Rae M

“This is one of the most insidious outcomes of conservative Christian teaching. Even though you were taught that God is love and Jesus is the good shepherd, you could never be loved unconditionally. You were not okay just as you were but were intrinsically bad, weak, needy, and incomplete — all due to events that happened long before you existed. You were saddled with “original sin” before you even had a chance.”
― Marlene Winell, Leaving the Fold: A Guide for Former Fundamentalists and Others Leaving Their Religion

“Consider this hypothesis: when we don’t see ourselves reflected in the world around us, we make judgments about that absence. Invisibility is a statement.”
― Sonya Renee Taylor, The Body Is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love

“Emotionally, the devout Christian is insulated from the world and present life. Both the best of life and its problems are ignored. If this is not your home, you have little investment and a limited sense of responsibility or self-efficacy.”
― Marlene Winell, Leaving the Fold: A Guide for Former Fundamentalists and Others Leaving Their Religion

“Radical self-love invites us to love our bodies in a way that transforms how we understand and accept the bodies of others. This is not to say that we magically like everyone. It simply means we have debates and disagreements about ideas and character, not about bodies.”
― Sonya Renee Taylor, The Body Is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love