Dead Serious

The tragedy in Colorado reminded me that not only is there a Bright side to leaving the faith, but there is a certain level of abandonment that takes place; one loses, or must reconfigure, one's relationship with family and community. As the details come out about the shooting, it appears not only was the shooter trying to break away (or being pushed away) from the faith, but he also was beginning to seek help from the outside as he struggled with his demons.

"Christ at Prayer" by Richard Hook

Once again, I am not condoning the actions of a clearly unstable young man. This Star Tribune link begins to sum-up the Matthew Murray scenario. I don't think people outside of the more fundamentalist churches understand how scary of a jump it is from the abyss of organized, sometimes cultish, religion to stable ground. Plenty of people struggle through the awkward in-between stages. The Re-Born-Again birthing can get messy.

Disclaimer: I am not a therapist! I do believe in getting information into the hands of people who can benefit from a different perspective. Therefore, as an ongoing project, I've decided to include links to both secular and religious mental health hotlines.

There is no end of stuff to joke about within the christian community, but I can't stress enough that former fundies, catholics, mormons, etc, all deserve to know the bare minimum about mental health services outside the realms of their former belief systems.

To those who might stumble across this with their own set of doubts about christianity, though I run the risk of sounding cheesy: You Are Not Alone! There are nonjudgmental people who will support your decision to leave the faith. There are people who will help you with the deprogramming process. There are people who will encourage you every step of the way.

For years, I've joked about starting a local support system for former fundies: optional title: Former Fundies Unite!

I will keep you posted as I explore options and make connections.

For your viewing pleasure: a Handsome Jesus touching his brow chakra. Namaste