CLUSTERHUMPING FOR JESUS: Will the Ladies Please Take Their Bows?!

It’s been a while since the last Wednesday Clusterhump, but I'm pretty sure we can get back into the swing of things without too much awkwardness. Ready for another go?

I am.

This clusterhump is dedicated to the ladies.

Bloggers:

I’ve mentioned Ex-Fundie before – and I’ll mention her again. I still hope she’ll draw up a flow chart for those disclaimers about my salvation. Maybe I need to actually email her about that instead of passive-aggressively asking in a public forum.

Another former hard-core Christian boldly tells her story at Oh, My Soul Hole. Tai Bee is just getting started so let’s lift her up! No – you cannot peak under her skirt when you lift her up! Well, maybe you can – but you’ll have to ask nicely. (I think she can handle that.)

Next – I know I’m coming late to the party of this one but Why I Left Christianity by Lori needs to be on your radar. I wish I had known about it sooner. 

Same with Leah at Whore of All the Earth. Goes without saying – her blog is amazing – though I’m pretty sure all my readers know that already. Leah (another public message alert - i like to keep my stalking out in the open) - if you're ever in my neck of the woods, let's meet for coffee!

More Than Bloggers: 

Women bloggers who do more than just blog – but work to right wrongs created by hard-core Christianity in America.

Not the first time I’ve mentioned Dr. Marlene Winell – and it won’t be my last. Go to her site – read her book – she’s lived through this and is reaching out to help those of us who struggle with turning off that ‘my-way-or-the-highway’ record that spins in our heads. She has a retreat coming up in January for those in the San Fran area.  From my understanding, she is also working to have Religious Trauma Syndrome (RTS) recognized among psychologists. Please support her work as you can. You can also check out the Here To Help tab for more details.

If you haven’t heard about the site Stop Baptist Predators – well - it's too late now. Christa writes about her own abuse by Baptist clergy (check CB’s Testimony links) and spreads the news about sexual predators within the Baptist circles. From what I can tell, she doesn’t write as a nonbeliever, but instead encourages those who have been hurt to seek help. The site includes links to SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) and other resources for victims of abuse. She is working to hold corrupt men accountable – and corrupt men are more often than not supported by other corrupt men. The least we can do is support Christa’s work.

Finally, Vyckie Garrison of No Longer Quivering. She blogs and started a forum and blogging platform for women and girls recovering from the Quiverfull movement. She herself is the mother of seven children and writes and works from the outside after spending many years on the inside of the movement.

What is the Quiverfull movement? The best way to find out more is to visit the site…. and check out the about pages – particularly What Is Quiverfull? (duh).  Many of these evangelical and fundamentalist women have been spiritually and psychologically coerced into large home-schooled families that revolve around the patriarch and the church... sometimes leaving the women with broken bodies and unreasonable expectations of their faith and family.  The Blogroll tab offers dozens of amazing blogs and sites including Quivering Daughters which works to help deprogram girls from the expectations placed on them by their church and family.

How to say this?

I am from a Quiver. A Quiver is an OT biblical reference. Allow me:

Behold, children are a gift of the LORD;
The fruit of the womb is a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of the warrior,
So are the children of one’s youth.
How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them
They shall not be ashamed,
When they speak with their enemies in the gate.

Psalms 127:3-5 (NAS)

The official Quiverfull movement started in the early 1980s. By that time all my brothers and sisters were born. I love each and every one of them more than words can express. Though I wasn’t homeschooled, other siblings were church-schooled.

I’m not ready to go into detail here - but suffice it to say – I’ll never forget the envy and awe in the eyes of the men of the churches we attended. It makes me sick just thinking about it.

And to soothe that sickness, I cannot express my thanks and appreciation and gratitude enough to all the bold women who work against fundamentalism – whether it is blogging their personal testimonies as current atheists or by working with their faith intact to speak Truth to Power.

As I started spreading my wings upon leaving the faith, I was, and am, constantly amazed at how so many secular women take feminism for granted. If you want to witness feminism alive and well – and btw, feminism is nothing to be afraid of – look to the girls and women picking themselves up and brushing themselves off from the confines of hard-core Christianity. If you can, do more than just gawk. Listen to them. Join their ranks. Encourage them. Support them.

And yes - I'm aware that an entire blog post dedicated to women, just because they have a vagina, is soooo pre-1990s feminism. I try. Solidarity is a Bitch.