Down Among the Fundamentalists (Part 3)

I was dropped, literally, in front of the BJU Administration Building on the first day of September 1970. As I waved goodbye to my parents, I saw my little brother Lowell making faces in the back window of my dad's Galaxy 500. That is until my mom turned around and slapped him on the back of the head.

I never felt more alone in my life. I made my way back to my dorm.

My dormitory was named Bib Graves. (FYI: Bibb Graves [April 1, 1873–March 14, 1942] was a Democratic politician and the 38th Governor of Alabama. His first name was David, but he went by "Bibb," probably to remind the voters of Alabama that he was a descendant of Bill Bibb, the first governor of Alabama.) I lived in a room with four other roommates. Yes, there were five of us sharing a narrow eight by twelve nook, bunk beds on one side, a shared desk on the other, and a sink in the corner. I would not be surprised if South Carolina provided more square footage per prisoner at the Allendale Correction Institution.

For the next nine months, while I was a student, I attended mandatory church service every day, and twice on Sunday. During the week there was Chapel. On Saturday there was a morning service. On Sunday there was the regular church service, plus Sunday school, and vespers. I guess that makes three times on Sunday. (I wonder. Since it was mandatory, does it count? You know, in the Big Hereafter. Probably not.)

Say what you want about the Fundamentalists, they take their Bible seriously. And not just any translation. The preferred text of the born again, Bible believing Baptist is the King James version. I found this interesting. The KJV takes work to read. It's not an easy task to study Jeremiah, or Ezra, or even the Gospel of John for that matter. Though Fundamentalists claim to take the Bible literally, that is simply not so. There are definitely figurative passages in the Book. What they mean, I suppose, is that they believe it to be God's word and give great respect to scripture.

A true Fundamentalist would not even be political in the sense that the majority culture would understand. Sure, a fundamentalist may vote conservative, but tax policy and social reform are not his motivating force. What really concerns a Fundamentalist is his relationship with God. It's prayer, not protest.

BJU's rules were omnipresent. The claim was made that every rule on campus could be justified through scripture. Well, that hardly made the situation better. There was a strict dress code. The guys had the wear ties till noon while on campus, and always wear them when off campus. The gals wore dresses when in public view. What they wore when they were out of sight by the general public, I couldn't guess. Reading material was strictly censored. No Mad magazine. Period. And music was limited to classical, semi-classical and serious religious music. Yes, religious music had to be serious. None of that wigged out, non serious gospel music.

And you can forget about listening to Herb Alpert and the brass.

Next: Down Among the Fundamentalists (Part 4) The Good, The Bad and the Not So Hot