Reply #7: YES!

[lilgayghostgirl]

I was one. I was a Rush-worshipping fundamentalist christian. About as conservative as you can get. I was also quite closeted and confused. That was years ago. It literally took years to come out of all that. It all started when I was a kid, raised in a family of whom 3/4 turned fundie when I was about 9. I literally had the hell scared out of me from a young age. I was dead-set on attending Bob Jones University, but my father, the only one of the family not to become a fundie and also very much a good anti-racist yankee, was against it.

I've lobbied for conservative organizations like New Yorkers For Constitutional Freedoms. I worked in Christian ministries. In 2000 I was offered a position with the American Family Association, which I ultimately turned down.

I've come a long way from all that. I'm now a very lefty activist, lobbyist at the state level, and chairwoman of a gay rights lobbying, activism and education organization.

It all started to come crashing down when I was divorced and I had good reason to question the Bible teaching that was used against me with that. Years later, I came to terms with my sexuality and that was that. I was pretty much booted out of the church but at that point I welcomed it. It still took me years to get over fear of hell, but OMFG! I am so thankful to be out of that. I am incredibly happy now. I was a pretty miserable person before.

So yes, there is hope. And as weird as it sounds some of it I attribute to meeting nice people on a certain message board (not this one) who were kind to me, answered my questions, and were also liberal and moderate. That actually all got started by posting on Sean Hannity's board and then from there getting invited to a private one.

As a fundamentalist I never would have dreamed of talking to such people. It was pretty much forbidden under the "be not unequally yoked" thing.

Yeah, crazy...