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Stories of a Recovering Fundamentalist: Understanding and Responding to Christian Absolutism

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For a religious movement that had a profound effect upon hundreds of thousands of young people in America in the late '60s and '70s, the Jesus Freaks have gotten remarkably little play in the history books.

And yes, Stories of a Recovering Fundamentalist could rightly be called a history book of sorts. In it, James Alexander not only examines the roots and limbs of religious fundamentalism (which he usually refers to as absolutism) over the past few decades, but he also tells a very personal story. A story of his own Baptist beginnings, his youth spent among the Jesus Freaks, and the time he's struggled to overcome absolutism without abandoning faith during his adult years.

Alexander skillfully weaves theology and research with tales of his own spiritual growth, replete as it may be with setbacks, regret, and occasional doubt. He does all this with good humor, grace for those who don't see things quite the way he does, and a seasoned maturity that's refreshing.

I recommend this book to fellow "old Jesus Freaks" who still may be trying to sort out how the spirituality of their youth has affected their religious beliefs to this day.

Alexander certainly has taken me on a walk down Memory Lane, and invited me see those years through his eyes. A trip definitely worth taking.

In this intriguing book, Alexander deftly intertwines experience and theory, personal narrative and scholarly discourse, to produce a work that examines the nature of faith in our times. No one with an interest in theological debate would want to miss this penetrating inquiry into the nature of fundamentalism. I highly recommend it.

To hold a belief so fervently that one begins to ignore reason - this is one definition of religious fundamentalism. "Stories of a Recovering Fundamentalist: Understanding and Responding to Christian Absolutism" is a confession of sorts, from an ex-zealot who realized the hard way that one's belief in God can go too far. Reflecting on his times as an extremist, he is frank and blunt about his downfall, and explains how he still retains his faith in God despite his past troubles. "Stories of a Recovering Fundamentalist" is a must for any Christian who wants to better understand where to draw the line.

I grew up in a fairly fundamentalist Christian home, and have since altered a lot of my opinions. Anyone who has shared this experience knows how it feels to be the odd one out asking questions that never seem to be answered and feeling strange for being what seems like the only one who can't understand the simple "Sunday School answers".
This book, Stories of a Recovering Fundamentalist: Understanding and Responding to Christian Absolutism helped me understand myself better, as well as being an avenue for me to talk with others about faith. While there is quite a bit of academic research and recent Christian history that went into this book, I thought the most refreshing part of reading this were the personal stories that Alexander includes. The stories gave this book a perspective that purely academic books cannot explain to those who have been entrenched in more of a Fundamentalist perspective.
One of my favorite chapters focused on the misconceptions that many often have about Fundamentalist Christians. I think that this chapter especially added a fair balance to those who may misunderstand Christian Absolutists, and gives them information to better understand and communicate with people who have that point of view.
Overall, I think this book brings a lot to the table for anyone. It is helpful for both Academics and people who are more informed on the Jesus Movement, and for people who feel as if they have grown up in a church constantly feeling as if you didn't quite fit when you asked a question and couldn't accept an easy answer. This book will give you a lot of food for thought and answer some questions that I think most people have about this particular arena of Christianity. Alexander's writings clearly give permission to ask questions and struggle with your faith, as I believe God calls us to do and with his own stories, reassures you that struggling with questions is both normal and necessary to growth.
I hope many other people get a chance to read this and sort out their own feelings on Christian Absolutists and where they fit into their own faith.

This book is wonderful. It is not only interesting to read but it paints a fair and balanced look at fundamentalism. Pointing out the negative myths that are held by many, as well as the dangers that can occur when extremism is present.
The author moves the book along with his personal experiences. You feel as though you were there. The history of the Jesus Movement of the 60's and 70's is examined in a way that not only informs, but shows clearly what it was like to be a member of this movement. I highly recommend this book to those looking for a good read, as well as those touched by this movement also.

Dr. Alexander's new work, Stories of a Recovering Fundamentalist, is a helpful read on a number of fronts, but I will limit myself to three that especially stand out to me. First, I believe the distinction he draws between fundamentalism and absolutism is a helpful one, especially for those who remain in faith communities heretofore referred to as fundamentalist as well as for those with friends and family within those faith communities.

Second, I believe the clarity with which he summarizes important philosophical ideas like positivism, modernism, and post-modernism is impressive. For those who have little to no background in or understanding of these concepts, Alexander's treatment is a welcome addition to the field. For example, on p. 95, writing about post-modernity, he writes, " Living with ambiguity is just a part of living. We will never be certain of some things." And, of modernism, he writes on p. 99, "Absolutism/fundamentalism arose as a reaction to modernism. Yet, it shares the same basic belief. There are absolute knowable facts." To the well-versed reader, there is nothing surprising in these two evaluations. Yet, for the reader, who may just be trying to get a handle on the twin concepts of modernity and post-modernity (no easy task, especially as it relates to post-modernity), I suspect Alexander's notes will prove quite helpful.

Third, Dr. Alexander and I have walked much of the same religious ground. Thus, his often brutally honest explanations and reflections on this period of his life and on the sway it continues to have on him from time to time are helpful for me on a personal level as I continue to reflect on my own faith. For that, I owe him a debt.

The question arises, then, whether this book will benefit those who have not trod such ground. The answer, in my opinion, is most-assuredly, yes. Those who read Stories of a Recovering Fundamentalist will get a glimpse of what it means to be a Jesus Freak come Evangelical Christian and of the philosophical presuppositions that undergird this brand (for lack of a better word) of Christianity. In this regard, I thought Alexander's quasi-defense of the movement in ch. 9 was especially helpful.

Now, we turn to a different question. What could have made the book better? A couple of things would have helped me. First, Alexander simplifies the text a little too much for my taste when he summarizes the results of various psychological, sociological and demographic studies. While this is helpful, I think I would have preferred to see some of the raw data in various appendices. Second, although I greatly enjoyed the personal dimension (the narrative, if you will) that this work brings to the topic, at times, I believe we the readers were asked to shuttle back and forth between scientific/historical analysis and memoir too quickly. Perhaps that is the fault of this reviewer, but I thought the delineation between the two components could have been stronger in places. Of course, this is something that is fairly easily addressed in subsequent editions should the author feel it necessary.

To sum up, then, I heartily endorse Stories of a Recovering Fundamentalist.

John Ragsdale, Ph.D.
Kentucky Wesleyan College

"Can human beings know absolute truth?" This is the central question raised in the preface and explored throughout the book. Not surprisingly, Alexander does not seek to provide an "absolute" answer. What he does provide is a compelling story of his own faith journey, a (sometimes) painfully honest account of faith divorced from thought, and ultimately a reconciliation between knowing and believing.

As a person who has gone to great lengths to "know" things (Ph.D., ordination, extensive research, etc.), Alexander nevertheless admits, "It takes courage to live without all the ends tied up." In this day of polarized, "either-or" views, it is refreshing to read that an honest question may carry more weight than a certain response.

The fundamentalism recounted from Alexander's early years may not always align with the reader's own experience, but he is careful to differentiate between anecdotal stories vs. general characteristics, and even goes so far as to debunk ten common (and negative) myths about fundamentalism. But it is not in the myths and stereotypes where the author finds fault--it is in the very notion of a belief system unwilling to critically examine its own foundation.

Among those who should read this book are...
Fundamentalist and Evangelical apologists who may appreciate the chance to follow Alexander's thought process and dissenting ideas, even while disagreeing with his conclusions.
Anyone who has embraced an absolutist faith, and then rejected faith altogether, thinking that there is no other alternative.

For anyone who has ever been brought up in a fundamentalist background and made the "leap of faith" away from its tenets or for those who are still in the fundamentalist world but have their doubts then I think that James Alexander's Stories of a Recovering Fundamentalist: Understanding and Responding to Christian Absolutism is a read that is more than timely but rather a bit necessary. I was one of those who grew up in a fundamentalist church (Churches of Christ) and have questioned basically everything in my life since then.

James Alexander, who I must say writes in a very intelligent style, recounts his own life's and to an extent his wife's struggles of the heart, the intellect and ultimately the soul between what is right and wrong and what is true and not true. This book is a story of metamorphosis.

During the 1960's the author was a member of the Jesus Freak movement and later did lots of searching for churches that "felt right" to him and his wife. Always seeking a higher understanding James Alexander studied hard and even went to a seminary, oddly enough a Catholic one, and became a minister in Middle America. Through the years though the doubts kept coming up - he was seeing that to buy into absolutism in Christianity was to buy into an investment that wasn't making much sense to him anymore. James Alexander was beginning to see that many of the stories of the Bible were just that, stories. He came to see many of the myths in the stories of miracles and impossible events recorded in the Bible. But this did not bring him to a rejection of his Christianity, but rather to see that these myths were necessary. We learned powerful lessons of morality through these myths. These myths in many ways were the basis of many cultures. They taught us to love one another and they taught of the love of God. The author found himself in stark contrast to the religion that he had been following for so many years. Finally, and not with grand fanfare, he and his wife made the move. They simply moved to another church.

James Alexander is in no way damning of the fundamentalists who he knew and communed with for so long. In fact he not only tells of his strong ties to the many brethren he'd come to accept as Christian brothers and sisters but he admits that giving up absolutist ideology has not been without doubts and withdrawals. This is a strong statement for the author to make in my opinion as although it can be argued that doubts and withdrawals are a sign of an unclean conscious I would be the first to disagree: It is totally consistent with the main statement of the book - that there is nothing absolute in the religion, only people who see things from an absolutist standpoint. And even though I might not agree with his every position, James Alexander has given the reader a raw, loving and completely honest testimony of his own journey of faith.

The Bible is a marvelous effort by God's creation to speak to God and to one another about the most fundamental questions of human existance. Stories of a Recovering Fundamentalist will make both faith and the Bible more meaningful and relevant

In Stories of a Recovering Fundamentalist, Alexander discusses his journey into and away from Christian fundamentalism. His story forms a narrative that could easily describe many people's life stories, starting with an initial introduction to such beliefs as a child. The discussion about how his journey in life changed his religious perspective well illustrated how such a change in outlook can play out in one's life.

Beyond the personal memoir elements of the writing, Alexander presents an insightful overview of issues surrounding faith, belief, myth, and types of knowing. His discussion about what myth means and how it relates to Christianity is certainly worth a read. Alexander rejects the commonly held understanding of myth to be some sort of lesser truth or untrue story. He draws on sociology and psychology to portray an sociological understanding of myth in a very approachable manner.

The book also features an academic overview of the absolutist (the author prefers a more nuanced "absolutism" to the more generally used "fundamentalism") movement. He details its rise and how absolutism has grown throughout society. His account, backed up by numerous historical accounts, studies, and surveys, provides a good introduction to many elements of absolutism (especially that centered in the United States) that may not be commonly understood. Given the way in which absolutism has affected and continues to affect the society at large, such an introduction is very valuable.

Overall, Alexander's book is a compelling read and I would recommend it to people of all backgrounds and belief structures.