Ex-Evangelical Conversations: Christian Abuse Survivor, College Student, and Future Journalist Elizabeth Hunter, Part I

Be warned that today's installment of Ex-Evangelical Conversations is a very disturbing read. Currently a senior at a Christian college, Elizabeth Hunter's path has been a harrowing one of survival involving parental negligence, re-homing, sexual abuse, gaslighting, manipulation, humiliation, and starvation, mostly from the adults in her environment who were supposed to be nurturing and … Continue reading Ex-Evangelical Conversations: Christian Abuse Survivor, College Student, and Future Journalist Elizabeth Hunter, Part I

Happy 4th? On the Complicated Problem of Patriotism in Conditions of Injustice

"We've got the American Jesus Bolstering national faith We've got the American Jesus Overwhelming millions every day." – Bad Religion, "American Jesus," Recipe for Hate (1993) Some Reflections for Independence Day, July 4, 2018 Yesterday, Mandy Nicole, founder and editor-in-chief of Fundamentally Free, a multi-author ex-evangelical blog, published a piece called "Evangelicalism Killed my Patriotism." She notes the presence … Continue reading Happy 4th? On the Complicated Problem of Patriotism in Conditions of Injustice

Ex-Evangelical Means Much More than Dropping a Label: A Response to Josiah Hesse

This morning, journalist, novelist, and ex-Evangelical Josiah Hesse published an important article in The Guardian. The original (and, as of 5:06 p.m. Eastern, current) headline of the article is "'Exvangelicals': Why More Religious People are Rejecting the Evangelical Label." Hesse's article focuses primarily on a new wave of Christians dissociating themselves from the term "Evangelical" due to … Continue reading Ex-Evangelical Means Much More than Dropping a Label: A Response to Josiah Hesse

#SpiritualAbuseIs – Join the Conversation on Spiritual Abuse

On February 12, I posted a thread about spiritual abuse on Twitter, not realizing it would stir powerful reactions of various kinds. One user (who quickly unfollowed me) tweeted at me "Enough already!" and "Get counseling." Both the presumption and the assumptions inherent in those tweets are not really worth unpacking here (but let me … Continue reading #SpiritualAbuseIs – Join the Conversation on Spiritual Abuse