Guest Post: A Closer Look at The God Warrior

She's not a Christiaaaaaaaaan-uh!!

The following is a guest post from my friend Megan.

As you probably recall, there was an earlier post about the crazy God warrior woman from Trading Spouses. As luck would have it, I was fortunate enough to catch the entirety of this episode earlier today. If you have not had the pleasure of catching this episode, let me fill you in on a couple of things.

First off, let me give you a brief synopsis. The two spouse that switch are Margaret Perrin and Jeanie Flisher. Margaret is an overbearing mother and wife who is pretty much terrified of anything that isn’t Christian. Jeanie is a hypnotherapist who is very much into astrology and other New-Age things. Jeanie has an ok time, and Margaret has a meltdown from all of the horrors she experienced while in the Flisher house.

So what are these horrifying and “dark sided” things that this poor woman Margaret was forced to endure?

  1. There were Mandala (Tibetan sand paintings) on the walls of the house.
  2. There was a star (not a pentagram, but a regular old star) on the side of the family’s barn.
  3. There were Tibetan flags in the house.
  4. She met a psychic.
  5. She went to a Solstice party.

Sounds terrifying, doesn’t it?

To me, the most interesting thing about this episode is the clash between two completely different belief systems. Now in my opinion, astrology and Christianity are equally ridiculous systems of belief, and yet it is only the Christian woman who is closed-minded, angry, judgmental and downright crazy. This episode pretty much brings to light everything that is wrong with the Christian faith. Here are some examples to illustrate:

Jeanie told the family that their house was beautiful.

Margaret freaked out about decor like Mandala and stars.

Jeanie met Margaret’s friends, who were cold to her because she wasn’t a Christian, and she still maintained a good attitude.

Margaret panicked because she had to go to a party to celebrate the moon and freaked out when she met a psychic even though he was also Christian.

Jeanie took one of Margaret’s daughters shopping for jewelry because she noticed the daughter was being ignored.

Margaret made Jeanie’s family to go to church and tried to force Jesus upon all of the kids.

When it came time to allocate the money, Jeanie gave the bulk of the money to the gastric bypass surgery that Margaret wanted.

Margaret gave Jeanie’s family a bunch of Bibles.

Margaret’s family missed Jeanie when she left.

Jeanie’s family did not miss Margaret.

What really made me mad about this episode is that Margaret didn’t even try to understand this other family. She immediately assumed they needed to be saved and forced her beliefs on them with zero regard to their interests and beliefs. As one of Jeanie’s kids pointed out, “Margaret kept talking about Jesus but we couldn’t talk about astrology or anything she didn’t believe in so it wasn’t really fair.” Margaret jumped to conclusions about the family without even asking them what they believe. Unfortunately, Margaret is not a unique case. There are many Christians out there who feel and act the same way she does, and that is what is truly horrifying.

If you would like to contact Megan, you can comment on her blog.

15 thoughts on “Guest Post: A Closer Look at The God Warrior

  1. The first time I saw Margaret Perrin I wanted to take a copy of the program around to the houses of pretty much everyone I grew up with, as a Catholic, and say to them, “This is how you look sometimes.” Then I realised that’s how I once looked too.

    If I can come around to critical thinking and secular humanism, anyone can. I think it’s right and proper that we literally laugh at people like Margaret Perrin, but it’s also important to remember that, unless of course she is undiagnosed paranoid schizophrenic, or is educationally subnormal in some physiological way, she is fully aware of what she is doing and mindful of those wilful processes of self-delusion—and so just as capable of no longer playing her role in the pantomime at some point down the line.

    There is nothing ‘received from the external’ about her actions because the external to which she refers to doesn’t exist. She is bowing down to her own externalised ego. The presence of TV cameras and the kind of attention she has clearly never had before simply makes us complicit in her torment by watching and her family doubly the victim of our current obsession with ‘come look at the freak’ “reality” TV shows.

  2. Before I read the article, my eyes wandered toward the photograph. Though perhaps the God Warrior title on this entry may have had an effect on this, I admit that I have a certain prejudice for physical appearances, and often make guesses about how someone behaves based on that. Sometimes I’m right, sometimes not, but if I saw Margaret on the street, I would speculate — based on the way she keeps herself — that that she’s uneducated, unintelligent, angry, imposing, and loud. That’s long before we even touch religion.

    Then I read the article… What fascinates me is that there were absolutely no second thoughts; no wondering, “Am I’m being a loud obnoxious jerk?” The only thing evident was this smug self-righteousness, this certainty that her wacky beliefs made her correct no matter how antisocial her behaviour.

    Now I’m curious… What is Margaret’s family like now that they’ve seen what it’s like to be around someone who isn’t that way? Do the kids resent their mother? Does the husband still enjoy his wife’s company after realizing that she behaves like an ogre?

  3. I’d be interested to know how the family feels as well. In the episode, there is one point where the mother says something to the effect of “I needed your prayers” despite one of her daughters trying to tell her that she was, in fact, praying for her. Margaret then later states “I thought of you” or “I felt something from you” or some other bullshit rationalization.

  4. Marguerite Perrin is suffering from Religiosity and Scrululosopy in which she is totally afraid of sinning and going to hell. I believe that her anxiety was quite real without the support of her community. She matches the features of the illness which is part of Obessive Compulsive Disorder. (OCD)

    OCD is a terrible anxiety disorder which swallows people up into a life of obsessive thouhts and compulsive ritual to alleviate the anxiety. Judith Rappaport wrote a book called “The Boy who Couldn’t Stop Washing.” Fear of contamination is a form of OCD. The people with OCD really suffer and their rituals, which take up much of their lives when it is serious, need treatment.

    You might notice that Marguerite’s friends sneered, rather than freaking out. Maybe they didn’t have OCD, but judgmentalism. They didn’t show the same symptoms as Marguerite.

  5. Kate, I’m not sure I see where you’re going with your remarks. Whether she is truly suffering from a form of OCD or not, she is a religious menace all the same. She tries to force her beliefs on other people who neither requested nor needed said beliefs.
    .-= God is Pretend´s last blog: E-I-E-I-Ooooh! =-.

  6. Can I just say that this woman is not typical at all in terms of the behavior of Christians? She’s certainly not acting like one of God’s people, even if she claims to be one. I know people like to say we’re all a bunch of ignorant, judgmental hypocrites, but that’s not true (although we’re sometimes judgmental, and we’re all hypocrites because we talk about living right and yet we keep sinning), and not what Christianity is about. It’s about living for God and having a relationship with Him. The glory goes to Him, not you. It’s not easy, but well worth it in the end. He crated us and loves us all, no matter what we’ve done, and is always striving to be closer to us. The behavior of this woman is appalling, and it’s really sad and unfair that people like her are so publicized in the media while genuinely kindhearted, selfless, God-loving people are quietly overlooked.

  7. My response to you is, yes, I agree that you are judgmental and hypocritical.

    You say it’s “well worth it in the end”. Have you seen this end game for yourself? I can only assume that you have not. Also, contemplate the concept of an eternity. Now picture Heaven. Unless they get the newest TV shows out and have a few pool tables, that’s going to be one long boring ass eternity. Have fun groveling at the feet of your creator who made you suffer through a lifetime of disease and suffering before he could be so kind as to allow you in his presence.

    No, thank you. I’ll live this life to the fullest and that’s all I’ll worry about.

    “Be thankful that you have a life, and forsake your vain and presumptuous desire for a second one.” — Richard Dawkins
    .-= God is Pretend´s last blog: Pastor Wiley Drake A Modern Sorcerer? =-.

  8. i would just like to say that it is obviously acceptable in every way for you to not believe in christianity. i do not care if you are christian or not, and am hardly a god warrior.
    i would also like to point out that it is your right and wonderful freedom to be able to create a website that is in support of your beliefs. and power to you.
    however i would like to say that unfortunately you are not just being observant you are also making a lot of harsh accusations. and if that’s your perrogative then that’s what it is. but i think it is a little misguided to ridicule “the majority” of “christians,” (i guess you mean prodestants and not just anyone who believes in god idk) for being close-minded and inconsiderate of other people’s individuality but then be guilty of doing the exact same thing.
    call me crazy but if you are angry at all christians for specific reasons, it would probably serve you well to not fall victim to these same behaviors.
    also i think the world would be better off with just a little less hate, don’t you? instead of wasting energy on slandering a general and large portion of the population falsely, you could be helping people.

  9. you just sound like an ignorant hateful pissoff that is probably so ugly you got beat up at school all the time, and never got a date. this is beyond normal and you frankly seem to need a lot of therapy and medication.
    i’m sure you have a lot of witty remarks and come-backs to this, but i will never read them so have fun being uselessly angry and dying from high blood pressure and cancer because you’re such a miserable bitter worthless nimrod.

  10. I know and love many people who are moderate christians. By moderate I mean people who aren’t focused on telling others their god doesn’t exist, and only theirs exists – or is the ‘right’ one.

    But I also have known and met many a Perrin. (I politely decline the mental vise and move along). It was disturbing to see the family paralyzed and upset by her fit. Sad, it is. I have to wonder how much cognitive damage is caused by radical or extreme circular logic.

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