Analyzing Christianity
The Unequally Yoked Club: When Promises Must Be Broken.
Remember what I mentioned last time about promises? We’re going to talk about that a little more today. There’s something about promises that I need to show you.
Analyzing Christianity
The Unequally Yoked Club: You Didn’t Sign Up For This.
Before we can really get into the meat of this post, I need to say a few words first about the fundamentalist view of promises, because I don’t think most people outside that mindset will understand fully until this stuff’s on the table. I’ve talked before about the things that Read more
Analyzing Christianity
How Christian leaders fleece their sheep
It always makes me boggle when I hear Christians comparing themselves to sheep. It’s like they have no idea why shepherds keep sheep: for their fleece, their milk, and their meat. There’s a fundamental disconnect there between fantasy and reality, but the disconnect is hardly new. And that disconnect richly serves the interests of the people benefiting from all that fleece.
Analyzing Christianity
Tony Anthony: The Cult of Before Stories got a new member last month!
One of my earliest blog entries, A Cult of “Before” Stories, remains one of the most-often-viewed pages on the entire blog (thanks, RationalWiki readers!). It was about how my preacher ex-husband Biff, as well as other Christians including the very well-known-at-the-time Mike Warnke, lied constantly while telling his “testimony” (for Read more
Codex Disbelievium
Superhero Jesus: The chameleon savior who never was
During a very painful and lonely stretch of my childhood, I did exactly what fundagelicals say everyone ought to do: I turned to Jesus. Today I’ll show you how well that worked out for me.
Codex Disbelievium
The Power of Prayer, Part Two (and the beginning of the end of faith)
I needed answers, and I needed them quickly.
Codex Disbelievium
The Power of Prayer: Part One (the Lead-Up)
It’s not an exaggeration to say that tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of people were praying for Daniel’s recovery from brain cancer. He was one of the Big Name Fans in our denomination; we had ties to mission churches all over the world as well. I was one of the people who spent quite some time on her knees praying for Daniel’s recovery. Even Biff, who very rarely prayed anywhere but in church, prayed for him. We were absolutely convinced that God would heal him. Why wouldn’t he?
Analyzing Christianity
The cloud has moved: How I almost joined a cult
Communities get these ideas sometimes to live together and re-enact their ideals. It’s part of being human. But things can go hideously wrong in authoritarian groups, and I’ll show you how today.
Analyzing Christianity
Mike Warnke: Inaugural member of the Cult of Before Stories
The Christian love of bombastic testimonies creates a ‘cult of before stories’ full of believers who richly reward their biggest liars.
Analyzing Christianity
How my boyfriend got exorcised
Now that I wasn’t involved in weird evangelical churches anymore, I blossomed at last in the late 80s. I discovered the Drama Club at school, slowly made normal friends, and tried to fit in. I got involved with a historical re-enactment group called the Society for Creative Anachronism and found Read more