Pure: Inside the Evangelical Movement That Shamed a Generation of Young Women and How I Broke Free

by Linda Kay Klein

I have seen the Bible used against people many times. For some of those I’ve spoken with, it is the literature of their trauma and I feel no need to redeem it for these individuals. But I take comfort in knowing that when I read the Bible today, I find more liberation in its pages than I was taught to see in it growing up.

When I was a teenager, I wasn’t allowed to experience anger or sadness because that was just evidence that you’re giving in to the Devil and him wanting you to feel that way—not having joy in the Lord, and all that stuff.

Relatable 💔

Every day that I wake up and go to work, I believe it’s God’s will that I’m alive.”

I wondered why I had asked Mom that question. It was the question of a child, and I wasn’t one. I didn’t need my mom to tell me whether or not God had his or her hand on me. I felt God’s presence every day. I asked, I realized, because I wanted her to believe it.

I didn’t receive the blessing I went home for. But in time, I realized I could go on and tell my story without it. And perhaps, that is what I really needed.