Let Us Prey: A Ministry of Scandal was released just a few days ago, exposing decades of coverup and abuse in the Independent Fundamental Baptist movement. If you haven’t watched it, understand that it’s gritty, raw and tear jerking. For…
Why Americans shouldn’t dismiss Shiny Happy People’s warning of a Christian-controlled nation
The Shiny Happy People documentary got my attention, too. There is a reason it’s trending right now and you’re seeing it in your feeds and hearing about in conversations. Not only did it provide the history behind the Duggar family’s…
How to connect the dots while watching Shiny Happy People
Collectively watching Amazon Prime’s Shiny Happy People docuseries is foolish if we’re not willing to deconstruct the entire conservative evangelical tower of Babel it reveals. Of course, individuals watching the series may have deeply sensitive trauma they’re reminded of and…
How the new documentary series Shiny Happy People intersects with mainstream Christianity
The fame, scandal and drama surrounding the Duggar family has been a hot topic for Americans following their fundamentalist lifestyle. The family adheres to a Quiverfull theology, which teaches that large families are a blessing from the Lord, as found…
The seeds of evangelical angst over gender and sex were sown decades ago
If you want to understand the gender and sexual anxieties of evangelical Christians today, look at the seeds sown in their midst in the 1970s and ’80s, according to a couple of researchers recently posting on the topic. Marlena Graves…
I survived the Christian fundamentalist world that created Josh Duggar
To many Americans, the Duggar family was known as an example of traditional values, treasuring the life of the unborn, protecting the purity of their unwed children, bearing a strong religious influence not only in ultraconservative Christian circles, but also…
White evangelical leaders who repress women are revered as saints, author says
White evangelical leaders are revered as modern-day saints by followers supportive of efforts to suppress the voice and visibility of women in the church, Beth Allison Barr said during a May 11 webinar hosted by Baptist News Global. That constellation…
Lawsuit accuses once-admired evangelical family expert of sexual abuse
By Bob Allen A disgraced evangelical family expert accused in a lawsuit of sexually abusing or harassing 10 women was an early proponent of ideas now part and parcel of the Baptist Faith and Message. A second amended complaint filed…