I ran across this article by mistake, but it pulled me in immediately My experiences growing up weren’t as extreme nor were they inflicted by my parents. (I was in the odd position of having parents who were much less strict and encouraged more free thought than the community in which we participated).
But still. So much of this article felt so familiar. I read it and wanted to send it to at least five quiverfull/patriarchy movement girls who were my friends in high school.
Then I got to this part.
Read the four gospels. Every single day. Take a break from theology, and let go of what is right and what is wrong. At the end of the day, your salvation rests on Jesus alone, and he cares only for your heart, not for how much you know. Pay attention to what he talked about most: Compassion, healing, taking care of the widows and orphans, dealing out grace and mercy, overlooking tradition for the sake of love, and making people new. Our first command is to love one another, and you will not be able to do that with judgement and bitterness in the way.
Yes.
I love knowledge. I love theology. I love Calvin. I love Jonathan Edwards. I love hearing people argue about what happened in Nicaea. All of these things are important. But at the end of the day its about Jesus and love and grace and sacrifice. And if you can’t get that straight, nothing else matters.




















