"Getting Saved" in a fundamentalist church - what it's like

[Hugabear]

You walk into the church. Perhaps you're there because a friend invited you, or perhaps you're there because someone in your family asked if you would come with them. Being an open minded person, you figured you'd at least see what it was all about. After all, you've been to a Catholic church once or twice, and another time you went to a Methodist church. You walk in, take your seat in one of the pews, off to the side, about halfway down towards the front. Not too close, but not too far back either. The music starts playing. It's an upbeat tempo, as you find yourself tapping your foot along with the beat. Eventually, the pastor begins his sermon. Even though you don't really consider yourself very religious, you still listen along. The preacher's voice rises and lowers in a very specific method, carefully chosen to keep the congregation hanging on every word. The message itself is full of graphic descriptions about Hell, the Lake of Fire, everlasting torment, demons ripping flesh, worms eating at you for eternity. Of course, the only way to escape such eternal damnation is for you to "get saved". The sermon goes on and on and on, the message being drilled into your head. Eventually you start to feel pangs of guilt, questioning your own self. Towards the end of the sermon, the music starts to softly play. The pianist softly sings "Give your heart to Jesus", while the preacher opens up the altar to anyone who wants to come up and receive Jesus. By this time, you're feeling rather confused, feelings of guilt and anguish running through your head. Your friend asks if you would like to go up front and pray with him, and you numbly follow his lead. You slowly stumble towards the front, approach the altar, kneel down, and just sit there with your head resting on your hands. Before long, you feel someone's hand on your head, and hear someone's voice that you vaguely recognize. You open one of your eyes, and realize that it's none other than the preacher. Within minutes, you're surrounded by at least half a dozen other men, some of them joining their hands on your head, all of them loudly beseeching God to save you. You feel the preacher's spittle on your face as his praying intensifies. Before long, he starts babbling in some tongue that you've never heard before, no language that you can identify. Some of the other men surrounding you also begin speaking in tongues, and one of them starts jerking around, convulsing, "dancing in the spirit" as they call it. At this point, you're absolutely terrified, have no clue how to react. You find yourself beginning to speak some gibberish as well, if only to get them to leave you alone. The preacher hears this, and begins to pray even harder, yelling "Hallelujah" over and over. By this time, you're committed, your endorphins are beginning to kick in, you feel an odd sense of euphoria come over you, and the gibberish continues to flow out of your mouth. At this point, the preacher leads you by the hand to the baptismal area, changes you into a gown, and plunges you into the water. The entire congregation erupts at this point, happy to see another sinner become saved.

Eventually, you go home, not sure what the hell just happened. The euphoria that you felt earlier is now gone, only to be replaced by confusion. You don't quite feel changed. You're still the same person. But wait a second, you're supposed to be a new person now, right? After all, you're "saved". You have to be, since you spoke in tongues! Sure, you started doing it at first just to get them off your ass. But once you started, you found it hard to stop. So was it real? But if it was, then why don't you feel different? Why do you still feel like visiting your favorite nudie site on the internet? Surely, if you were saved, you wouldn't still be feeling lust, would you? After all, lust is a sin, and God just saved you from that! And on the way home, you were listening to your favorite rock CD, which the preacher said was a sin as well. If you're saved, then why do you still find yourself acting the same way?

Now imagine that you're gay, and dealing with these conflicting emotions. I have to wonder if this is what my cousin went through before attempting suicide. Having grown up in a fundie household, I can tell you that the description that I laid out is 100% for real.

[IntravenousDemilo]

1. It really is quite a comfort not to believe in all this hooey. n/m

[RKP5637]

2. +1000 +++ n/t

[Touchdown]

3. +1000 more!

[malaise]

7. Same here

Be it friend, family or foe my answer is 'Just say No'. Unless it's a wedding or a funeral, I'm not going into any building connected to a single religion.

[madokie]

11. I can second that

I grew up southern Baptist and was baptised in the creek, where we went swimming for crist sake, when I was about, hell I can't remember but somewhere around 10 years old and by the time I was 14 I knew I didn't want any more of this crap thrown at me. So I started doing whatever I had to to stay away from all the fire and brimstone talk I could. I'm 62 years young now and am happy to say I am NON Religious. I do not believe in an afterlife and am not looking forward to dying because I know when I do die that's it, kapooie, done with, over, dead meat. No heaven and no hell, just dead.

[The Wizard]

17. Last week

a guy noticed my Vietnam Veteran hat and asked me if God got me through the war. I said no, the guys around me did. I told him every day I asked God why I was in this hell hole. He didn't say much after that. One nation under Zeus.

[RandomThoughts]

4. People don't save people. And it has to be a personal belief.

And people believe the spiritual stuff can be many things. Even some churches think other churches of Christian faith use different spirits in things like that.


All you have to do is realize the spirit world exist and it makes alot of sense, both the euphoria and the confusion.

If you have ever been around people with much spiritual influence, or some would call power, not sure I think of it that way. You can spend most of your time in various spiritual conflicts. And not even based on what you do, depends on what part of the spiritual is being used, but most of that is conjecture by definition anyways. People think differently on it.

And speaking in tongues is real, although I have thought about it a bit, and noticed the vocal patterns when I have heard things do not fit with a language, I actually think they may be more repeating of key phrases, although could be different at different times.

Though about it a bit, what would be the purpose, I guess it is not as much informational as it is speaking things into existence, but that is just a guess also. Many believe words have power, and if directly from the spiritual through a person, could mean something different.

Some think speaking in tongues is evil some think it is required by good, many beliefs on that topic.

On a side note, there are many examples of non language noises in many cultures, so it is not unique to the writings of Paul, or beliefs in many churches, and again it depends on how people believe the stuff is.

[AlinPA]

14. I would like to see and hear people talking in "tongues" just for the curiosity.

[LWolf]

15. Attend a service at a fundie church. You'll hear it.

My first husband's dysfunctional fundie family was kept reasonably pacified by our attendance at church. The OP is a good description of the experience.

[Z_I_Peevey]

16. Just stand in front of a mirror and quote

every scat lyric and doo-wop filler word you've ever heard. Shamma-lamma doobie, etc. That's pretty much it. You might want to throw in a couple of "malecka-hi, malecka hinee-hos" from PeeWee's Playhouse just for good measure.

[AlinPA]

19. I will laugh all morning after reading that! Thanks Peevey!

[L0oniX]

27. LOL

[The Wizard]

18. Borat attends mega church

talking in tongues. The rubes had no idea Borat was playing them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrTWJo7a9l0&feature=player_embedded

[backscatter712]

24. Watch the movie Jesus Camp. n/t

[L0oniX]

28. +1

[tavalon]

5. They didn't speak tongues in my church

but other than that, you pegged the routine so well, it really brought me back. When I decided being a Southern Baptist wasn't going to work out for me, I worried for years that I might end up raptured and stuck with all those well meaning church ladies and gentlemen. Luckily, I grew up and stopped believing all that hooey.

I am spiritual and believe in something greater but I don't claim to have the market on what it is or if it even is at all.

[RagAss]

6. I was Saved from Religion...by something called an Education !

[B Calm]

8. Kicked and Recommended!!!

[Swamp Rat]

9. Eventually, you go home, not sure what the hell just happened, until you realize that you've been

bitten by a rattle snake and your wallet is gone.

[Douglas Carpenter]

10. there are some variations depending on the particular brand of fundamentalist

non-Pentecostals for instance usually don't speak in tongues. Some of the more hip fundamentalist emphasize "the joy of the Lord" and place little emphasis on hell. Also the timing and routine on water baptism may vary. But, having gone through that routine some thirty-eight or thirty-nine years ago or so and being part of that sub-culture for about eight or nine years - before I decided some thirty years ago that it was the stupidest thing I had ever done - I think your account pretty much sums it up.

I do remember brief periods of euphoria that would reoccur during that eight year period. I think it is those moments of euphoria that keep people coming back. The excitement that builds around revival meetings or special retreats and conferences is largely fueled by hopes for moments of euphoria.

I do believe in all fairness that the vast majority of people involved in this form of religion do sincerely believe that they have found the truth. There are far, far more poor fundamentalist preachers than rich ones. It is only a very small minority that are in it for the money. No, for the vast majority, their delusion and self-deception is genuine and sincere. Also, some thirty plus years ago the movement was rather apolitical. In fact most fundamentalist at that time considered it somewhat unseemly to be too concerned with "worldly affairs." As the Lord once said. "My kingdom is not of this world."

[Obamanaut]

12. With the publicity that various churches have received over the years, going

into one is similar to people who are unhappy with their military service.

Both are voluntary. If one doesn't want to be shot at, or bothered by strange goings-on, don't volunteer for either one.

[NNN0LHI]

13. Lot of backsliding so they need to keep getting "saved" over and over again

At least thats what the ones I knew went through. They were either drinking and whoring around or going back to church. Seemed like a constant battle for them.

Don

[Mariana]

21. Getting "saved" is such an emotionally satisfying experience

for many people. It must be extremely tempting to fall back into "sin" just so they can have the experience of being "saved" again, and again, and again.

[backscatter712]

23. Now you know how people like David Vitter operate...

Read Conservatives Without Conscience for more details...

[Mariana]

29. That title is on my (long) list of things to read.

I'd think that you'd need to have some kind of conscience in order to appreciate being "saved", however. I don't see how it could work if you don't feel guilty for your "sins". Being "forgiven" and freed from the guilt is the whole point, for the people who really believe in that.

Of course, there are plenty of people who PRETEND to believe that stuff, and PRETEND to be "saved" so they can take advantage of gullible believers, but that's a different thing altogether. I have no problem with the idea that that type have no consciences.

[IDemo]

20. I finally rebelled at the age of 13 and refused to go any more

We attended a church with the same type of environment you describe. One woman in particular would "speak in tongues" every week. I felt damned because none of it sparked a sense of spirituality within me. This was after being taken numerous times to a "faith healer" at the old Shrine auditorium in Los Angeles, where I saw people collapse on stage at the touch of the woman running the show, but felt nothing whatever. I woke up to common sense and simply said "no more", although it caused a lot of tension in the household.

That was all 40 years ago, and to this day I am still spoken to as if I'm on board with the fundamentalism.

[Dappleganger]

22. Why is it...

when I hear people say they were "saved" from something, they say that they were "saved from alcoholism" or "saved from sexual promiscuity" or "saved from pornography". I've never heard anyone say that they were "saved" from selfishness, lying, mistreating the poor, hypocrisy, usury or from being a general asshole.

[madmom]

25. I remember witnessing this sort of thing in church when I was about

10 years old. Literally scared the be-jesus out of me...today I am very non-religious.

[L0oniX]

26. My prayer: Lord Save Us From Your Followers.

Thing is ...they really aren't following the Lord ...they are following the twisted understanding perpetuated by these wolf preachers who only want the power over people ...along with their money. No where in the new testament do you find anyone using fear as a tactic to entice conversion. The conflict of "you are going to burn in hell forever if you don't believe in the God who loves you" will never be resolved in the minds of those who follow the preachers/ministers who perpetuate such utter confusion and train others to accept the same. The conflict stems somewhat from the mixing of the old and new covenants. The old was doomed to fail the the understanding of it should never be mixed with the new deal or covenant. You can't put new wine in old wine skins.

I wish people could understand that being saved does not mean that a person will be without faults or sin. It only means that the person has accepted and believes that they are forgiven for everything in the past present and future. It means that a person is no longer under the curse of death for the sin nature that has been past on to them from no fault of their own. The bible says God is a just God and that means that He will not condemn anyone for what is not their fault. You may recall that according to the bible God created Lucifer ...His most powerful supreme created being. Do you really think that pitted up against said being and failing to stay sinless that a loving God would burn anyone forever in hell?

The event the op describes is spiritual abuse and those that go under that are victims and will pay for that twisted understanding for a long time and may never break away from it unless they take it upon themselves to study diligently and stay away from church and sincerely trust God to give them the right understanding. Of course there will be much more than that but it is the best start one can have to a proper understanding. Church doctrines are divisional ...they all (churches) claim they have the true understanding ...and none of them do. They only have enough of it to keep a person poisoned with all the confusion. The first lie is "you are save as you are" and then you better change or you are going to burn in hell ...again! Should you ever enter a church ...beware of these wolves and their lies! They are the real enemies of God!

My response here is because I hate it that this happens to people and I hate that these men do this to people who sincerely desire to have a relationship with God. In a way they are being raped. I do believe God and I will always believe God and I trust Him and I am sure of my post physical death destiny. That does not mean I am "not" an asshole sometimes. I'd rather not have faults but I am "not" going to give up because I can't get rid of them. I know my destiny does not depend on my getting rid of my faults.

Don't ever think that a person does not really and sincerely believe in God because they still sin. Even George Bush may really believe ...and I hate it that he has taken a big part in immersing believers in the shame by association. Evangelicals suck ...big time! For this and many other examples and reasons that I know of I say "Lord Save Us From Your Followers".

BTW: I think "Lord Save Us From Your Followers" is a documentary. I haven't seen it yet but I can guess what it is about.

[Nikia]

30. I went to a church that would probably be considered Fundamentalist

It focused more on the joy of the Lord but usually did mention that Jesus was the only way to be saved from Hell. In the five years or so I was there, I never saw anyone come up to the front on the first visit. It typically happened after at least a couple of months.
In college I joined a Christian organization. It was inclusive but many of them did come from a more Fundamentalist background. Some members were gay, a couple out but several in the closet. It was during that time that I came to firmly believe that it was no sin to be gay. Those students were gay, even though they did not want to be, believing it to be a sin and feeling like they would be disowned by their family. One girl ended up breaking off her engagement after admitting to her fiance that she was a lesbian. How anyone could say that it would have been better for her to deny her sexual orientation and be in a Christian marriage to an unspecting man did not make sense to me at all. To me, that would not be what Jesus would do.