As usual the boozeers and druggies that quit and then get addicted to God have to try and shove it down our throats, even though the rest of us don't have addiction problems. There seems to be a certain kind of person that takes everthing to an extreme whether it's an "alternative" lifestyle or a bible thumping clueless zealot.

I am a Christian and have worked in the evangelical world for more than 15 years. As I read about churches like Mars Hill, I find myself praying that those who read this know that the brand of Christianity espoused by Mark Driscoll and his followers is not representative of all Christians, or even all evangelicals. I am particularly concerned about this church's understanding of the role of women. The idea that women belong at home raising their children while their husbands are off doing "ministry" is unbiblical and flat-out heretical. It's simplistic and ignorant to interpret biblical passages about women as telling them their place is in the home. It's convenient to pick out a few verses that suggest that godly women quit their jobs and become fulltime homemakers, but that approach ignores the way Jesus treated women--as equals. It ignores Paul's words--"In Christ there is no male nor female"--as well as his actions--he was discipled by a woman named Priscilla. It ignores the fact that Paul and Peter included admonitions to women in their letters because the Christian faith actually included women and gave them a place in the community for the first time. They were given responsibilities and expectations because they mattered as people and as members of the community. Finally, the Great Commission, the very words of the Bible that all good evangelicals live by, tells ALL of God's people to go into the world and make disciples. There is no footnote that suggests that women of childbearing age aren't needed, or that they can make disciples of their two or ten children and call it a day. The women profiled in this article clearly have gifts to offer the hurting, heartbroken people in the world, the people Mark Driscoll is so concerned about. But his abuse of the Bible has left these women questioning the passions and gifts God has given them and forced them into lives that don't fit them. It seems to me this is exactly the kind of pain and oppression Mr. Driscoll is trying to release his followers from. And yet he is breaking the very people who sit in his church and pay his salary. I find that so very sad.

So we have all the bigots here who think they know so much better how these people should run their lives. And then they want to call the Mars Hill folks "Taliban"?

Please.

Apparently "Taliban" is the new "Nazi" - an emotionally loaded word-weapon to be launched at any target of the speakers' choosing, regardless of logical connection or lack thereof.

Are you name-callers suggesting that people in this community are KILLED for deviating from the norms?

Everyone in this country is free to live his or her own life as chosen, sure, even to sit at a computer and smugly disapprove of others' life choices and launch ludicrous epithets at them.

As for the "we're not friends" conversation, I'd be interested to see what disapproving signals the writer had been sending out to bring that on.

And I can't believe everyone is swallowing his finding an unhappy mother and portraying her as if she is representative of the community.

my heart goes out to the women in this article.

as a female who was raised in a fundamentalist household and church, i know what it feels like to be told what your "duty" is and that you are sinning against god if you do not "obey" it. if you believe that your soul is in danger of eternal separation from god and the people you love, you begin to believe these lies as truth.

after many years of inner turmoil and self-loathing, i am still trying to love myself as a woman.

many people who are not female and who have not lived under the grip of fundamentalist ideology will never be able to understand how patriarchs use fear and emotional manipulation to subjugate females and devalue them as human beings.

many americans believe that islam is the only world religion that treats women with disrespect. i find that laughable.

when your purpose in life is reduced to childbirth and childrearing, you are nothing more than a piece of livestock.

the fact that many of these women have bought into this lifestyle shows the subtle power of spiritual abuse. once they convince you that your soul is in danger, you lose your ability for rational thought -- the only thing that separates us from the animals.

i hope they find a way out.

When I read letters about this movement, I keep seeing a similar theme, "no one's forcing them to do anything they don't want to do." Forced? No. Coerced? Yes.

I'm also curious to see how the kids raised in this kind of environment will turn out. As in any household where religion has a great influence, kids have very little latitude to make choices for themselves where religion is concerned. This is true of any churchgoing family, not just this particular group. I don't really think it's cool when anyone does it.

"But Dad, I want to excercise my 1st Amendment right to not go to your weirdo tattooed baby making church!"

"Shut your pie-hole, kid, like your mom learned to do a long time ago!"

I have a sneaking suspicion that marriage and child rearing will be encouraged to these kids as soon as they are legal in this atmosphere so as to "extend the flock," a lesson learned from the Catholics, no-doubt. I wonder what the Mars Hill group's views on contraception are?

Anyway, my point is, religious freewill is fine for the parents, if they're into that stuff, but not always so great (or even present) for the kids involved.