Customer Reviews

Leaving The Fold: Testimonies Of Former Fundamentalists

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

LEAVING THE FOLD contains the personal reflections of ex-fundamentalist Christians regarding why they left their particular subculture. I was amazed to find out who some of the contributors were, e.g., Harvey Cox, professor of religion at Harvard! I think that many people leave fundamentalist Christian groups and, in the spirit of Christian charity, try not to say anything critical about the group. This is a mistake. Some of the heinous behavior, abuse and crimes of these groups as revealed in the testimonies ex-members must be exposed. Many thanks to Ed Babinski for a job well-done and for his service to Christendom for getting us all to be honest with ourselves about abuses committed in the name of God. Ronald A. Veenker, PhD, Dept of Religious Studies, Western Kentucky, University Bowling Green, KY 42101 I

There are other atheists who are former Christian fundamentalists--I am not alone! Some of them had, as I did, ties to Bob Jones University, perhaps the foremost incubator of fundamentalists. After reading "Leaving the Fold," I felt free to talk openly, for the first time, about my recanting Christianity. I even told my family--incorrigible fundamentalists! I am indebted to Mr. Babinski.

Parts of this book are painful for those of us who are still Christian believers, but Ed Babinski has done a superb job of bringing together a wealth of material and presenting it clearly and efficiently. Not all Christians could read through such a litany of disillusionments withut going into depression (just as not all anti-Christians could read through it without gloating). I think this book is too harsh for naive, well-meaning Fundamentalists, but that it contains valuable information for moderate and conservative Evangelicals who care about truth even when it hurts. Mature Christians, seminary students, and seminary professors would do especially well to ponder and discuss the contents of this book.

The "Reviewer" who gave this book but one star has either not read it, or, not digested its contents. Like a lot of reviews written by people of an evangelical faith he rates it with only "one star" because he disagrees with its contents on apriori religious grounds and hopes to discourage others from being contaminated by its contents (not because the book was written badly or researched badly or lacked interesting information - it is in fact, written well, researched fastidiously, and contains much interesting information not found in other such works).

Predictably, the reviewer suggests a "better" book that agrees with his particular evangelical faith, like "Why Christian Kids Leave the Fold." Such a "review" is both "sad" and "not surprising," and says more about the reviewer than the book he has "reviewed."

To put what I said above in perspective, even having "left the fold" I, for instance, have not searched for books by Evangelical Christians to give them only "one star" and then suggest that readers would be better off reading "Leaving the Fold" instead. (Though come to think of it, what better way to try and draw attention to books you wish others to read. Though such "non-reviews" are also an annoyance to those of us seeking to gain knowledge from a book review. ...

As for the naive and deprecating comments concerning "people leaving the faith" due to their pursuit of "sinful pleasures," it proves the "Reviewer" never read the book, because he ignores the rational arguments and reasons given by those who left Christianity, moreover, fully a third of the book's testimonies were written by fundamentalistic Christians who REMAINED CHRISTIANS after leaving their "fundamentalistic" beliefs and/or attitudes behind. Neither have "most of those who have fallen away" in the book ever returned to their former "fundamentalistic" ways or views. You can look up a number of them on the web and ask them for yourself. And one of the contributors in this book was Billy Graham's best friend and a former evangelist, whose book, "Farewell to God: My Reasons For Rejecting the Christian Faith" was published just this year.

Lastly, I have read the book the "Reviewer" suggests, "Why Christian Kids Leave the Fold," and I'd like to say that a close friend of the person who wrote that book, whom the author knew to be one of the brightest and most enthusiastic Evangelical Christians he'd ever met, left the fold, never to return. The author's conclusion and embarrassing admission after he saw that happen to such a close dear Evangelical Christian friend was that intelligent and enthusiastic Christians who love Christ, can and do "leave the fold."

(Just to keep the playing field level and "average out" the scoring of this alleged "review," I think I'll give this book five stars.)

Ed Babinski has done a wonderful job of collecting mini-autobiographies of people who have found reasons not to believe. The book contains dozens of stories of those who have once adhered to fundamentalist Christian beliefs, but who have concluded that some things are not tenable once exposed to contrary evidence. A must read for those leaving the faith or for people wanting to know more about those leaving the faith

I contributed a chapter to this book. Some have accused me and the other authors of this book of not having sincere conversions or not wanting to be "accountable" to a "creator." Because no one, including these "know-it-all" accusers, can know the minds of the authors of this book, I will only speak for myself. My conversion and deconversion testimonies in this book are entirely SINCERE. I wanted salvation. I committed my life to Christ and I encouraged others to do so. However, after I read the Bible, and especially the false prophecies in Revelation and the countless contradictions in the Gospels, I realized that the claims of Christianity were false. Also, I could no longer swallow the irrational and far-fetched excuses that fill the "Christian apologetics" literature. As discussed in my essay, the arguments used by fundamentalists are no different than the feeble and subjective attempts by Mormons to defend their "scriptures." The excuse-making of the "apologeticists" clearly violates the Principle of Parsimony (that is, "Ockham's Razor": a principle that now goes far beyond the embryonic thoughts of William of Ockham).

I finally had the courage to stop lying to myself and admit that the claims of the Bible are wrong. Fundamentalism FAILED us. The authors of Babinski's book discovered alternatives, which they found to be more realistic, fulfilling and moral than Christian fundamentalism. At the same time, it's just so easy for fundamentalists to blame the victims of fundamentalism rather than be adults and responsibly admit that there are SERIOUS problems with fundamentalism and its interpretations of the Bible.

My moral life has not changed since I left Christianity, so there's no evidence that I left because of any "love for the world." Indeed, a person would have to be insane to turn down a REAL offer for eternal paradise. I would like nothing better than to have eternal life, but conclusive evidence (some of which is presented in this book) says it's an illusion. Therefore, I prefer to be an honest agnostic with a clear conscience than a frustrated and self-deceived Bible fundamentalist.

After reading the reviewer from Chicago, please take the time to read Mr Babinski's full comments. I read a library copy of this book and have now placed it on my birthday list. It's greatest value is for people like me, ex born again Christians. 'Chicago, IL' can't imagine the other side of the great divide you pass through when you 'come out' of Christianity, but WE know and Mr Babinski's subjects do. If you once loved Jesus, worshipped him and shared the gospel with others but now find yourself in a wilderness, take heart! This book is a great first step to discovering 1)You're not alone in this experience and 2)A joyful and rewarding life still awaits you.

There is probably no other book where you can tap into the vast experiences of former fundamentalists. The backgrounds and credentials of the people are very impressive. They have expanded huge amounts of effort trying to support their beliefs in fundamental Christianity only to find orthodox Christianity seriously wanting. It also exposes the many negative consequences of fundamentalism on its followers. If this book doesn't seriously challenge your "faith", your critical thinking skills need a major overhaul.

I worked at a public library in the part of South Carolina where the author lives (the general area of Bob Jones University). When this book came out, there was so much uproar over it from community fundamentalists that my spineless library director pulled it from the shelf -- in other words, it was banned. Now, here's the milion-dollar question: if these fundies believe in something so wonderful and perfect, why do they object so rapidly to anyone questioning it? Hmmm. Just some food for thought.

This book is a breath of fresh air for someone who has been the victim of a psychologically abusive fundamentalist church. I left fundamentalism 6 months ago for so many reasons, and reading this book helped clarify those reasons. It is well written, and includes many testimonies of former fundamentalists who have left the movement. I would encourage anyone with a desire to understand the abusive side of fundamentalism to read this book.