The Beardslee, Shellrude and Darr families left North America for West Africa during the 1950s. They followed what they believed to be “God’s Calling” – to spread Christianity throughout the world. Their children however - starting at the age of 6 – were required to attend the boarding school in Mamou, Guinea, run by the
Christian and Missionary Alliance. Cut off from their families for 9 months out of the year and without any reliable means of communication, the children quietly suffered emotional, spiritual, physical and/or sexual abuse at the hands of the all-missionary staff.
All God’s Children tells the personal story of the first boarding school for children of missionaries to be investigated for abuse at the hands of the parents’ missionary colleagues. The survivors and parents share their journey of
seeking justice, redemption and healing. [more inside]
posted by PeterMcDermott
on Jan 30, 2012 -
9 comments
What I find chiefly offensive about them is not that they are skeptics or atheists; rather, it is that they are not skeptics at all and have purchased their atheism cheaply, with the sort of boorish arrogance that might make a man believe himself a great strategist because his tanks overwhelmed a town of unarmed peasants, or a great lover because he can afford the price of admission to a brothel.
Christian writer Dan Hart wonders if
New Atheism might just be a
passing fad.
[more inside]
posted by circular
on May 14, 2010 -
539 comments
The War on Christmas. A very brief overview of the war Christians have waged against other religious holidays since roughly 400AD. Just a reminder of the reason for the season.
posted by tcobretti
on Dec 23, 2005 -
33 comments
"The wackos get their information through the Christian right" "The wackos get their information through the Christian right, Christian radio, mail, the internet and telephone trees," Scanlon wrote in the memo, which was read into the public record at a hearing of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. "Simply put, we want to bring out the wackos to vote against something and make sure the rest of the public lets the whole thing slip past them." - Mssrs. Scanlon and Abramoff betray GOP attitudes concerning the Republican base ?
posted by troutfishing
on Nov 3, 2005 -
24 comments
Indeed, all over the world, millions of born-again Christians have vanished into the mystical ether--leaving behind their clothing, their eyeglasses, even their dentures--along with every child under the age of twelve. Airplanes are crashing, automobiles are veering driverless and out of control, and fetuses are disappearing from their mothers' wombs, as the born-again and the unborn alike are abruptly "raptured" to heaven.
Harper's Magazine reviewer Gene Lyons discusses apocalyptic entertainment.
posted by iamck
on Mar 11, 2005 -
48 comments
America's Christian Values Will Be Destroyed By A Girl in a Tux Kelli Davis, a straight-A student at Fleming Island High School, will not have her picture published in her Senior Yearbook because she wore a tux. Under the principal's policy, only male students may wear tuxes in the photographs. Davis, who is openly gay, is not allowed to be pictured in traditionally male garb. In addition to banning the photograph, the school principal also fired the yearbook editor for refusing to remove Davis' picture. A photo of the betuxed Kelli Davis is available
here.
posted by expriest
on Mar 1, 2005 -
99 comments
Naïve in Thailand: The misadventures of an unprepared 43-year-old Brit who drops everything to try and help with tsunami rebuilding. Pet peeve? "The only real irritation has been the American Christian volunteers."
posted by NortonDC
on Jan 16, 2005 -
88 comments
Don't put a restraining order on God the toughest challenge of living in a democracy is to respect the freedom of other people to live according to values that are not your own. Real freedom, however, does not thrive in a moral vacuum (the ardent secularist) or a moral straightjacket (the ardent theocratic). What does my ideal of democracy look like? I can sum it up in a single sentence: A person arrives at faith freely, practices it openly, and uses dialogue with others about their own life path to deepen their understanding. another interesting read from the same webpage: God is not a Republican or a Democrat:
the Religious Right does not speak for you. Remind America that Jesus taught us to be peacemakers, advocates for the poor, and defenders of justice.. this article is a little dated, but it is relevant for people who choose to accept Jesus as the Christ but do not want someone's political agenda attached to their belief system.
posted by Hands of Manos
on Dec 9, 2004 -
127 comments
Do little people go to heaven? ...The scientists who have come up with these new Floresians do not count them among the ancestors of man, but among the collateral branches which died out, like the Neanderthals, only later. The suggestion is that the Floresians are, like us, rational animals. Now Christians believe that man (I mean homo, of course, not vir) is a special creation of God. Would these Floresians be in the image and likeness of God too, with immortal souls to be saved or lost, capable of praying to God and going to heaven? asks Christopher Howse.
posted by y2karl
on Nov 10, 2004 -
89 comments
Have You Prayed Today?* Today is the National Day of Prayer in the US (I had never heard of it). Oliver North!?! is the
honorary chairman this year. Here are the President's
remarks today. Meanwhile, Larry Flynt is calling for
a different sort of prayer today.
*Muslims and Mormons need not apply.
"We're in an election year, and we believe God cares who's in those positions of authority," said Mark Fried, spokesman for the National Day of Prayer Task Force. "But we're not endorsing a candidate, just praying that God's hand will be on the election."
The private task force, which operates from the Colorado headquarters of the Christian organization Focus on the Family ....
... since the mid-1980s the ceremony has been organized by the nonprofit task force headed by two prominent evangelical women: Vonette Bright, widow of Campus Crusade for Christ founder Bill Bright, and Shirley Dobson, wife of Focus on the Family founder James Dobson.
She also made no apologies about the task force's exclusion of Muslims and others outside of the "Judeo-Christian tradition" from ceremonies planned by the task force on Capitol Hill and in state capitals across the country. "They are free to have their own national day of prayer if they want to," she said. "We are a Christian task force."
posted by amberglow
on May 6, 2004 -
26 comments
is eric rudolph a christian terrorist? via atrios and who are these christian identity people?: "We declare and will wage total war on the ungodly communist regime in New York and your legaslative bureaucratic lackey's in Washington. It is you who are responsible and preside over the murder of children and issue the policy of ungodly preversion thats destroying our people," - sound
familiar?
posted by specialk420
on Jun 2, 2003 -
35 comments
Everybody Hates Us. Michael Spencer notes that evangelical Christians are almost universally disliked. Are there good reasons? "We are loathed, caricatured, avoided and disliked because we often deserve it."
posted by aaronshaf
on Feb 6, 2003 -
112 comments
Tonight,
the BBC took the controversial decision to screen a documentary which investigated the plausability of the life of
The Virgin Mary as it appears in The Bible. As someone who's spiritual without commiting to any one religion, it was a fascinating look at a people and a time. But I can understand why
Christians would be
offended, especially since the programme suggested that Mary (or Miriam) wasn't a virgin at all, that she was a 'mother bringing up a wayward son under difficult circumstances'. Was this the kind of programme which should be shown at Christmas time?
posted by feelinglistless
on Dec 22, 2002 -
26 comments
Missing an Opportunity: One thing not discussed at the world AIDS conference was the impact Christians, acting in accordance with a biblical worldview, can have on this crisis.
posted by jasontromm
on Dec 1, 2002 -
13 comments
The Guardian isn't so good at letting you link to their articles anymore. But if you use this link then click on "printable version" you might get to the site I want you to link to. My title being: If you're Jewish and American its hard to know whose side your on these days.
posted by donfactor
on Oct 28, 2002 -
20 comments
Jesus junk mail. (As an update to
last year's Texas story) Every household in South Carolina will receive a videocassette of a
bad film about Jesus this week. The Special 9-11 Remembrance Edition features an introduction by three members of the NY Fire Dept. Regardless of how you feel about Jesus H., isn't there a better film to send to every household in South Carolina?
posted by found missing
on Sep 9, 2002 -
45 comments
Christians are burning. News.com has a
story on the latest plan by Liquid Audio & EMI to allow users to
burn CDs of Christian music from net downloads. Are Christians less likely to re-rip the CDs and post them for P2P sharing?
posted by Argyle
on Apr 29, 2002 -
18 comments
Five Salem Witches Exonerated - 300 Years Later I would say something like "It's about damned time" -- but like the various Christian denominations apologizing for the
Trail of Tears and participation in the
slave trade, perhaps it is simply too late. There is no risk in making this gesture at this time.
And what is the message here? That these women simply were not guilty of the charges levelled, or that it was wrong to persecute on such a basis in any case?
posted by grabbingsand
on Nov 2, 2001 -
20 comments
What do you get when you mix a
zealous Christian, 12
blow-up dolls, and a
toga party? It's just too strange, but it might have been
the rapture for one woman...
posted by atfrost
on Aug 28, 2001 -
7 comments
Anti-bullying vote blocked by Christian Conservatives The Washington State bill would have required school districts to set up policies against harassment, bullying and intimidation. Christian conservatives that blocked the vote claim "it amounted to censorship of their right to condemn homosexuality." There is no mention of homosexuality in the bill at all. So this leads me to the conclusion that these Christians condone "harassment, bullying and intimidation." How far from the Golden Rule can you stray and keep a straight face?
posted by kokogiak
on May 1, 2001 -
26 comments
