Those who remember my series of posts on the modesty doctrine will appreciate the new “Modesty Myth” series on From Two to One. Here is an excerpt from the first post: In light of some recent discussions in mainstream media and the blogosphere, M and I have been discussing the intersection of modesty, politics, Christian culture, and family life. What does it mean to be modest? Why aren’t men taught as much about modesty as women? Can the tenets of modesty be redeemed... Read more
In the WHAS11 News coverage of William Branham and the Message, they aired a video clip in which Branham is seen vehemently voicing his prediction that the Second Coming of Jesus will happen in 1977. How do Message believers reconcile this claim with the fact that we’re living in 2012? By conveniently latching onto one word and spinning it out into a doctrine of its own. “We have exactly – listen! – seventeen years left,” Branham said, in a definitive... Read more
I am very impressed with Mr. Wasler’s coverage of the Message on WHAS11. It could easily have been a sensationalist piece, focused on the “horrible exploits of the Branhamite cult.” Instead, it was a balanced and accurate portrayal of a large segment of the Message population. Not all Message believers accept the doctrine of Branham’s resurrection. My church did not, nor did the churches we associated with on the East Coast, although we knew a few couples who did. One... Read more
A friend just sent me a link to WHAS11 News, a Louisville program airing a special about William Branham and the Message of the Hour: 11 News @ 6pm: I-Team Investigates William Branham A Message-believing sect has also been accused of child abuse and molestation in Germany. Groups like Seek Ye the Truth are now attempting to defend the Message against the charge of being a “cult” by asserting their Biblical orthodoxy. I’ve already written an assessment of the Message... Read more
My church was obsessed with Israel. (more…) Read more
I was homeschooled through high school. If I had been able to leave fundamentalism as a teenager, I believe I could have caught up on anything I missed within a year or two of going to public high school, perhaps more easily than I did in college. High school, in my opinion, is where academics begin to really matter and the need for belonging becomes really acute. As a result, I think I did miss out on some things that... Read more
Having already covered what I think were the benefits of my homeschool education, now it’s time to look at some drawbacks. They probably aren’t what you think. The main problem I had with homeschooling was having no way to measure my own intelligence. It was easy for me to buy the line that I was stupid, awkward and worthless because I never knew where I stood in comparison to my peers. I knew that I tested at college level reading... Read more
I liked being homeschooled. To this day, I have no problem with it. Nonetheless, I will scrutinize my experience a little bit and discuss how I think things could have gone better. Hence splitting up the topic into good, bad and ugly, like I did with homemaking. Let me state up front, however, that I am not anti-homeschooling. I would consider homeschooling my own child up to a point (8th grade). I believe homeschooling actually did shelter me productively from... Read more
In my previous two posts, I pointed out the advantages (an orderly house, fresh food, simple living) to the homemaking ideal sold by evangelical-fundamentalist organizations like Vision Forum, Above Rubies, and individuals like Mary Pride. I also demonstrated some of the ways the inflexibility of that ideal leads to pain, frustration, a sense of persistent failure and a restricted life for women and men. This time, I want to talk about the elephant in the room: social class. The conservative... Read more
Recently, someone stumbled upon my blog while googling this question: is the unforgivable sin abortion? I’d forgotten all about worrying about the unforgivable sin. For years, I was filled with anxiety that I might have accidentally “blasphemed the Holy Spirit” by saying something disrespectful, taking communion unworthily, harboring anger against my father, preferring outdoor activities to worship services, etc. There seemed to be infinite ways to blaspheme the Holy Spirit. Why did blasphemy have to be so ambiguous? My church claimed that... Read more
The Phoenix and Olive Branch
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