I'm blown away by the intolerance and utter bigotry displayed by the lefties here. I doubt one of you would dare to say such things about a group of Muslims observing their religion peacefully and fervently. Why, that would be racist, wouldn't it? Intolerant? Bigoted? I guess it's OK to bash Christianity in liberal-land, but it's still sickening.

As an Evangelical, I found myself wincing at Sandler's language, which described the doctrine of Mars Hill Church as "proverbial Kool-Aid" and classed, what I intuit to be Bible Studies as gender divided "cells." And yet, as I continued reading the article, I see that Sandler may not have been far off. While Driscoll and his motley crue maybe trying to live a new word, it still has the same old problems of gender discrimination and sexism. There is nothing wrong with a woman living a materially successful life or putting on pause the "fruit" of her loom in order to achieve her goals of career or education. Societies that perpetuate the belief that these women are living empty meaningless lives and thus, subject them to lives they never wanted are not making the world a better place but making it worse. Because while they may be filling the earth with voters, when those little voters grow up and see the havoc wrought on their mother's they are going to vote against that lifestyle of slavery.

One can readily see some of the good that can come out this. The people in this article infer that they ARE in fact happy. But its very easy to see what this truly is. This is sheer religious indoctrination being meted out in a compassionate guise to change Americans into automatons, who think alike (Right Wing Conservatism masked in the youth-large garb of Indie-Rock kids). Some suicidal punk kid in the suicide capital of the USA, who probably needs compassion and understanding will be tricked into joining this circus, believing that this is the only means to an out, that being suckered into changing everything you are, from changing the fundamentals of what it is you are and what you subscribe to, is the only way to God.

But what is the most troubling to me is the halting of the success for women. In America, the gender movement is taking such an assault from all sides, that it doesn't take very much insight to see what is going on. People like Dietz and Driscoll absolutely don't care about a woman's self worth outside of the home, and impregnating these women out of their professional and academic lives and work is more than insidious, in my opinion is purely hellish.

Driscoll and Dietz are nothing but henchmen of Pat Robertson.

...that religion is good for good people. This suggests that religion most helps those people who are capable of making decisions for themselves, understand the limits of religious knowledge (it would be helpful for the Mars Hill congregants recalled Galileo's admonition that "The Bible tells us how to go to heaven, not how the heavens go"), have a well-developed sense of morality, and do not take their religious identity as a sign of their fundamental superiority. None of the previous admonitions seems to apply to the Mars Hill congregants; they have surrendered their will, their intellect, and their happiness to their religion. While trying to follow the Biblical example, their zealotry perverts the very thing that they revere the most.

Sandler included a line about drinking the Kool-Aid, which is remarkable appropriate. If you inserted a few sermons about the persecution of Christians, a secluded compound, and a charismatic personality, Mars Hill could very well be the next Jonestown.

As an aside, it was actually Flavor-Aid, a fact which is (amazingly!) not mentioned on the website.

"I doubt one of you would dare to say such things about a group of Muslims observing their religion peacefully and fervently"

Oh, did you mean those Muslims that don't consider a rape to be prosecutable unless four men witness it? I think plenty of people have issues with at least some Muslims and they are saying plenty about it on Broadsheet. I'll be the first to admit that fundamentalists with extreme and self-serving ideas come in all religions

Well, I'm an atheist, as is everyone - even the most fervent believer chooses to reject hundreds of alternative gods and religions.

Anyway, it seems to me that the real "uniting" force behind this church (and others like it) is the sense of community shared by the members. Why don't secular groups form communities such as these? Is it impossible without the artificial social restraints of a shared religion? Maybe it really is better to live with others in denial and ignorance if it gets you through the day? I dunno.

Ah, hell - just read deborama's post.

More than anything, I'm disappointed by this article. I've read a bit about Mars Hill written by people involved with it, and everything I read managed to skip over the controversial bits of their doctrine. When you take that out, it sounds like a phenomenal and inspiring place -- they're right, there is a huge segment of the population that's hungry for something real and true, and religion can be a powerful force in these folks' lives.

BUT, I'm truly upset to hear that they're taking this energy, what could be a really strong force for some justice in this country, and directing it in unhealthy self-destructive ways. If these kids are so desperate for religion, let's bring them some progressive spirituality that will actually be good for them (especially the women...) and good for the country!

I grew up fundamentalist, and I've seen the church co-opt pop culture time and again over the years. I remember the early seventies "rap sessions" about the Bible. In the eighties there were Christian rock bands like Petra and Stryper.

I am a Christian now, but not a fundamentalist. One of the things that really turned me against fundamentalism was the way they used scripture selectively to promote blatant sexism. I think the idea of procreating to produce more fundamentalists is funny, because who says those kids will grow up to emulate their parents? I know plenty of kids raised fundamantalist who rebelled as adults. It's almost the rule.

According to the Bible, Christians should be out in the community helping everyone, not just those who share their beliefs. The church I grew up in is in an area hard-hit by Katrina. Since the storm, they have been dispatching volunteers to people who need help gutting and rebuilding their houses. They have not limited this aid to church members, or even other Christians. They are helping people simply because it's the right thing to do. I no longer follow all of the church's teachings, but I am proud of this work they've done. (I should add that not all the volunteers are Christians, but the churches have definitely led the relief and rebuilding effort.)