The book Schizophrenic Christianity has received an incredible amount of attention on fundamentalist message boards. The question raised over and over again, is that of 'is her book merely an opportunity to bash fundamentalism, and to blame fundamentalism for the problem of child molesters in fundamentalist churches?' The answer to this is a resounding "No."
Jeri Massi captures your attention in the first chapter, by dealing with the subject of Dave Hyles, a former pastor and a habitual predator. Dave Hyles is the son of the late Jack Hyles, who was a well-known fundamentalist pastor, and once the pastor of the largest Sunday School in America. Dave Hyles has left a trail of destruction through the churches that he has attended and pastored. Jeri gives evidence that makes one pause and wonder how such a man could be given such free reign in churches with so many allegations(some with proof) that surrounded him.
Having given us two examples of gross immorality occurring in the pulpits of fundamentalist churches(the first of Dave Hyles, and following with Joe Combs-a monster who kidnapped, raped, and severely abused a young girl over a period of many years), Jeri moves on to painting us a picture of how this is able to happen. As Jeri states on pages 36-37 of her book: "Intervening is not part of Independent Fundamental Baptists(IFB). Their goal is to separate, exit, and leave the scene. IFB pastors will get behind the pulpit and call down fire on the pedophiles in the Roman Catholic priesthood...But when those same sins appear in IFB churches...no IFB pastor moves to protect Christendom." And Jeri is right. It is rare that a fundamentalist pastor will name the names of pedophile IFB pastors from their pulpit. Men like Bob Gray, Dave Hyles, and others are discussed in the abstract on internet message boards by IFB pastors, but I personally have yet to see any sermon from an IFB pastor(particularly one of note) where men like Bob Gray(who confessed to french-kissing little girls prior to his death) are marked.
Having given us this sketch of fundamentalism, Jeri moves on to tell us why this occurs. Since fundamentalism is a deeply independent movement, there is an "out of sight, out of mind" mentality that is highly pervasive. Fundamentalists tend to think that if it doesn't happen in their church, it isn't their business, and their main responsibility is to merely stay separate. Jeri calls this "radical church autonomy." In one of the later chapters of the book, Jeri points out some problems with the concept of complete and total autonomy from every other church.
Jeri also points out that fundamentalism is replete with a faulty concept of loyalty. Loyalty to one's church and pastor is a highly valued ideal in fundamentalist churches. Some pastors(such as Jack Hyles) have taught a concept of loyalty that is so foreign to the Biblical ideal that it falls into the realm of cultish thinking. Jeri Massi provides us with quotes that demonstrate the eerie mindset that is cultivated in some circles of fundamentalism.
Jeri moves on to the frightening reality of sociopathic pastors within fundamentalist churches, a favorite feeding ground for such men. Men who prey on congregations that will give such a pastor the power he so desperately craves. Jeri demonstrates how issues such as radical autonomy and blind loyalty contribute to the type of church that attracts predators to the pulpit.
To be fair, not all fundamentalist churches completely embrace either blind loyalty, or radical autonomy, or any of the other points that the author brings up as being prevalent within fundamentalist churches. But a great many of them tend to have enough of these characteristics that can leave them open to predators. When a sheep fold has an opening in the wall, a good shepherd finds a way to close the wall in order to prevent predators from ravaging the sheep. The fact is though, many fundamentalist pastors would rather attack the messenger than discover a strategy to keep out predators.
It should be noted that Schizophrenic Christianity isn't just a book for how to deal with sexual predators, but will also help one identify a predator pastor who isn't a sexual predator. This book not only points out flaws found in fundamentalist churches, but it deals with these flaws Biblically. Jeri's writing is engaging, and keeps one thinking through the entire book. Is she on target or not? Does she make her case Biblically or not? Are her points regarding fundamentalism fair, or is she merely broad brushing a large portion of the fundamentalist movement?
While the book has many, many good points, as outlined above, there are also some negatives. Jeri does do a disservice to herself by broad brushing the movement in some areas, and by over exaggerating in others. For example, while complaining about a fundamentalist who was protesting the actor Chad Allen(a gay man) being permitted to play the part of a Christian missionary in the movie "The End of the Spear," Jeri states that if Chad Allen wanted avoid the scrutiny of fundamentalists into his sexual life that he should just become a fundamentalist pastor. She then moves on to state that becoming an IFB pastor is relatively easy through the entire movement, and that fundamentalists don't care enough to do thorough background checks and doctrinal checks into these men. In some areas of fundamentalism she may be right, but as an overview of the movement it would appear to be erroneous on it's face.
Another minor problem with the book, is that Jeri Massi carries a feud from the Fighting Fundamentalist Forums(talked about in the book) from the forum itself into the book. While some of her documentation for her book is taken from the forum, and reveals some interesting information(particularly regarding Dave Hyles and Pinellas Park Baptist Temple), her personal feud with Tim Lee is better left to the forum.
Overall, this book is an excellent purchase, and is highly recommended. The book gives an incredible amount of thought provoking material, which outweighs the negative and somewhat distracting material.
-Will Rogers