Googling "righteous anger" led me to Mars Hill Church. I've never heard of the church before, but the pastor, Mark Driscoll, is no stranger to controversy. On Obama's inauguration he tweeted:
"Praying for our president, who today will place his hands on a Bible he does not believe to take an oath to a God he likely does not know."
Yikes!
To become a member of Mars Hill Church you have to sign a covenant.
Church members agree to “practice complete chastity before marriage and complete fidelity in heterosexual marriage by abstaining from practices such as cohabitation, pornography, and fornication,” and to refrain from drug use, drunkenness, and “other sinful behavior as the Bible, my pastors, and my conscience dictate.”
Here is a fascinating peek at this mega-church, and how they responded when one of their parishioners cheated on his fiancée.
The title of the article reminds us of the practice of shunning. The Amish will shun people for violating their ways, as detailed in the great movie Witness. I wonder if the author would describe the Amish as "cult-like"? But for the most part the article seems even-handed to me. And it's certainly interesting.
My favorite part...
(Andrew) doesn’t remember signing the covenant, comparing it to a user agreement for iTunes.
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