“Berean Holiness was very fundamental in my journey of disentangling from hyper fundamentalist holiness.
After graduating from seminary, I moved to India to work in a ministry attached to the Holiness Church I attended in the states.
This was where my questions truly began. Everything I had been taught about Holiness was not able to translate into this culture seamlessly.
I can remember the very moment I realized that Holiness was niche American church culture and not a broader biblical culture.
I had purchased a traditional Indian anarkali complete with chudra (wide legged leggings that are worn under the full flowing skirt for modesty). I was ecstatic to surprise my youth pastor, missions board director, and a visiting minister by wearing this traditional dress to pick them up from the airport. And as you can imagine our Indian host family was equally excited. Imagine my surprise when I and my missions partner were pulled aside and asked why we would wear the “pants” under our dresses? We explained the cultural context and also how it was considered indecent to expose the ankle in this society. That was followed up by, “well here in India that is fine, but when you return to the states, you can’t wear the leggings in the churches you visit. People won’t understand. And you will want to crop your photos so they can’t see those in any of the slideshows you may present.”
That’s when my entire worldview crumbled. Why was this an issue firstly? Secondly why was it ok here in India but not in an America? Did holiness not translate?
That was the summer of 2013, and then began nearly a decade of disentangling.
It took me until 2019 to really push outside of my comfort zone and start questioning (with scripture and the resources of Berean Holiness and another popular Podcast) every Holiness doctrine.
Many times I’d be in a quandary or state of distress, and just logging into the private groups helped me find calm, and the realization I want crazy, I wasn’t alone.
This resource was extremely valuable during a very unstable and chaotic period in my life. Reading the articles and talking personally to Natalie and others, was life changing in a good way. I was able to match everything being shared with scripture.
I am forever grateful to this resource and the community it has brought me! There is life outside of hyper-fundamental churches.”
—Charity
•••
We’re so grateful for our supporters who cover the costs of Berean Holiness and make these resources free to everyone disentangling faith! If you would like to join us as a monthly supporter, you can do so at: donorbox.org/bereanholiness
We are only $453 away (in monthly support) from being able to fund 10 hrs of additional work every *week!* This will directly result in increased community groups, private meetings with those leaving hyper fundamentalism, cross-examination of false teachings, and more. For a limited time, all gifts are being DOUBLED by matching donors!
Berean Holiness
“Berean Holiness was very fundamental in my journey of disentangling from hyper fundamentalist holiness.
After graduating from seminary, I moved to India to work in a ministry attached to the Holiness Church I attended in the states.
This was where my questions truly began. Everything I had been taught about Holiness was not able to translate into this culture seamlessly.
I can remember the very moment I realized that Holiness was niche American church culture and not a broader biblical culture.
I had purchased a traditional Indian anarkali complete with chudra (wide legged leggings that are worn under the full flowing skirt for modesty). I was ecstatic to surprise my youth pastor, missions board director, and a visiting minister by wearing this traditional dress to pick them up from the airport. And as you can imagine our Indian host family was equally excited. Imagine my surprise when I and my missions partner were pulled aside and asked why we would wear the “pants” under our dresses? We explained the cultural context and also how it was considered indecent to expose the ankle in this society. That was followed up by, “well here in India that is fine, but when you return to the states, you can’t wear the leggings in the churches you visit. People won’t understand. And you will want to crop your photos so they can’t see those in any of the slideshows you may present.”
That’s when my entire worldview crumbled. Why was this an issue firstly? Secondly why was it ok here in India but not in an America? Did holiness not translate?
That was the summer of 2013, and then began nearly a decade of disentangling.
It took me until 2019 to really push outside of my comfort zone and start questioning (with scripture and the resources of Berean Holiness and another popular Podcast) every Holiness doctrine.
Many times I’d be in a quandary or state of distress, and just logging into the private groups helped me find calm, and the realization I want crazy, I wasn’t alone.
This resource was extremely valuable during a very unstable and chaotic period in my life.
Reading the articles and talking personally to Natalie and others, was life changing in a good way. I was able to match everything being shared with scripture.
I am forever grateful to this resource and the community it has brought me! There is life outside of hyper-fundamental churches.”
—Charity
•••
We’re so grateful for our supporters who cover the costs of Berean Holiness and make these resources free to everyone disentangling faith! If you would like to join us as a monthly supporter, you can do so at: donorbox.org/bereanholiness
We are only $453 away (in monthly support) from being able to fund 10 hrs of additional work every *week!* This will directly result in increased community groups, private meetings with those leaving hyper fundamentalism, cross-examination of false teachings, and more. For a limited time, all gifts are being DOUBLED by matching donors!
1 week ago | [YT] | 13