Fleeing Fundamentalism: A Minister's Wife Examines Faith [Hardcover]

Carlene Cross (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 20, 2006

At a time when the distance between church and state is narrowing and the teaching of intelligent design is being proposed for our classrooms, it is startling and provocative to hear the reasoned voice of a dissident from inside the church. For Carlene Cross, arriving at this shift in belief was a long and torturous journey.

In Fleeing Fundamentalism, Cross looks back at the life that led her to marry a charismatic young man who appeared destined for greatness as a minister within the fundamentalist church. Their marriage, which began with great hope and promise, started to crumble when she realized that her husband had fallen victim to the same demons that had plagued his youth. When efforts to hold their family together failed, she left the church and the marriage, despite the condemnation of the congregation and the anger of many she had considered friends. Once outside, she realized that the secular world was not the seething cauldron of corruption and sin she had believed, and found herself questioning the underpinnings of the fundamentalist faith.

Here is an eloquent and compelling story of faith lost and regained. Certain to be controversial, it is also a brave and hopeful plea for greater tolerance and understanding.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The religion depicted in this absorbing memoir of falsehood and betrayal is fundamentalism gone berserk: it has turned into an inhuman, apocalyptic, darkly controlling force that reshuffles common sense, "jumbling all logic into madness." After indoctrination at a Bible college, Cross finds herself in a marriage from hell replete with abuse, addictions and mental illness. Her husband, a popular young pastor, uses religion to mask the alternate reality he has created, a netherworld that will potentially destroy not only his career but the entire family's safety and sanity. With the courage of a trapped animal, Cross reinvents her life, waiting tables and going on welfare in order to earn a degree and support her three children. For a time discarding God, the Bible and organized religion along with her malevolent husband, she eventually redefines spirituality as "a road of discovery—not of submission to a rulebook." Cross's brief summaries of Christian history are at best simplistic, and some readers will contend that the fundamentalism she portrays is an aberration, not the norm. Still, her heartfelt condemnation of public hypocrisy couldn't be more timely. In her ex-husband's own self-indicting words: "Isn't it ironic, a guy condemning sinful society and completely without a conscience himself?" (Oct.)
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From Booklist

Cross converted to evangelical Christianity as a teenager. Subsequently, her existence followed a predictable path, or so she thought: attendance at a Bible college, early marriage to a fellow Christian, children, and life as a minister's wife. Her life seemed to be over before it had begun. But then things didn't proceed according to plan. She and her husband became emotionally distant, and after he admitted a form of sexual addiction, their marriage fell apart irrevocably. At the same time, Carr underwent a journey of self-discovery, a goodly part of it derived from her decision to study the roots of Christianity. The more she learned, the more skeptical she became of her Bible college education. She grew increasingly impatient with what she considers the misogyny of the fundamentalist tradition in particular. Divorce and graduate school preceded finally making peace with her past and her former spouse. A painfully candid account of faith gained and faith lost, of forgiveness, and of the often rocky road of spiritual growth. June Sawyers
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Algonquin Books; First Edition edition (September 20, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565124987
• ISBN-13: 978-1565124981
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,175,629 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A truly brave and memorable read!, January 24, 2007

By 

GP - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fleeing Fundamentalism: A Minister's Wife Examines Faith (Hardcover)

Carlene Cross' Fleeing Fundamentalism - A Minister's Wife Examines Faith is a courageous narrative that pulls the reader in with a haunting truthfulness and warning about accepting dogma at face value. Ms. Cross bravely opens herself up to the reader and recounts her story with true dignity and grace. At no time does she blame; instead her approach compels the reader to question, question, question. Rather than raging against fundamentalist Christianity, Fleeing Fundamentalism - A Minister's Wife Examines Faith serves as a warning about blind acceptance. How many times in human history have humans blindly accepted the idealism of the day and how many millions have paid a dear price for it?

This book with its message of healing, hope, forgiveness, and triumph is wonderfully written, and the reader is able to connect with the author right from the beginning. The reader is with the author, when as a young girl, she watches her mother bake pies while simultaneously dreaming of studying distant cultures. The reader is also with her as she bravely decides to take her children out of an abusive situation and start a new life. How many can identify with Ms. Cross' despair when she realizes her education-and key to freedom-is in jeopardy? Finally, the reader is right there with her as she finally finds peace after her journey of self-discovery. Five-stars! This book is a must-read!

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Rib-Sticking Read, October 13, 2006

By 

A Reader - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fleeing Fundamentalism: A Minister's Wife Examines Faith (Hardcover)

In this wonderful memoir, Carlene Cross rescues herself and her three young children not only from her failed marriage to a charismatic Fundamentalist minister but from that religion's intolerant and hidebound dogmatism. Her sharp eye for detail and ear for dialogue give dimension and an aching reality to this often harrowing tale. Her predicament is eased, surprisingly, by other church women many of whom, once the surface is scratched, feel as trapped and desperate as she does. Cross puts an honest, all-too-believable face on their shared dilemma. She is brutally honest about her own shortcomings, her trials and her embarrassments but manages to avoid self-indulgence by means of her exuberant style and sheer story-telling verve. The book is both moving and funny, which is a real gift to the reader. It's a story that sticks to your ribs.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Carlene's Quest For the Truth About Christianity, March 25, 2007

By 

Carla Golden "author & speaker" (Florida) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fleeing Fundamentalism: A Minister's Wife Examines Faith (Hardcover)

Underneath a very engaging and riveting story, there is a quest for the truth about Christianity. Most Christians never take the time to question their religious beliefs and to look at the history of this religion which has changed radically since its beginnings.

Carlene found that Christian fundamentalism is, at its roots, not based on the teachings of Jesus, but a perversion of and misinterpretation of the Bible to justify prejudices and bigotry. If you read this book and want to know more, I recommend Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism: A Bishop Rethinks the Meaning of Scripture by John Shelby Spong. This is a meaty book that will shock, as well as educate you, about Bible scholarship and the history of Christianity. As a Christian, this book did not damage my faith, but rather helped me understand how the Bible has been misused to support political and social agendas.