Female Evangelicals Get On Board

I just saw that evangelical leader Beth Moore is finally leaving the Southern Baptist Convention. It’s about time. The article says she’s been speaking out since 2016 against the unbelievable tolerance and promotion of Donald J. Trump by Christian leaders. But I never heard it before.

She’s HUGE in the evangelical world, so I’m really surprised, but impressed. Like we saw during the election cycle, one of Billy Graham’s granddaughters jumped ship from the Republicans to help Biden get elected while another granddaughter supported Trump.

I wrote a letter to the editor at Christianity Today before the 2020 election, but unfortunately, they don’t print letters to the editor. I don’t know if I’ll ever understand his supporters. Trump is every single, solitary thing a Christian would NOT want their son/brother/husband/father to be.

Thank you Beth!

The article is at: https://www.salon.com/2021/03/10/evangelical-sexism-beth-moore-trump-hypocrisy-southern-baptists/

Admit you are a Bonosciple

Okay, I’ve been exposed as a “Bonosciple,” especially following the latest posting on the Resistance & Renewal blog of an interview with U2’s outspoken leader, Bono. http://resistanceandrenewal.net/2014/01/26/bono-on-the-difference-between-grace-and-karma/

Sure, he’s outspoken. But, he’s not afraid to put it all out there, unafraid that his “slip is showing.” He seems to sincerely want to help the world. I like that. It’s refreshing.

*photo of Bono taken from Wikimedia; photographer MARCELLO_CASALJR from Agencia Brasil

What’s Your Unsafe Sect Experience?

UNSAFE SECTS can include any groupings where people experience some kind of trauma or neglect. Though it has a religious connotation, there is no need to limit it to a religious group.

What comes to most of our minds are images of Waco, Texas or the Guyana massacre and Jim Jones.

But “unsafe” can mean anything from physical or verbal abuse to emotional manipulation.

An unsafe sect could be a fraternal organization, a country club, an ethnic group, a protest group, a subculture that enjoys the outdoors or cooking or window washing — whatever…we’ve all been a part of something involving others at one time or another.

To use the example of the Christian church, I think that most people don’t leave churches due to theology. It is the result of how they felt they were treated. For some, it’s the constant pressure to give money, work in the nursery, do this, do that, until they are worn out or losing their sense of self or family. For others, it may be that when they really need someone to lean on, it doesn’t matter how full that “bank” of selfless service is, all of a sudden there’s no one willing to care.

Sometimes it’s pretty blatant, such as pastors who badger you with family values, while they are secretly gay (seen it!) or try to wrest full control, with messages persuading you to give up any friends who are outside the church (seen it!). It is often very subtle, however. It’s the proverbial frog in the kettle — you don’t see it coming, because you get sucked in slowly. And, before you know it, you are fully entrenched, hugely controlled…and no “outside” friends to pull you out.

What’s your story of unsafe sects?