Freedom From Abuse Network

If you want to get a birds eye view of the sex scandals within the Fundamentalist movement I exited, you need to read this book. The book review is well written and one of the only criticisms of the book is that the author may have broad brushed Seperatist Fundamentalism a little too much. However, this is not my criticism at all. I believe the problem runs much deeper in small split-off sects (i.e. polygamy) than what we even know, as what we know to be true is bad enough. Is it any wonder that the victims remain silent with the emphasis these fundamentalist groups have on "forgiving and forgetting," breaking the will of a child, and silencing the victim? I think the only reason why this problem has stayed hidden within the country for so long is because the men in these groups have done such a good job of making the girls feel like they are somehow wrong for talking about what happened to them. I have often thought, "If I was treated this way as a grown woman, then how in the world is the 13, 14, or 15 year old pastor's daughter treated when she comes forward"? My guess is it's even worse for her as these sects have convenient ways of handling "wayward" children.

My sister dedicated this song to me on Facebook. Now I'm sending it back to her. I love you, Melissa!

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Schizophrenic Christianity

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When I listened to this audio documentary I had to stop it on several occasions and let the tears flow. This is the gross sickness in the deep, dark corners of the IFB. The stories on this audio are similar to my own and were hard for me to hear. The severe beatings, the endurance required, absolute obedience and surrender, humiliation and degradation, and even the "letter of recommendation" written on behalf of Chuck Schifflett before charges were brought against him were all too real to me. Who can comprehend the depths and heights that these religious leaders will go through to protect their own?

To those of you who chose to take the brave, courageous step of speaking up about this, YOU are the real heroes! There is no telling how many countless lives have been wretched out of the hands of this man. I can only imagine the pain you have felt and continue to feel as you walk your way out of the abuse you endured. I feel for you.

Regaining the Trust
of an Abuse Victim

Bogus Organizations

Chuck Schifflett

Hephzibah House

Call + Response

How Long?

Who's Telling The Truth?

This link brings you to Jeri Massi's home page. The audio documentary is called, "The Lambs of Culpeper."

Jocelyn
Zichterman

Several weekends ago I was sharing my story with a group of women and when I was finished a lady asked if she could talk with me privately. She (I'll call her Susan) told me her father was a local IFB pastor and that nearly a decade ago her sister had come forward accusing him of molesting her.

Bring IFB to Accountability

Reclamation Ranch Raid

Police in Alabama have raided the "Reclamation Ranch" for "rebellious" boys. Independent fundamental pastors have rallied around the leaders of the unlicensed home for boys. I have been on the phone for hours giving as much information as I can to police and social service personnel. If you have any information about Independent Fundamentalism and any abuse you endured under its horrendous philosophy (even if you never attended a group home) please call the Blount County police department and help "put the pieces together" for law enforcement.

Bill Gothard

Another erroneous belief structure I want to highlight is in connection with a man by the name of Bill Gothard. He originally attended Wheaton College in Illinois, a liberal arts evangelical college, but over time Bill Gothard took on a philosophy all his own and seemed to have a great appeal to those in the fundamentalist sect I left.

Book Link

Listen to this audio to hear Jocelyn Zichterman's journey out of the Independent Fundamental Baptist (IFB) religious sect.

I received several emails this week from survivors of The Bethany House where nearly 350 victims have come forward to expose decades of abuse. When the home was initially raided in the 80's, according to reports, police found a cement cell in the basement where a boy was stripped down to his underwear, was in shackles and handcuffs, and had been severely beaten. This was a form of spiritual "discipline" promoted by the IFB staff in this home and this "discipline" is still going on (under different names and in different counties) today. I believe these fundamentalist homes for "rebellious" children are just a small public glimpse (a microcosm) of what's really going on all across the country privately in many of the homes of members in this IFB religious sect.

The Bethany House

Survivor stories on left side of link

Rebekah Homes for Girls

Other

Hephzibah House Protested

Dr. Daniel Lockwood, president of Multnomah University (an evangelical school), wrote an article in the November 2008 issue of "Multnomah." I think it is one of the best articles I've read that deals with the issue of abuse (or any other offense) and forgiveness, while using texts from the Bible. From my perspective, he doesn't distort the facts to benefit the abuser.

Reform at Victory

"Reform at Victory is a non-fiction memoir I have written about an experience I lived through as a teen in a locked-down unlicensed/unregulated fundamentalist Baptist reform school..."

Another Group of Survivors at Another Unlicensed Home Tell Their Stories Here:

Author: Michele Ulriksen

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.

We must accept infinite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope.

Law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice and when they fail in this purpose they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress.

In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.

Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.

Bob Jones University and Racism

This next week will be one of the most exciting and historic weeks that we will ever have the privelege to experience in America. I have tears in my eyes as I type this. White, affluent men and women will never be able to say, "We're sorry" enough. No amount of attention we place on the past, benefits we give in the future, or words of sorrow will ever touch the surface of the affect our ignorant minds had on an entire race. But we can hold our heads high this next week in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. and now Barack Obama. This is the one time in our country when we have the opportunity to rise above all the prejudice and pain.

By: Susan Rosenthal

IFB Pastor Threatens President

Leave it to a radical IFB pastor (not an oxymoron) to threaten President Barack Obama's safety by saying that there should be "a government...under God's authority...that takes Barack Obama and aborts him" and that he will "fight" against him and incites others to do the same. He makes several threats against his physical safety as well as making extremely racist statements and then is irrational enough to post his statements on You Tube. Steven L. Anderson's "sermon" was given to the Tempe, AZ police department yesterday and the police said they contacted the Department of Homeland Security immediately for investigation. It only takes one extremist to be emboldened enough to plot a physical attack against the President and no one is exempt from being investigated for physical threats. There has never been a time in history when the safety of a President was of more concern than it is today. Security was significantly beefed up all over the US and the news reported that the DHS has been more concerned about small, unknown groups then they were about the white supremacists web networks, since they were able to monitor those groups more intensely to prepare for this day. I'm sure Steven in now on "terror alert" and the DHS is most likely listening to every phone call the guy makes and they probably know his shoe size by now.

Kevin Swanson

Roger Voegtlin

Harold Chase

D.A. Waite Jr.

Here are 6 audio files found on www.sermonaudio.com where pastors, homeschool advocates/leaders and college presidents/teachers are promoting abuse of children. From statements promoting spanking teenagers, giving children "100 stripes," spanking infants, to spanking a child 20-30 times a day, these sermons will horrify you.

From my understanding sermon audio (run by a Bob Jones University grad) requires that you have a specific doctrinal statement in order to post sermons on the web site, but it has no policy in regards to pastors who promote breaking the law. These sermons need to be exposed, as I can only imagine what an abusive layman (pedophile or domestic abuser) within these congregations has done with his new found freedom to abuse given straight from his pastor's mouth.

Forgiveness and Abuse

The Brain and Abuse

Nathan Trice

The Holy Bad

The Holy Bad takes the reader into the inside world of an abusive Independent Fundamental Baptist home. D.M. Ross grew up as an IFB pastor's daughter and eventually ventures out on a harrowing journey. Although Diane's experiences are unique, her struggle to find some semblance of truth after abuse mimicks the journey of many abused children who gain the courage to leave the IFB. The Holy Bad is an intense and graphic read that will ultimately leave you shaking your head in shock and disbelief. It is not a read for the faint-hearted. Ultimately, this book brings to light the long-term damage and gaping hole child abuse leaves in the heart of a child.

Diane M. Ross

Linda Fossen takes you on a journey through the halls of the Bi

Linda Fossen takes you on a journey through the halls of the Bill Gothard seminars into the arms of her rapist, who happens to be her pastor/father. Her story takes a riveting turn when she falls in love with a murderer who has been converted through her father's prison ministry. It is most shocking when her father insists that if she marries "the murderer" he will disown her. Her father makes even the worst hypocrite look like a saint. Linda's story brings the reader into this twisted little world that most "outsiders" have a hard time understanding. Journey with Linda as she seeks to move forward after her abuse as she pursues forgiveness and turns the evil into some form of goodness through her effort to help other victims.

Linda Fossen

Sermon Audio Promotes Overt Illegal Activities

New Allegations

I received an email this week from a woman who was sent to the Hephzibah House for girls in Winona Lake, IN. She said that 90 girls have chosen to speak out about the abuses they endured while in this facility. I decided to address it, since what the girls are saying is nothing less than horrific.

Recent News Regarding Independent Fundamental Baptist Abuse

Who are the Independent Fundamental Baptists (IFB)?

Hephzibah House in Winona Lake-Warsaw, Indiana has been well known in Independent Fundamental Baptist survivor circles as a girls group home practicing systematic, ritual abuse on the level of human torture. Jeri Massi has done an excellent job documenting the horrors within this home and brave survivors have stepped up to share their stories in detail. No doubt as you listen to this documentary you will be horrified.

These girls were treated worse than an animal, even eating like one, as they were forced to eat Alpo dog food. All of this was done in the name of God and the home is funded with money from churches around the country in the Independent Fundamental Baptist sect.

It is my FIRM belief that the only reason these places have not been closed down for good is because the right people and the right agencies have needed to be informed properly of the abuse. Jeri's work in documenting this should be the avenue to bring this abuse to light to the fullest extent. I believe the time is NOW for the government to intervene and shut this unlicensed group home down for good

This website is dedicated to exposing the radical beliefs and abuses within Independent Fundamental Baptist (IFB) churches, Christian day-schools, Christian camps, colleges, and organizations. The four primary leading organizations within the Independent Fundamental Baptist (IFB) religious sect, which ascribe to some form or another of the "Doctrine of Separation," are:

1. Bob Jones University, former President Bob Jones III, current President is Stephen Jones (Greenville, South Carolina)
2. Hyles Anderson College, former President Jack Hyles, current President is Jack Schaap (Crown Point, Indiana)
3. Pensacola Christian College, current President is Arlin Horton (Pensacola, Florida)
4. Advanced Training Institute, current President Bill Gothard (located in: Illinois, Wisconsin, Arkansas, Texas, California, Oklahoma, and Indiana)

Survivors Coming Together

I have been talking to a number of survivors of severe abuse within the IFB and we are uniting together to see if we can effect change within the system. Since the IFB leaders will not change their philosophy or put proper structures in place to keep abusers accountable within their group, the only place to turn is the government. Change will not happen until laws are put in place to protect the victims. I believe by pushing for legal change we could see results that will last long after we are all deceased.

Here are 5 goals that we have settled on:
1. Mandated licensure of group homes in every state and more government over-site.
2. Mandated school counselors (unbiased and state licensed) for unaccredited Christian schools ( a place where victims can turn if they need to).
3. Longer statute of limitations for childhood physical abuse.
4. Mandated accreditation (mandated regional accreditation if not a trade school) of all colleges/universities who want to make the claim that they are giving out professional degrees ( in order to call the institution a "college" or "university").
5. More over-site of homeschooling families.

I was interviewed two months ago by a man who worked at the Democratic National Committe who is currently working toward producing a documentay on the IFB. There is another documentary underway being filmed by a survivor within this religious sect. Each documentary will most likely take any where from 1-3 years to complete. If you are a survivor and you have sermons, written materials, articles or just a story to tell please email me and I will get the information into the right hands.

Over the next year I will be working with social services and others who will help us spread the word. Change will not happen overnight, so it will take a great amount of patience on our part as we work through this. But thanks to all who have emailed and who are willing to speak publicly. This is the only way things will come to the surface so we can protect others.

Joey Faust

Vyckie D. Garrison was a leader in the Quiverfull movement. The Quiverfull lifestyle is practiced by a group of fundamental conservative Christians who are anti-birth control and strong proponents of patriarchy. Wetv has recently exposed the underlying beliefs of this group on the hit series, Secret Lives of Women. Rick and Jan Hess, authors of "A Full Quiver" and Mary Pride, author of "The Way Home" and Nancy Campbell, ministry founder of Above Rubies, are leading spokesmen/women within the Independent Fundamentalist homeschooling movement in the US and are challenging all fundamentalist to a Quiverfull lifestyle.

Vyckie D. Garrison has written about her struggles during her many pregnancies, her time in her Independent Fundamental Baptist church, the time period in which she published a magazine promoting patriarchy and ultimately how her breaking point came when her daughter tried to commit suicide.

Her strong opposition comes from Rachel Scott, a Quiverfull activist who has recently written the book, "Birthing God's Mighty Warriors."

A Woman's Journey Out of the IFB and the Quiverfull Movement

New Group: Independent Fundamental Baptist Watchdog

Also, check out our Facebook group: "Independent Fundamental Baptist Cult Survivors (and their supporters)"