What's is like to have christian fundamentalist parents????

[Ralph]

I've been reading quite a bit over there since Flaherty posted those links. I have to say it's eye-opening....and more than a little disturbing.

One of the things I remember about about being a kid was a sense of wonderment about the world. I was facinated by science in particular and read just about every thing I could about astronomy and dinosaurs. My father had an Encylopedia Brittanica and I think I must have read nearly the whole thing
over several years.

Science fiction & Fantasy fascinated me......Arthur Clarke--Bradbury--CS Lewis..........I knew it was wasn't "real" but I still remember what it was like to think that in my lifetime--we could actually be travelling to other planets.

TV was relatively new.......black & white----only 3 channels--you were lucky if it went the week without breaking down but I used to love those old monster movies. The Frankenstein/Dracula/Wolfman classics from the 30s......King Kong was simply amazing.

How about all those cheesy sci-fi movies from the 50's/60s.
I can remember sitting through some 90 minute piece of crap movie-----just to see the "monster" at the end which was usually just some guy in a rubber suit.

I think books sparked my imagination & helped make the world a more interesting place.


I was reading a thread on RR today----about how important it was to get ALL references to the occult & satan out of the house.
There was a lot of talk about burning books & CDs......(something I always associated with Nazis).

This wasn't porn or child sacrifice they were talking about ....it was things like Harry Potter, LOTR, ANYTHING at all about witches and sorcerers. I'm sure comic books are out. Forget dinosaurs
or anything remotely related to evolution.

Several posters stated they don't allow their children to see anything if it isn't about Jesus.

I can't imagine what it must be like to be a kid and have to grow up with no books--no fantasies-------nothing but Jesus this & Jesus that and a message of hate & intolerance for anybody who thinks differently.

I have to wonder what these kids will be like when they grow up.

[Soapy Sam]

Well, there is a saying about daughters of the Manse...
Most kids take their values from their peers, not their parents.
My upbringing sounds a lot like yours. I'm rather glad of it.

[Jas]

My mother's side of the family is like that. Women must wear their hair long to show their obedience to God and man, women must have their heads covered at church and during prayer, God is to man as man is to woman, blah blah blah. Going to church multiple (more than three) times a week, etc. They're religious fundies to end all fundies (and their Francophone, which makes it that much worse).

Anyways, back to the point, everyone on that side of the family (including my mom) is really messed up. All of my cousins get married and have kids before 21 (most at about 18), a few of them dropped out of school as soon as they were done elementary, and plan on sitting at home for the rest of their lives poppin' out babies. They think that God put bones (ie. Lucy) in the earth as a joke. I couldn't imagine having to grow up in that environment. Going to visit them wasn't that much fun.

The real problem though is with people like my mom, and grandmother, who suffer from mental illness. You can't get treatment for it, because they don't believe in it, and figure that a lot of it is resisting the will of God. the othher problem is that if there is abuse in the family (such as there was with my aunt), you can't leave because abuse is not a valid reason for divorce.

Even if those kids growing up in ultra-religious families aren't messed up just because of their parents, it's probably a good thing that they're homeschooled...they probably get beat up alot.
;)

[Ralph]

Overall--I'd have to say I had a childhood. Most of what I remember as being good......are things that probably would've been prohibited me had my parents been strict christian fundamentalists.

The worst parts of my childhood............the small (mercifully) amount of religion I was fed.

While my parents weren't religious--I had some aunts & uncles who were and felt it was important I should recieve some religious training.

I was about 7-8 when I was thrown into catechism to learn how to become a good catholic. Since I was starting late--I didn't know what the other kids new.....and was picked on by the other "good catholic" children.

I also got a pretty bad time from a lot of them about not going to mass every Sunday.

After about 2 years of this...I begged my parents to let me out of the whole thing & mercifully--they did.

The parish priest sounded a lot like what I hear on RR.....lots of things that guarantee you a trip to hell...intolerance & even hate for others.

He eventually went to jail for rape (an adult woman).

I guess since he wasn't a homosexual---God probably let it slide by..................

[Yahweh]

Originally posted by Ralph
I was reading a thread on RR today----about how important it was to get ALL references to the occult & satan out of the house.
There was a lot of talk about burning books & CDs......(something I always associated with Nazis).

This wasn't porn or child sacrifice they were talking about ....it was things like Harry Potter, LOTR, ANYTHING at all about witches and sorcerers. I'm sure comic books are out. Forget dinosaurs
or anything remotely related to evolution.

Several posters stated they don't allow their children to see anything if it isn't about Jesus.
Well, if those heretical CDs and books on demonology (Lord of the Rings) and witchcraft (Harry Potter) were removed and burned against the will of minor who owned them, I'm sure it wouldnt be impossible to pursue a case for child abuse...

(Sometimes the fundies think and do the strangest things...)

[Kopji]

I think it's all part of the fundamentalist fictional view of life. Reality is that most of these kids just take off running the first chance they get.

[Keziah Mason]

My childhood sounds a lot like the original posters'. I had an early interest in science (especially astronomy), science fiction, and old cheesy monster movies.


I was reading a thread on RR today----about how important it was to get ALL references to the occult & satan out of the house.
There was a lot of talk about burning books & CDs......(something I always associated with Nazis).


I read that one too and was just amazed by those people. Some of them went so far to cut up horror videos so that no one else would fall under their evil spell. But what do I know? I'm so evil that I think it would be a lot of fun to see one of them run screaming from my "demonic" house after seeing my collection of horror DVDs and my prized HP Lovecraft books. (Heh - those folks think Stephen King is the epitome of horror :p )

It might be fun to start a thread "How demonic is your house?"

[shemp]

Sometimes the demonic stuff isn't so obvious. The late Anton LaVey, founder of the Church of Satan, claimed in a Rolling Stone interview that the most Satanic song ever was "Yes, We Have No Bananas." I guess it's in the music, not the lyrics.

[pgwenthold]

Originally posted by Soapy Sam
Well, there is a saying about daughters of the Manse...
Most kids take their values from their peers, not their parents.


And they know it, too. That's why many home school.

"Yes, we are indoctrinated!"

[zer0vector]

Originally posted by shemp
Sometimes the demonic stuff isn't so obvious. The late Anton LaVey, founder of the Church of Satan, claimed in a Rolling Stone interview that the most Satanic song ever was "Yes, We Have No Bananas." I guess it's in the music, not the lyrics.

Do you mean "30,000 Pounds of Bananas" by Harry Chapin? I can't imagine how that song could be Satanic.

[Andonyx]

Originally posted by zer0vector


Do you mean "30,000 Pounds of Bananas" by Harry Chapin? I can't imagine how that song could be Satanic.

I'm pretty sure he meant this:

http://www.niehs.nih.gov/kids/lyrics/bananas.htm

But you could be joking and I could be stupid.

[Keneke]

My mother wasn't necessarily fundamental, but she was staunch, a firm believer, but so intelligent as to know and accept most scientific principles. How she reconciles her faith and her intellect, I have no idea. I was free to learn what i wanted, and even before I moved out I didn't have to go to church. However, that vicarious, burning desire present in all parents manifested in concerns for my behavior and eternal soul. Luckily, she's not a cliche spouting woman, nor is she unforgiving. She just holds a very high standard for herself and her children. That alone was pressure enough to cover my formative skeptical years in doubt and guilt. She still worries for my eternal soul, and it breaks both of our hearts that we do not see eye to eye on it.

If fundamental kids had it even worse than I did (and do now, even at 31!), then God help em. (Just a figure of speech, mind you.)