The Recovering Fundamentalist: An Entertaining and Fun Podcast About the IFB Movement

“or many ex-fundies, though, our reminiscences take the form of an honest appraisal of the good and bad found within fundamentalism. Count me among that latter group.” - John Ellis

Discussion

This subject matter sounds like pretty thin gruel. It will likely devolve into ridicule and bitterness or quickly move beyond its title. Either way, no thanks.

Tyler is a pastor in Olympia, WA and works in State government.

How sad that, in the difficult times we live in today, those who profess to know Christ can’t find anything better to do.

Wally Morris
Huntington, IN

From site:

Our Mission: We exist to help and encourage those whose lives have been negatively affected by fundamentalist legalism in the church and to challenge those who promote tradition over Scripture.

Double no thanks. There’s something to be said for moving on.

Tyler is a pastor in Olympia, WA and works in State government.

The way I see it is that there are indeed a large number of people out there who have had their fill of what I’d call “rules fundamentalism”—I don’t call it “legalism” because I don’t think anybody really admits they trust in their rules/works for salvation, even if we think they arguably do—and whether we like it or not, they are going to talk about their experience with others. In order to “move on”, they need to talk it out with someone, as any good counselor or therapist would tell you.

So what we have here is not really the choice of “talk about it and wallow in your sorrow or just move on”, but rather “who are the disaffected going to be talking with?” I would argue that it is moreover strongly likely that discussing these matters with this group—people who have not jettisoned the faith altogether—is going to be far better than the alternative of talking to disaffected fundamentalists in forii where most have abandoned the faith altogether.

Aspiring to be a stick in the mud.

What was that semi-notorious website that finally shut down a few years ago where the site creator mocked, ridiculed and discussed Baptist fundamentalism?

Tyler is a pastor in Olympia, WA and works in State government.

Site creator was—as I hinted in my previous comment—full out atheist. That’s the choice I’m drawing here; you can have people who are disaffected with “rules fundamentalism” (or fundamentalism in general, really) talking with atheists, or you can have them talking with fellow believers who have jettisoned the flotsam and jetsam of rules fundamentalism, but have retained the fundamentals of the faith. What you won’t have; them not talking about it and moving on.

Aspiring to be a stick in the mud.