Totally Thrown by New York Times Piece on Ex-Evangelical

No, really. When I was in college I used to looooove rubbernecking at the horrifying “Focus on the Family” college e-zine, Boundless, which is absolutely like what you assume it would be like in pretty much every way.

And my friends and I would forward various pieces to each other and be all heeeee kids today!

But the iconic Boundless piece, as anyone could tell you, was this famous essay by a young woman named Bethany Patchin who didn’t want to kiss anyone until her wedding, which then resulted in a young man named Sam getting all into her, and they got mah-ried and were Poster Children For Early Marriage, and it was SO CHRISTIAN, and then they wrote this book about how even though they’re Protestants, Jesus told them to ditch the artificial contraception and use Natural Family Planning. And then, basically, Boundless got kind of boring and the rest of the internet got better, and I stopped following their whole deal.

Until this past weekend, when the New York Times caught up with Bethany, who, after getting knocked up twice while still breastfeeding her previous child and having four kids in six years (the first was conceived on her honeymoon, when she was 19), decided to tell people to ditch the Natural Family Planning back in 2006, voted for Obama in 2008, and then got divorced in 2009, after (among other things) figuring out that being forced to have sex against your will is rape, even if it’s your husband. And is now a “secular Christian.” And went back to college! And, like, knits shit to sell on Etsy, and reads Mary Oliver poems, and stuff. Just like Us!

And, honestly, comes across like this unbelievably nice, slightly shell-shocked, sincere woman, who got caught up in this whole religious fervor MOMENT, and wasn’t ready to be married at 19, and is now figuring out who she actually is, and is actually super open and vulnerable about it, and…I feel this bizarre rush of warmth and concern towards her now. She must have been very brave, and very self-aware, and, Jesus, who really manages to change their life? And, you know, right on, Bethany. Good luck.

(SO CHEESY AND EMBARRASSING CAN’T HELP IT)

Photo via Flickr