I spent 20 years in the United Pentecostal Church cult, and the right-wing of the Republican Party. What that was like, how I got out, and my take on what's going on with the Christian Right today.
Tell a story of religious trauma and you are bound to get at least one person who says that you were just doing it wrong, in a bad church, or “following man instead of God.” I’ve gotten dozens of such comments on this very blog. My most recent was yesterday on […]
My younger son asked me that question just a bit ago. If you don’t know, he’s 17, but is on the Autism Spectrum, bipolar, and a few other things that cause him to be less mature than his age, overly tender-hearted and generally anxious as fuck. I asked why on […]
Every signpost in Ireland is currently blanketed with posters regarding an upcoming referendum. On May 25, Irish voters will go to the polls to decide the future of their 8th Amendment, which outlaws abortion in pretty much every circumstance. What Outlawing Abortion Really Means I’ve mentioned before that I’ve always […]
I grew up 30 minutes from The Cove, the “Training Center” in Asheville, NC where Billy Graham and his family lived. I have relatives that live off the same 1-40 exit you take to get there. My paternal grandparents were the type of Southern Baptists Graham spent his lifetime trying […]
I woke up this morning to the new trending hashtag #MeAt14 on Twitter. Many of the tweets are just images of girls at 14, who are obviously too young to be in any kind of sexual situation with a man in his 30’s such as Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore. […]
CW: Non-consensual physical contact, emotional abuse. It could begin over anything. Sometimes it was over some youthful indiscretion on my part. Sometimes, my dad would even be laughing and joking one minute, and the next minute it was as if a switch had flipped and he was full of […]
If I had $1 for every Christian who, since I left the church, has said to me some version of, “You were hurt by people because you were following traditions/ false doctrines/ human error.. I know better because I know the REAL Jesus…” I’d be Joel Osteen. This morning on […]
So here we are again. The “largest mass shooting in modern American history,” (at least since the last one). And yes, it’s maddening, heartbreaking, tragic, and horrific. Again. It’s also frustrating to see the nonstop barrage of “thoughts and prayers” for the victims offered by many of the leaders who, […]
In a dream, I was in a primitive cabin, possibly in the mountains where I grew up. A woman named Molly was sitting in a rocking chair near the hearth, where there was a blazing fire. Molly was clearly a wise woman, and she had something to share with me. […]
I am the child of racists. Growing up, I took a lot of heat from my parents for not being racist enough. I was told that it’s morally wrong for white people and black people to be friends, to visit each other’s homes. I should not be too friendly with […]
Eight years ago, I was a right-wing political junkie. A daily Limbaugh listener, nightly Focus on the Family listener, and I wouldn’t watch CNN if you paid me. I was convinced that Barack Obama was a socialist who would do horrible damage to this country due to his radical liberal […]
In less than 48 hours since the election of Donald Trump, people all over the country have experienced racial aggression and harassment not seen in years. After a campaign that stoked the worst in America – going past dog whistles to outright embracing racism – it was no surprise that […]
