Thread by @TheyThemMor

Buckle up, guys, gals, and non-binary pals, because we are about to talk Pensacola Christian College.

This is a political #Exvangelical #emptythepews thread with a heavy dose of #youdontknowevangelicals

When I was choosing my Evangelical college, PCC was one of my few approved options. It has a pretty decent nursing program, and I was toying with going to school for that, but I knew, even then, that it possibly was the most conservative of all the schools I had access to.

Actually, I’ll have to amend that, Ambassador Bible College was probably way more conservative than PCC, but even we considered them fringe.

Anyway, I ended up going to Northland Baptist Bible College. But a number of my friends went to PCC, so I got a lot of *exciting* first-hand accounts of life there.

Then, around the time I discovered @stufffundieslik, I read some stuff too. Not good stuff.

This was an important piece I discovered right around the time I started critically examining the evangelical church, written by a new but valued friend of mine, @samanthapfield (Hi Sam, you badass warrior, you!)

patheos.com/blogs/slacktiv…

Those of you who have been following my sporatic #readbjugrace series is will hear a lot of the same themes of victim blaming and legalistic abuse going on at PCC.

For an extra dose of Handmaid’s Tale horror, check out this Cracked article from an anonymous source who details (with, I sure you, excellent accuracy) life at the college.

cracked.com/personal-exper…

I’m gonna be real direct, since you guys all know me to at least some degree:

This is not a college run by safe people.

The people who survive it do not come out unscathed.

The people who praise it are religious extremists who do not believe in equality or democracy.

Don’t skip the last part of the Cracked article – an important point about Evangelical colleges that often gets missed is that the vast majority of them are not regionally accredited. They are “accredited” through a religious org with very different standards than regional ones.

This means that graduates of PCC and similar colleges often leave with an unaccredited degree that makes it difficult or impossible to pursue further higher education at a secular university. (None of my Northland credits transferred to my state college.)

It also means that the schools are allowed *extremely* broad parameters in which to… rewrite their particular brand of reality.

Science, history, and religious studies, are all held to very loose standards at these places, and indoctrination is rampant.

This is how you have “college educated” people who truly believe climate change is a hoax, or that the earth is only 6000 years old, or that Muslims all hate Americans.

One of these PCC grads is Washington State representive and Trump admin darling, @cathymcmorris Rogers.

So since becoming a state rep, @cathymcmorris has co-sponsored legislation to ban same-sex marriage in WA, constantly criticized the ACA, and tried to replace the Violence Against Women Act with a much worse version. Here are some highlights:

She has consistently refused to listen to her constituents, received over $15,000 in direct donations from the NRA, and has said she hasn’t ruled out impeaching justice department officials who are investigating the Russian interference in the 2016 election.

She’s a nightmare.

Fortunately, @lisa4congress is giving her an amazing run for her money this year, and hopefully we’ll kick @cathymcmorris’ ass in November.

But here’s my point - her alma mater is not inconsequential to her philosophies and legislative practices.

Evangelical colleges like Pensicola, Bob Jones, and Liberty University aren’t fringe nuthouses. They’re the backbone of Evangelicalism, grossly mis-educating the Congresspeople of tomorrow. We MUST take these institutions seriously.

It’s hard, progressive Christians, to watch “those people” misuse your Bible and your jargon so horribly, and still resist the urge to miniaturize them.

But you must resist.

Stop characterizing them as the wacky-but-harmless great uncle when you know what they do.

Stop distancing and shrinking them.

If you say they “aren’t real Christians,” what people outside of Christianity hear is “they don’t have the influence ‘real’ Christianity does.” And we both know that’s a lie.

Treat them like the serious threat to democracy they are.

Stop laughing off @JerryFalwellJr as an idiot sycophant. What he’s doing is FUCKING DANGEROUS.

Stop writing off Bob Jones because it’s “old fashioned.”

Stop ignoring PCC because it’s extremely fundamentalist.

These schools are educating the people who run our government.

And WA followers, help me vote @cathymcmorris the fuck out of office. Salt the ground around her office and never let her policies take root in this state again.

@lisa4congress, godspeed.