Resources on Christian Patriarchy, Abuse, and Extreme Fundamentalism

My fundamentalism of the 1950s and 1960s was bad enough, but today’s fundamentalism has become much worse, more extreme, and more harmful. Issues include patriarchy, child rearing abuse, purity and shame culture, isolated homeschooling, sexual abuse, and others. This complex mixture of interacting beliefs impact millions of believers with severe pain and baggage. In addition, many evangelicals are returning to fundamentalism.

Websites and Blogs

• Grace: Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment (sexual abuse)
• A Voice Regained (sexual abuse)
• Recovering Grace (Bill Gothard)
• Life After I Kissed Dating Goodbye – stories (purity culture)
• Coalition for Responsible Home Education (homeschooling)
• Homeschoolers Anonymous (homeschooling)
• Leaving Fundamentalism (homeschooling)
• No Longer Quivering (quiverful)

Additional Resources

• Abuse and The Church (and a list of resources), Rachel Held Evans
• Starting a Child Protection Bookclub by RL Stollar (book list with descriptions)
• Parenting Without Spanking by Ryan Stollar (links to numerous resources)
• Natalie Greenfield: My Story of Abuse, Shaming, and Recovery (excellent 75 minute video; well worth the time) by Natalie Greenfield
• Recommended Books on Domestic Abuse by Claire Roise
• 10 Resources On Domestic Violence Christians Should Read from CBE
• How Can Your Church Become A Safer Place for Children? by GRACE (2.5 minute video)

Articles

From Jesus without Baggage

Fundamentalism

• My Fundamentalism of the 1960s Has Changed for the Worse–Considerably Worse
• 19th Century Evangelicalism
• What is a Christian Fundamentalist?
• What Does Evangelical Mean Today?
• An Overview of Bill Gothard’s Role in Today’s Cultish Fundamentalism

Patriarchy

• How Christian Patriarchy is a Misguided and Harmful Belief that Does Tremendous Damage
• The Alleged Biblical Basis for Christian Patriarchy
• Examining Passages from Genesis Used to Support Patriarchy in the Church
• Complementarian Patriarchy and Fundamentalist Patriarchy are Both Harmful; But How are They Different?
• John Piper and Christian Patriarchy
• John Piper Tells an Unconvincing Story to Illustrate Gender Differences between Men and Women
• The Many Women Leaders in Paul’s Circles Don’t Seem to Represent Christian Patriarchy
• 5 Ways Christian Patriarchy Harms Men
• The Feminine Side of God in the Bible
• Patriarchy, Bill Gothard, and the Umbrella of Protection

Abusive Child Rearing Practices

• Child Abuse in Fundamentalist Parenting Practices
• Spare the Rod and Spoil the Child?

Homeschooling

• 4 Tremendously Serious Problems within the Fundamentalist Homeschooling Movement
• Spare the Rod and Spoil the Child?
• Two Homeschooling Resource Sites by Fundamentalist Homeschool Alumni
• Homeschooling is an Excellent Choice for Many Families

From Others

Patriarchy and Complementarianism

• My Life As a Daughter in the Christian Patriarchy Movement: How I Was Taught to Obey Men and Birth 8 Kids by Libby Anne
• If he’s Jesus and I’m the church, that’s not equal by Libby Anne
• John Piper: Women Not Suited For Most Jobs In The World by Benjamin Corey
• Why I Can’t Be Complementarian by April Kelsey
• “You must obey!” It’s One of the Biggest Lies in the Church by Susan Cottrell
• 1 Corinthians 14:34-35, in a Nutshell by Marg Mowczko
• Paul and Women, in a Nutshell by Marg Mowczko
• How Playing the Good Christian Housewife Almost Killed Me by Vyckie Garrison
• Not a Nice Story by Darcy
• “Men Need Respect, Women Need Love” – Really? by Kristen Rosser
• Control: The Reason The Gospel Coalition and CBMW Cannot Actually Condemn Spousal Abuse  by Autodidact
• ‘Submit to your husbands’: Women told to endure domestic violence in the name of God by Julia Baird (Lengthy article but filled with good content)
• Being Taught Complementarian Christian Theology Was Like Being Served Pie Laced with Glass Shards by JM Taylor
• It’s not complementarianism; it’s patriarchy by Rachel Held Evans
• Both Can’t Be True by Scot McKnight

Abusive Child Rearing Practices

• Critiquing Shepherding a Child’s Heart (Part 1) by Cindy Brandt
• Six Ways Unfundamentalist Parenting is Better by Cindy Brandt
• Children, Disobey Your Parents in the Lord, For This is Right by Ryan Stollar
• It’s Time to Speak Out Against Corporal Punishment by Ryan Stollar
• The Efficacy of Corporal Punishment by RL Stollar (A somewhat lengthy academic article filled with insight and information)
• Dear Christian Parent: Please Don’t Try To Break Their Will by Benjamin Corey
• Some Michael Pearl Quotes on Child Training by Libby Anne
• The abusive teachings of Michael and Debi Pearl by Rachel Held Evans
• Even conservative experts know Christian ‘discipline’ is abuse by Jonny Scaramanga
• Why is Christian Education Europe promoting child abusers? by Jonny Scaramanga
• Parenting Advice that Correlates with Abuse by Nate Sparks
• The era of spanking is finally over by Elizabeth T. Gershoff

Modesty, Purity, and Shame

• Author of ‘I Kissed Dating Goodbye’ questions his own book by Ruth Graham
• What I Learned from Joshua Harris by Libby Anne
• Purity Culture Itself Is the Problem by Samantha Field
• Why We Shouldn’t Say “Modest is Hottest” by April Kelsey
• The Problem With Modesty by Kelly Werner
• Rethinking Purity by RL Stollar                       
• Do Christians idolize virginity? by Rachel Held Evans

Sexual Abuse

By Boz Tchividjian

• A grand deception: The successful response of sex offenders read this first
• Billy Graham’s Grandson Says Protestants Abuse Kids
• Are abuse survivors best served when institutions investigate themselves?
• Caught in the spotlight: Christian leaders who mishandle sexual abuse disclosures
• Locked in cells of silence by disbelief and shame
• Startling Statistics: Child sexual abuse and what the church can begin doing about it
• When sex offenders confess to clergy: Three mistaken beliefs
• Rebuking the abused in the name of Jesus
• Interview with Boz, Part Two: When Sexual Abuse Happens in a Family or a Church
• Remaining silent about suspected abuse: 5 common fears

By Natalie Greenfield

• Ten Things You Should Never Say To An Abuse Victim
• My Response to CREC Internal Inquiry Questions
• My Response to CREC Internal Inquiry Questions: Part II
• My Response to CREC Internal Inquiry Questions: Part III
• To The Abused Child
• One Brave Voice At A Time
• Natalie Greenfield: My Story of Abuse, Shaming, and Recovery

By Other Writers

• Gothard Explains Why God Allows Child Molestation: Part I by Shade Ardent
• An ATI Education, Final Chapter: Guilty Silence by Sara Jones
• The Characteristics of a Sexual Groomer by Meg
• I Would Have Defended My Abuser, Too by April Kelsey
• Ministering to Pedophiles by April Kelsey
• The Pedophile’s Deception by April Kelsey
• The Concept of “Defrauding” and Rape Culture by Autodidact
• Parenting Advice that Correlates with Abuse by Nate Sparks
• The Scandal of Silence by Mary Ellen Mann
• 5 Phrases That Can Help Protect Your Child From Sexual Abuse by Lucy Aitkenread
• 5 mistakes to avoid when counseling the sexually abused by Diane Langberg 
• In Sexual Abuse Claims: Begin with Belief by Claire Roise
• Begin with Belief, Part 2 by Claire Roise
• 9 Anti-Abuse Practices Your Church Needs To Adopt by Becky Castle Miller
• Five Ways Pastors Unconsciously Reinforce Abuse, and How to Do Better by Natalie Collins
• False narratives of Christian leaders caught in abuse by GRACE
• Be Wise about Repentant Predators by Mary DeMuth
• Jules Woodson to abuse survivors: ‘You are strong, you are brave and your voice… by Jules Woodson

Spiritual, Emotional, and Physical Abuse

• Recommended Resources For Spiritual Abuse Survivors by Stephanie Adams
• Spiritual Abuse Survivor Blogs Network by Vyckie Garrison
• Understanding spiritual abuse by Lisa Oakley
• The 7 things narcissists are most afraid of by Lucky Otter
• After Christian Ghosting: The Difference Between Forgiveness and Reconciliation by Benjamin Corey
• Domestic Violence and Abuse (with extensive resources) by Melinda Smith, M.A., and Jeanne Segal, Ph.D.

Fundamentalist Homeschooling Movement

• The History of Homeschooling, 1904-Present by RL Stollar
• Sex Scandals, Homeschooling and the Religious Right by Julie Ingersoll
• 3 Ways Homeschoolers Actually Socialize Differently than School Kids by Libby Anne
• About My Homeschool Success Story . . . by Libby Anne
• Michael Pearl: Don’t Let Your Kids Play with Public School Kids by Libby Anne
• My Life As a Daughter in the Christian Patriarchy Movement: How I Was Taught to Obey Men and Birth 8 Kids by Libby Anne
• Common Myths about Homeschooling by Samantha Field
• Socialization isn’t a freaking joke by Samantha Field
• Homeschool Abuse Survivor Shares 5 Scary, Little Known Facts by Survivor
• ACE deletes Facebook reviews page after 1-star reviews by Jonny Scaramanga
• A dictatorship which does not aim to teach but to control by Jonny Scaramanga

Quiverful Movement

• What Is Quiverfull? by Vyckie Garrison
• I Spent 16 Years in an Abusive Religious Sect by Vyckie Garrison
• How Playing the Good Christian Housewife Almost Killed Me by Vyckie Garrison
• There’s This Thing You Have to Understand about Jana by Libby Anne
• My Life As a Daughter in the Christian Patriarchy Movement: How I Was Taught to Obey Men and Birth 8 Kids by Libby Anne

Evangelical Return to Fundamentalism

• “Neo-Reformed” or “Neo-Fundamentalist?” by Tim Gombis
• Neo-fundamentalism by Michael Clawson
• Comparison between the Bill Gothard Phenomenon and the Young, Restless, Reformed Movement by Roger Olsen

Reconstruction, Dominion, and Theonomy

• Dominionism is the New Religious Freedom by Frederick Clarkson
• The Radical Theology That Could Make Religious Freedom a Thing of the Past by David R. Brockman
• Theocracy Watch Website
• Christian Reconstructionism by Wikipedia
• Dominion Theology by Wikipedia

Jesus without Baggage exists to assist and support those questioning beliefs they have been taught in fundamentalist, traditional evangelical, and other groups. If you know someone who might find Jesus without Baggage helpful, feel free to send them the introductory page: About Jesus without Baggage.

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Pages in this series:
Resources on Angry, Violent, Vindictive God
Resources on Inerrancy and Reading the Bible
Resources on Hell and Conditional Immortality
Resources on Legalism, Sin, and Salvation
Resources on Gays and the Church
Resources on Christian Patriarchy, Abuse, and Extreme Fundamentalism
Resources on Young Earth Creationism and Evolution

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