating from a missionary that we supported because, while holding to the requisite dispy theology, he was teaching folks to be pastors that didn't hold to dispy theology. Did you catch that? Even though the missionary held to the proper theology, and even though he taught from that perspective, because some of his students at the seminary where he taught did not hold to that perspective, he was told to either give up his ministry or to lose the financial support of the mission board. Sound absurd? Of course! The worst part is that it didn't even rise to the proper standard of what separation is for. There was no apostasy involved, just a minor theological disagreement. If those students were denying the resurrection of Christ or his return, THAT would be apostasy. Disagreeing about a minor point? Not so much. This is an example of "second degree" separation. This means that you separate from someone who doesn't separate from someone. It sounds very Seinfeld, I know, but I wanted to give you, the discerning reader, an example. (For the sake of giving you closure, my church did the right thing and continued to support the missionary in question. We even went the extra mile by dropping our monthly support of the mission board's home office and sending that money to the missionary as well. It was one of our finest hours!)

Now for the example that I originally wanted to write about:
I graduated from Cedarville University in 1995. At that time the school was in fellowship with the GARBC (notice the similar doctrinal statement). Not everyone that attended Cedarville was GARBC, but the 'Ville has long been considered a fine institution to which good GARBC parents could feel good about sending their kids--until recently. Cedarville made the mistake of being noticed by the Southern Baptist Convention of Ohio, who commended Cedarville as a fine Baptist institution that was worthy of its Southern Baptist students. Now, read that again. Do you see what happened? Cedarville was the endorsee. They received the endorsement. Evil? You bet!

This action enraged many in the GARBC. Why? Because of the second-degree rule of separation! See, Southern Baptists are a strange group. They are Baptists (dunking once backwards is good), but they aren't GARBC Baptists (not being GARBC results in a 15 yard penalty AND a loss of down). The greater US society in general, and the "liberal media" in particular, regard the SBC as the most conservative, oppressive, restrictive, Brill Cream-wearing, Jerry Falwell-loving group around. If they had Pat Robertson in their ranks, they would be the Dr. Evil of denominations. But a devout GARBer knows the truth: the SBC is not conservative at all!

There are several different types of Southern Baptists, and many are pretty conservative. But, there are those that aren't as, umm, conservative. How can the two coexist in a single handy denomination? Well, they can coexist because, like the GARBC, the SBC also reveres the principle of autonomy of the local congregation. But, unlike the GARBC, the SBC doesn't place as high an emphasis on separation. So, they have a higher threshold of tolerance for folks with slight differences of opinion in some things. In GARBland, this makes the SBC "liberal" and worthy of being separated from. And, so it follows that since Cedarville received an endorsement from the SBC, they are guilty by association. The official explanation from John Greening, pope...err, national representative, follows (read the whole statement here):

...it is obvious the SBC is a work in progress. For example, the decision by the trustees of the SBC International Mission Board to no longer permit tongues to be practiced as a private prayer language by missionaries is a good step forward, though it did not win unanimous support and the sitting president of the mission has been grandfathered in though acknowledging that tongues has been a continuing practice of his for thirty years. The newly elected SBC president describes himself as a conservative inerrantist yet he has issued a call for more open dialogue on theological issues. A fifteen-foot statue of Billy Graham was unveiled two weeks ago at the SBC meeting in North Carolina. We praise the Lord for many who have come to faith in Christ through Billy Graham’s preaching. However there is no one in evangelical circles who has done more to blur the lines of distinction between Evangelicals and Catholics than Billy Graham. GARBC leaders have been outspoken critics of his cooperative form of evangelism for decades. There are significant differences between the GARBC and the SBC that cause me to not want to gradually get drawn into a relationship with the SBC through an agency. By maintaining our distinct Regular Baptist identity, we have the greatest ministry platform from which we are able to make a contribution for truth within the harvest field of this world.

In other words, "Tongues and dialogue and Graham, oh my!" Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain, brothers and sisters, the GARBC is a denomination (sorry, association) in decline. The most conservative among the churches pride themselves on being more pure than everyone else by separating out for lesser issues than these. Those that embrace a broader evangelical witness in the world are leaving because of narrow views like those displayed by Dr. Greening and company in the above statement.

The funniest quandry is the one the GARBC has made for Grace Baptist Church, its member church in Cedarville, OH. Pastor Craig Miller is quoted in the Christianity Today article as saying, "It is difficult for us to maintain membership in an organization that has broken its ties with the alma mater and employer of half the congregation." I think it's worse than that. If this principle of separation is followed to its logical conclusion, the GARBC would have to declare that any church that has members that are still affiliated with Cedarville as apostate too.

As an alum of Cedarville and former congregant of a good GARBC church, I wish to say to the GARBC a heartfelt and sincere, "See ya!" I intend to give more generously to my alma mater now that this association has been severed. Cedarville can only improve with the GARBC footprints brushed off of the welcome mat.