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Heading to Somewhere Else

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“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”
“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.
“I don’t much care where–” said Alice.
“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.
“–so long as I get SOMEWHERE,” Alice added as an explanation.
“Oh, you’re sure to do that,” said the Cat, “if you only walk long enough.”
(Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Chapter 6)

Eight years ago I started down a road out marked “Out of Here.” Today I’m sitting looking at another sign named “Somewhere Else.” I think it’s better here. Time will tell.

Those eight years since SFL started have brought us 2,075 posts, 12 million visits, and almost 150,000 comments. A lot has happened in that time and we’ve experienced it together.

Yet with all the words written and replied, fundamentalism is not dead — mostly because fundamentalism will never die as long as human beings are what they are. Pride, fear, and greed are the ingredients we all carry with us; fundamentalism just has its own family recipe for the way they mix and serve them.

When Stuff Fundies Like started began to gain popularity about six years ago I told myself that every anniversary I would take stock of my personal motivations and the reasons I kept writing. Today as I sit here I can honestly say that the reasons are all gone.

I haven’t darkened the door of a fundamentalist church (or many other churches) in years. For me, my fundamentalist past has become a fixed point in time, a place I can’t ever really go back to because my personal story has changed and the fundamentalism I knew has changed. The old names and faces have started to fade away even while the methods remain.

The Independent Baptist movement is a shell of its former self. The winds of change are blowing and although you’ll always find IFB churches hiding in the hills and hollers of this land they’re quickly becoming a cultural oddity. Someday they’ll be spoken of in the same breath as the Shakers, Amish, and other breakaway sects who stood still while time marched on.

As for me, I’m continuing my journey to Somewhere Else which means moving on from here. The SFL archives will remain but (unless something unforeseen occurs) this will be my last post here.

The Facebook page and Twitter account will stay live so that I can keep touch with you all if BIG NEWS breaks out in fundyland.

You can also reach me over at darrelldow.com or my writer’s page where I’ve been doing some writing on other topics.

The forum will stay active for as long as I can afford the hosting. If you want to register just drop me a line.

I’m also toying with the idea of compiling a Best Of SFL book with my original pieces in it. If you’d be interested in such a thing let me know.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t take the time to thank so very many people who have supported, contributed, encouraged, chided, goaded, and otherwise made this blogging experiment one of the best experiences of my life. SFL took me halfway around the world. It reconnected me with faces I’d all but forgotten. It has brought me so many new friends that time would fail to name them all.

I love you all. I wish you joy.

I’ll leave you with this song that I recently fell in love with that gives a wish that seem so very appropriate for those who’s roads are taking them from Back There past my resting spot on the way to Somewhere Else. “I hope life without a chaperon is what you thought it’d be…and that all your favorite bands stay together.”

1,239 thoughts on “Heading to Somewhere Else”

    1. Except that you’re not the first on the second page of comments, Doc. I’m not sure I trust you to operate.

  6. Dear SFL Reader:

    I keep thinking that I should sneak off and attend some IFB gathering just to have something to post on our beloved blog. But the insipid antics of associated with the preliminaries would alone be more than I could stomach. Moreover, there is what you miss by not attending a real church with real liturgy and real preaching. When you know the difference, fundamentalism evokes involuntary revulsion…

    Christian Socialist

    1. True this.

      I loved my priest’s message last Sunday. In talking about baptism, he said that people had forgotten the important thing. It wasn’t as important that Jesus was immersed in water. What was important was that he heard God say, “You are my beloved child.”

      That was profound. From that perspective, baptism isn’t so much of a ritual as it is a sacrament. It isn’t an activity we do so much as it is God telling us we are accepted. In that sense, maybe people who never go into the water are still “baptized”?

      The sooner we stop thinking of God as a Tribal Deity who only loves us but doesn’t love “them”, the better.

    2. I did a week of it once for the Sword of the Lord conference here in Walkertown @ Gospel Light Baptist Church. A fundy Flagship.
      It was brutal.
      Only one speaker made more of Christ than he did his soul winning antics, his performance churchianity, or the blessed 1611 King James inspired version of the Bible. It was a pathetic week of grandstanding and man worship.
      *shudder*

    3. I was recently in a Fundy ladies’ meeting where it was taught that babies come into the world because of . . . drumroll . . . wifely submission! Yep, that’s where babies come from. Every godly woman in the Bible who ever was blessed with a child, was so blessed because of submitting to her husband in the bedroom (I guess that means that godly women all have zero sex drive and would never even get pregnant without “submitting”). Yep, you got it. Rebecca, Deborah, Ruth, Hannah, Esther, Elizabeth, the mother of Zebedee’s children, all prove that they were submissive to their husbands, by the meet fact that they had conceived, even though the Bible never specifically says that they were submissive. So I guess if your children were conceived because of mutual respect and love and desire for one another, your family is heathen?

      1. Scarier thought…if a woman becomes pregnant due to rape, is that also considered “submission?”

        1. So *that’s* why these Rethuglicans contend that “real” rape doesn’t produce pregnancies!

          Oh brother! What damage religion does to the truth!

      2. Bathsheba got pregnant because she submitted to the MOG….I mean the king.

        the Admiral

  7. Of course there is always the case of the famous Baptist physician Dr. John Story of Lovell, Wyoming, who raped many of his Mormon patients in the 70’s and 80’s.
    His crimes were made possible by a culture of ignorance, fear and submission that bears an eery similarity to that of the IFB.

    the Admiral

    1. It’s weird to acknowledge that I pretty much ignored MLK Day until well into adulthood. He wasn’t acknowledged or celebrated in my fundy circles (though his flaws were pointed out). From what I’ve read since, I’m impressed by his courage and his devotion to peace (instead of responding to injustice with hatred and violence).

      1. In the circles I was in, the emphasis was on King’s flaws, his immorality (at least alleged). He was hated and that was the excuse for it. The real reason he was hated was because he was black and wanted justice and equality. How dare he? That we whites were equally flawed and immoral was never mentioned. Grace was never mentioned when he was in view.

      2. Fundies enjoy mocking those who fight for social justice, until they feel infringed upon, and then all hell breaks loose!

        Friends of mine who actively picketed abortion clinics never seemed to make a connection to the civil rights/anti-war movements of the 60s, either. And their tactics go back to the days of union organization..it’s all evil, until maybe you need to do it yourself.

        1. Dear LInn:

          One recalls the varied versions of Pastor Martin Niemöller’s poem, ‘First They Came:’

          First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
          Because I was not a Socialist.

          Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
          Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

          Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
          Because I was not a Jew.

          Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

          Christian Socialist

  9. Not sure how old you are pastor’s wife, but the holiday was only first observed in 1986. I have to echo yours and the others’ sentiments though about not being raised to see King as a national hero. I don’t think my parents were that impressed by him and his cause and only grudgingly accepted the notion that he deserved a holiday.

    the Admiral

    1. When I was in parochial school – well before the 80s – we had MLK Day off.

      1. Lady Semp,
        I stand corrected. Reagan signed the bill into law making it a federal holiday in 1983 and MLK day was first observed as a federal holiday in 1986. But, some individual states did celebrate King’s birthday prior to 1983.

        the Admiral

        1. We had a shorter school year than public school kids to begin with, then having their days off was a bonus. We also had half days on the first Friday of each month.

          I don’t know if that was a state thing or just the local district’s decision.

        2. More info: ” Congressman John Conyers, Democrat from Michigan, first introduced legislation for a commemorative holiday four days after King was assassinated in 1968. After the bill became stalled, petitions endorsing the holiday containing six million names were submitted to Congress.

          “Conyers and Rep. Shirley Chisholm, Democrat of New York, resubmitted King holiday legislation each subsequent legislative session. Public pressure for the holiday mounted during the 1982 and 1983 civil rights marches in Washington.”

          So certainly people were talking about him and whether or not to honor him from 1968 on until it was signed into law. Like most of you, I heard the “yeah, he helped black people get treated equally, but he was a communist and an adulterer.”

  10. Sooo… I guess I am a day late and a dollar short in posting on SFL. I have ready most of the post and comments for the past three years. An having been raised since the age of 10 in a fundy church SFL was a blessing. So if it’s ok to post this here I would like to introduce myself and all little about my fundy experience. I was 10 when my family joined a Fundy church, well it was not a big church or related to FBH we did have PCC come often and try to rope us teens into going to college. Since, We didn’t start going until I was 10 it was very confusing to suddenly stop going to the movies ,stop wearing shorts and all the other silly rules. But since I had experienced life outside of this craziness I was all to see and question all the rules. For a time both of my parents were heavy brainwashed into fundyland. By the times hit senior year in highschool, life in my family was miserable ! My parents fought all the time and there was no joy in our home. My brother and I couldn’t wait to escape . An by college my mother had started to see fundyland for what it was thanks to real Christian friends. My father however became further involved in fundy thought thanks to David W Could and his horrible “scholarship “. to make all the story short my parents divorced and my father stayed in fundamistalism and refuses to speak to any of us. Because we “build a wall between him and are not going gods way” lol whatever that means. I found God again in the shock United Methodist Church were there was love and grace to be me. Thanks y’all and Darrell for all the wonderful thought provoking post and comments. I do like that people keep commenting and if it’s all ok I would like to join the conversation.

    1. Adam f,
      Welcome to SFL. Of course you may join the conversation. Anyone who displays civility may participate here. I am glad to hear you have moved on from your IFB background, but sorry that your family paid such a harsh price.
      As you have said, you are a day late and a dollar short. You are witnessing the final days of this venerable blog. May God have mercy on its soul.

      the Admiral

    4. Dear Adam f,
      Welcome to SFL! They let me join the conversation, so I guess that means anyone can ;-). It’s a great place to vent and find your voice.
      Blessings,
      WM

    5. Dear Adamf:

      Having read SFL for this time, you know that this is a wonderful community. You will find people here who will stand at your back like no other. God’s blessings, my friend!

      Christian Socialist

  11. The road pic Darrell used resonates with me.

    I’m reminded of “leaving” songs like “I’m Leaving on a Jet Plane” and “On the Road Again”.

      1. Well, it reminds me of a lot of rural roads, going somewhere, but not quickly. And if you stop, you are nowhere in particular.

        Still wish Darrell would hand off the SFL to someone instead of willing it to die. Good friends are hard to come by and painful to lose.

        1. I bet there’s about a couple hundred people that agree with you rtgmath. This place has been like the bar Cheers to so many of us for all these years. I still check in at least once a day to see which of my friends might still be lurking about.

          the Admiral

        2. Dear rtgmath:

          I would echo the Admiral’s thoughts and yours.

          My contacts with the IFB world are ancient. Many fine posts by Darrell could be resurrected for a reborn SFL blog; and many, many more responses by readers would themselves make fine posts. Darrell only knows how much work that entails.

          As for genuinely new material, stuff would have to be submitted by others. For myself, I can’t stomach the continually regurgitated/re-gobbling rituals that constitute IFB sect-dom. It’s likely I’d misbehave and get myself chucked out and charged.

          Christian Socialist

        4. I think it would be great if someone started something like a SFL II blog. We could all help suggest topics as well as revivie old SFL posts.

          SFL is such a great community and I hate to see it dissipate.

  12. Dear SLF Readers,

    Our good friend Big Gary posted this video on SFL a number of years ago, and I thought it deserved to be re-visited, seeing that it contains such profound theology.

    I thought it would be good conversation material to help the more competitive commenters to “hit the mark.”

    Here’s instructions on how to “pisseth against the wall”:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qo3o4nfiG7A

    Have a great day!

    WM

    1. Thanks for the link. I’ve watched that clip many a time in the past but it was fun to see it again.

      the Admiral

      1. You’re welcome. I just watched it for the first time recently. But there’s some things that just never get old.

    2. The first time that mine husband watcheth this video, he laugheth so hard that he rolleth off the couch. I told him that I shall suffer him to pisseth against a tree next time we go hiking, but when he abideth in our house, in the day that he pisseth against the wall thereof, he shall surely die. So despite the exhortations of Mr. Anderson to pisseth against the wall, mine husband continueth to pisseth in the commode. Behold, he always standeth — so does that make it OK? I KNOW that he is a real man, and definitely more of a man than Mr. Anderson.

      I do have a question though. When Mr. Anderson pisseth against the wall, doth he clean it up himself, or doth Mrs. Anderson follow him about with a mop and bucket?

      1. Behold, if Mr. Anderson doth pisseth against the wall of my city, he shalt verily finders himself in the jail on vagrancy charges.

        1. A few days in jail might do him some good. On the other hand, he would probably say that he was being persecuted and that his religious liberty was being infringed upon.

        2. He should come to San Francisco. They have recently been painting favorite “pissing places” with a special covering that causes the pee to bounce off the wall back at the pisser.

          The smell in some streets was almost unbearable, and news sources say it’s helpful.

  13. Mr.Anderson’s belief that 6 million Jews did not die in the holocaust and that the holocaust is some kind of made up conserpicy theory makes me sick as a history teacher. It is a well documented historical fact, and that he can try and just make stuff up makes and say it’s history makes me angry. So angry that I will have to go pisseth against his wall. nah that is to much effort to do

    1. My mom used to have a phrase for people like Anderson:

      If you had a brain you would be lonesome.

      His views are extremely scary, and thanks to the Internet, available to any non-thinking person. I’m also a teacher, and people like him scare me.

    2. I didn’t know about Mr. Anderson’s beliefs about the holocaust, but it doesn’t surprise me. In the “pisseth” video clip (despite being hilarious) there are several disturbing things:
      1. There are people who take this guy seriously.
      2. His warped view of manhood.
      3. Perhaps most disturbing, he blames God if anyone is offended by his words. This is typical fundy rhetoric that says (I’m paraphrasing) “If you’re offended by anything that I’m saying, it’s not ME that you’re offended by, it’s God/the Bible that you’re offended by.” Even if the preacher does not say anything else offensive in the entire sermon, this rhetoric is in of itself extremely disturbing and self-serving, because he is basically giving himself free reign to say whatever offensive, hurtful, or untrue thing that he wishes, and he is using his false “god” to bully those who disagree with him into silence.

      1. I don’t know how the the word blasphemy in the NT is defined, but I’ve heard it described thusly: (from Wordnik.com) “The act of claiming for oneself the attributes and rights of God.”

        2. Blasphemy is defined as speaking (or acting) against God, being profane about Sacred things. So if, say, you put bubble bath into the baptistery, that might be considered blasphemy. On the other hand, mocking Mr. Anderson might be the ultimate anti-blasphemy.

        3. Blasphemy has multiple meanings, and I’m pretty sure that when Jesus spoke of the ‘unpardonable sin’ he didn’t mean talking smack about or even mocking the Holy Spirit. The above definition makes more sense to me, since those who lie about being led of the Spirit concerning the lives of people who trust them can cause those people much needless pain.

          Profanity against things sacred falls more under ‘sacrilege’ or ‘irreverence’, I think.

  20. And thank you RTG, for interrupting me on my quest to finish my poem celebrating me as the one to make the evil 666th comment.

  24. Lady Semp is, by definition, perfect. So she won’t end up in hell, will she?

    the Admiral

    1. You two are funny.

      I’ll be too busy dancing to sit down, so no cushions necessary. 😀

  25. I’d been watching the count. I go away for one afternoon and post 666 comes and goes!

    I once liked the blog SFL,
    The laughter and wisdom as well.
    ‘Til the day that it ended
    And we comprehended
    The comments all went straight to hell.

      1. Well, you can be a little closer to heaven aboard a 777. Of course, if it crashes it may just so be that you were a little closer to hell the whole time.

  27. Dear Lady Semp,

    They say the 6 is the number of man. So it looks like you’ve usurped the man’s position (or his number, or something like that).

    Congrats on the 666th comment!

    WM

  30. So I tried to post a comment like 4 times, but it wouldn’t post. Is that because it had D*nte’s name in it?

    the Admiral

  31. Ok, let’s try inserting an asterisk :

    So all these jokes about hell and 666 are proving to the Uber critics like D*nte et al. what reprobates we really are.

    …….or maybe, we just have a sense of humor and are not uptight.

    the Admiral

  32. Wow, it sucks being D*nte. His name can’t even be mentioned here.

    Even his name has been permanently banned.

    the Admiral

    1. Well, it’s his inferno, after all.

      My chem-major son posted the geekiest joke I’ve ever seen. It turns out that guacamole is about 6.02214085774 x 10^23 guacas. Just remember Avacado’s number.

      (Avogadro’s number)

      1. Feeling stupid here rtg. I really really want to get the joke, but the entire thing went way over my head. Do you have to be a scientist to get it?

        the Admiral

        2. A “mole” is a unit of measure used in science, especially chemistry. So guacamole is a mole of guacas. Does that help?

        3. Some geek jokes are awful. This one is. Think of it this way, Avogadro’s number is a measure of how much stuff you have. It is like knowing the number of atoms in a certain amount of a substance or element.

          Carbon has an atomic weight of 12. Well, if your carbon atoms have 6 protons and 6 neutrons. But there are about 6.022 x 10^23 atoms in 12 grams of Carbon 12. In fact, there are 6.022 x 10^23 (count) of the individual particles of [substance] in [the atomic weight of the substance] grams.

          Yep. It is a mouthful. But it makes talking about quantities of substances manageable. We don’t just talk about grams of carbon versus grams of, say, iron. They are different size atoms and there are fewer iron atoms in one gram than there are carbon atoms. But talk about a mole of iron and a mole of carbon and you know you are talking about the same quantity of atoms, even if they have different mass.

          Any Catholics want to make a pun on that?

          Science is fun. Lots of big numbers and very tiny things all making up our big universe in very interesting ways. And scientists are hot in pursuit of understanding. Sigh. I am just an amateur.

          I am really proud of my son for going that route.

        5. Ack-I just wrote a long thank you to rtg and it disappeared. Why is this happening to me?

          the Admiral

        9. I’m very glad you can be proud of your son rtg. I know how that feels. My wife and I are very proud of our 24 year old daughter who is moving fast up the management ladder.

          the Admiral

        10. Thanks to rtg I learned something today. That adds value to life, especially when you’re almost 50 like me.

          the Admiral

      3. Dear rtgmath:

        When my eyes first fell on your short text, I saw the 6.022140 etc. and thought, ‘Avogadro’s number!’ Sensing that this was a joke that I’d missed, I read it [as opposed to taking it in ‘by a glance’] and discovered that the ‘joke’ was about the humble avacado… 😉 LOL!

        Christian Socialist

  33. Darrell,
    If you are still moderating, you probably want to delete the comments that didn’t post. In frustration I sent that comment like 5 times. Sorry about that.

    the Admiral

    1. Darrell doesn’t so much moderate as he does sit back and watch us make fools of ourselves.

      1. Dear leo the lamb:

        What are you saying? Has Darrell become a deist?

        Christian Socialist

        1. I think I’m the deist. In which case Darrell has become a deity… or a demigod.. a demagogue, at least?

    2. Dear FundamentalismWasHellForMe:

      Haven’t you heard sermons about sinners who think that hell is a party that never ends…?

      Christian Socialist

    3. You definitely left too soon FundamentalismWasHell. The party still rages on–kind of like Weekend at Bernie’s. Except it’s Darrell we had to prop up in the back of the convertible.

      the Admiral

  40. Thanks, Rtg and C.S. for posting the links here. Otherwise your comments may get bumped from the “recent comments” before some of us see them.

  41. I thought we could all get Darrell to pass the SFL torch, if we sang a song together. So please stand and turn in your hymnals to page 364.

    There’s a call comes ringing o’er the restless wave, “Send the light! Send the light the SFL light!
    There are souls to rescue, there are souls to save from fundamentalism .
    Send the light!
    Send SFL light
    Send the light the SFL light;
    Let it shine from shore to shore!
    Send the light the SFL light;
    Let it shine forevermore!
    We have heard them call out of the darkness today,”Send the light! Send the light the SFL
    And a golden off’ring at the cross we lay,
    Send the light!
    Send the light the SFL light

    3 Let us pray that Darrell will pass the torch, “Send the light! Send the SFL light!”
    And a Christ-like spirit ev’rywhere be found,
    Send the light!
    Send the light!
    Let us not grow weary in the work of showing the dangers of fundamentalism “Send the light! Send the SFL light
    Let us gather people who are tired and hurt,
    Send the light!
    Send the light the SFL

  42. Dear SFL Mourner:

    If nothing happens, I’m thinking of a ‘born again’ SFL blog that will retain significant continuity with the existing site. A [very] little thought/work has been invested in a brief, initial post that would explain [with typical hilarity] how the new blog came to be.

    If memory serves correctly, Darrell had blogging issues which required buying the current address. If this moves forward, the same issues will supposedly arise. So this will be far from perfect. We’re talking about a ‘work in progress thing.’

    Of this I am quite sure…we’re far from finished here… 😉

    Blessings All!

    Christian Socialist

    1. Oh, Christian Socialist, we need that Blog. SFL has probably saved many of us thousands of dollars in therapy or from being eternally social misfits. I salute you!

    2. I second the second of that motion. SFL is to me what BJU is to fundies. SFL is the flagship of the ex fundie fleet. The Titanic, if you will. And I shall. It has been torn asunder by an iceberg, but all is not lost. Maybe it’s compartments are watertight this time.

      No, I’m not drunk. But if I wasn’t working tomorrow, I might be working on that.

      the Admiral

  43. Yes, Admrial I am a heretic according to the IFB. I am a heretic for being a United Methodist shock!! gasp!! you know all we care about is loving Jesus and people lol

    1. Loving God and loving people? Now, why would you want to do that? Sure those are great sentiments, but you’d be hard pressed to find anything about that in the Bible. On the other hand, standards, sanctimony and soulwinning are 3 fundamentals of the faith that any good Bible believing Christian would put at the top of the priority list. Haymen?

      the Admiral (I got saved)

    2. I am friends with a United Methodist minister (a woman). She says that, too. “Love God. Love people!”

      I like that. But I have noticed that my former IFB church has put those simple sentences as banners on the front of the church. They think they Love God. Maybe they do. They think they love people. I know they love *their kind* of people. I don’t think they see others that aren’t their kind as “people” at all.

      You can pick those nuances up if you know how to listen to what they say. Having grown up around white racism (the Pacific Northwest, close to Northern Idaho, among others) you learn to hear the code words. You also hear it in the preaching when they just love judgment and justice but mercy and grace toward those who are “out” is just not available. The long for the days when God’s patience with unrepentant and unbelieving people will run out and He will rain down judgment for wickedness. That the preacher tries to say the words in a mournful and warning tone of voice really doesn’t undermine the joy they have at the thought of these “liberals” and “homos” and others “getting the just rewards of their doings.”

      THEY, of course, don’t have to worry about the judgment of God against sin because they have “eternal security”! They are already Forgiven.

      When I “got saved” and honestly accepted Jesus as my Savior with everything in me, I never thought I would see the term “eternal security” as a hateful thing. But somehow the Fundies have turned it into a license to hate, to be cruel and selfish and to look down on others.

      Hmmmm. “Finished work.” Nice phrase. I just realized that the Fundies do not use that term consistently. That is something I will have to explore later.

      1. Dear rgtmath:

        I’m with you and the Admiral. To love God above all, and others as ourselves — on these two words hang all the law and the commandments. But then as a good Episcopalian, you know that! 😉

        Blessings!

        Christian Socialist

    2. I’ll call third so I can be the second to wish you a happy first day of February! (Oh, and a happy birthday too!)

    1. Now there’s a response showing the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ in the power of the Spirit.

      Not.

      Fundies — you can count on them to be proactive in their ungodliness while thinking themselves close to God.

      1. RTGMATH: you are right on target. Fundies can justify there ungodly behavior as excusable because its “righteous indignation” .

    2. Dear LOL:

      Answered with reference to Fundamentalists rules 1 and 32.

      Christian Socialist

  47. Thank you Linn and FundamentalismWasHellForMe. If the weather keeps up its mild behavior, it will be a very happy birthday indeed. Here in Michigan most people consider the end of winter to be sometime in April, but I always say it’s February 17, cause that’s what I want for my birthday, and sometimes I call it right.

    the Admiral

    1. This means it’s (practically) your actual birth date today: happy birthday!!! And may the weather be warm wherever you are 🙂

    1. Is it just me, or do all the crazy fundies live in Arizona? I have friends who are going there to retire (from what used to be the land of fruits and nuts, California), and I think I should warn them. Currently living in California, I think I will take my chances here.I do not want to move to Arizona where the husband can “pisseth against a wall” while he is surrounded by his umpteen wives and children.

      1. Pastor of the Ambassador Baptist Church in Apache Junction, AZ.

        And wow. Does he ever demonstrate that marriage is not “one man and one woman”! But then, I never did think the Scriptures were anything but polygamous (polygyny) in this way. After all, that is the culture they were in. At least the kook has the ability to be honest about it.

        But if he wants multiple wives (and from the blog, it appears he does!), I suggest a firm “No” unless he is willing for the women to have multiple husbands. After all, fair is fair, and “in Christ there is no male or female,” haymen?

        Fundamentalist Baptists come in all kinds of weirdness.

    2. “God has designed men to exercise headship, it is in their jeans.”

      FTFY, “Pastor”.

    3. Interesting how he tries to sell polygamy to women as security. So, allegedly if something happens to them there is a larger family available to provide additional care.

      Does this mean she doesn’t have that kind of security if she only had to rely on her husband? Apparently so.

      Having only one breadwinner for multiple wives and their children is much less secure.

      And yes, lots of creepy pastors do seem to operate in Arizona. Steve Anderson and Mark Chappell are also there. Beware!

      1. Yeah. At least some people are being honest about the truest form of Biblical marriage! But that leads them into some awful conclusions.

        I wonder if this character is secretly fundamentalist Mormon.

    1. “does [th]is dude have a church?

      This is Fundystan….Of course he does!

      “About me
      Gender Male
      Industry Religion
      Occupation Pastor
      Location Apache Junction, Arizona, United States”

  50. Dear Stuff Fundies Like Readers:

    Glory! Our beloved blog breathes again!

    I spoke with Darrell briefly [ http://tinyurl.com/htuo476 ] about the possibility of a continuing SFL style blog. He is still ruminating over what to do with SFL. We are not like those who ‘read into the text;’ but I have no problem considering the future in the event that Darrell is truly ‘bowing out’ as opposed to taking a well-deserved leave of absence.

    If it is time for a ‘continuing blog,’ the continuity with SFL should be apparent. I’m not settled yet on the butt cushion, although I suspect there would be revolt if it was dismissed. At any rate, I’ve downloaded and saved to disc the full ‘Fundamentalist Rulebook.’

    In addition to retaining the Rulebook feature, any ‘continuing’ blog should also feature due recognition of Darrell. [Sorry, Darrell – I’ve saved about every photo of you available on the internet]! I’m thinking this could be called the altar [or token] of our misplaced devotion, recognizing all those in Fundyland who have been censored for the same.

    I’d also like to make appropriate use of ‘Darrellisms,’ such as (click to embiggen), photo captions, etc. Anything insights the SFL community can offer toward that would be much appreciated. I’d also like to know what ‘tags’ have been more memorable/helpful. This would fill out naturally in time, but it would be nice to have a sense of what resonates as well.

    Remember though, for now this is Darrell’s call. We should support him in whatever he decides in his own time.

    That said, the first post is ready to go. I’m using this time to learn about webhosting, etc.

    Blessings!

    Christian Socialist

    1. Yes!!!!! I came to the party a little later than most, but life without SFL is bleak. Thank you for your efforts!

    2. Will george be allowed to stay on? Maybe he could become the caretaker of “The Black Pearl of Great Price Before Swine ” museum and White Piano Lounge?

      1. Dear Lord Don:

        Yes…yes…I see that hand…
        White Piano, you say! Good idea! Must remember that motif.

        Don’t rightly recall the ‘Black Pearl of Great Price Before Swine… Could I have missed that entry?

        Christian Socialist

        1. When I first saw this particular post with the road stretching out, I cried tears of sadness; tonight reading the thread, they are tears of happiness.

          Be sure to memorialize the Tool Shed on the Pearl of Great Price before Swine…..and the White Piano Lounge. A picture of Scorpio’s airplane should hang from the mast for good measure. I will enjoy seeing George again.

        2. Dear FormerHACgirl:

          That does it. Next week, I’ll have to acquire an internet hosting service, and reserve a URL for a ‘continuing’ site in the event that Darrell decides truly to hang it up. Either way, this tradition needs to ‘continue.’

          I’m not familiar with the ‘George’ thing … was that a former poster, or someone in some part of Fundydom?

          At any rate, if you’ve stashed away any urls to favorite posts, don’t chuck them now. Perhaps we can include a ‘from our glorious past’ feature along with the Rulebook, and the Altar of our Misplaced Devotion!

          Blessings!

          Christian Socialist

          PS: As you can tell, whatever else may change, humor will always remain a key component of our beloved community! HUGZ!

        5. Christian Socialist, you don’t know George? You have GOT to catch up on your reading — all the old posts AND the comments. You’ll find out!

        6. Dear pastor’s wife, Lord Don, et. al.:

          Some of those references I do remember. I recall hearing about ‘George’ but was never really got the inside story.

          The white piano gig — that is another matter.

          It seems to me that a ‘defining moment’ for truly, memorable posts from the past would also be in order. This could certainly stand as such a moment…

          http://tinyurl.com/zt8xaz2

          Christian Socialist

        7. We had some great conversations over the years. Some great battles took place from the deck of The Black Pearl of Great Price and we had some fun along the way.

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