My Surreal Odyssey in the Heart of Southern Baptist Fundamentalism

                    How a Southern Californian Beach Bum

              ended up at SWBTS

I never intended to be an opponent of Paige Patterson and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. In fact, did not know who Dr. Patterson was until I enrolled as a student at SWBTS during the spring of 2008. The story behind me coming to study at SWBTS would take several posts to tell in detail. I never intended to enroll in a Southern Baptist school deep in the heart of the Bible belt.

I did not think it was good ideal because I am just not a fundamentalist and have no personal affinity for Southern Baptist culture whatsoever although I was a faithful member of a SBC church during my studies. However, after the constant "encouragment" of a friend to finish my undergraduate degree at SWBTS' College at Southwestern, I came, kicking and screaming all the down way to Texas.

I made the decision to come to SWBTS while swimming near a boat harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii. During my several trips to visit my father on the island of Oahu, I spend a lot of time thinking and contemplating my future. In total, I spend over a year living in Hawaii (2006-2007) and thought about retiring there if it were not the constant urging of my Southern Baptist friend who earned both his Th.M. and Ph.D. degrees at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

In all honesty, I was a sort of a Kurt Cobain type beach bum who spent most of my life in Southern California and had absolutely no business going down south for school...

 However, this friend, who became the director of SWBTS' admissions department convinced me that the College at Southwestern would be the perfect place for me to complete that elusive B.A. degree I had intermittently worked on for several years.

After the constant exhortations of my admissions director friend, I flew from Honolulu to Dallas in the fall of 2007. By January 2008, I was enrolled as a student at the College at Southwestern. What I encountered during my time at SWBTS could be described as bizzare at best. Little did I know that I was entering into the personal domain and cult of personality erected around a controversial and larger than life Southern Baptist preacher named Paige Patterson.

My friend did not inform me that Patterson was one of the most controversial individuals in the history of the Southern Bapstist Convention and American fundamentalism in general. I learned pretty quick why he was so controversial.

Over the next few weeks, I will be describing my haunting and surreal experiences at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, a bastion of odd Evangelical fundamentalism. How I managed to survive the maddness I encountered there is a miracle.

Don't bother trying to deter me from writing this, my story needs to be told...