Read the entire article.

Every exchange student's nightmare.

Could there be some exaggeration?

It is in the mind of the beholder, arif, but it seems something went horribly wrong.

It may not have been hell, but it sure would seem like hell to me.

Poor kid. I know that sometimes it is difficult to find host families for exchange students, but geez. I'm sure it was frustrating for him and for them.

Of course they didn't understand -- how could they? They had grown up with their faith and were convinced of it, and then suddenly I turned up and refused to fit in.

I wish that fundies such as those he had to live with were so rare that we would all be astonished to hear of them. I've had to gently battle several well-meaning, persistent evangelicals myself. It's tough.

Could there be some exaggeration?

Even if there is SOME exaggeration, it is unacceptable... I mean the kids was going to America to learn, not to be harassed, told he was evil, his mom was evil, preached to etc...

I have personal experience with this, I was put into a foster family of religious zealots when i was 8 years old.. how does church services from sunup Saturday morning to sundown Sunday night every weekend sound? Ant that was just the beginning...

Children's Aid finally clued in to what was going on and threatened to lay charges of child abuse... lot f good it did, they ended up with another foster child from another county 3 months later..

I'm sorry they did that to you, Cat.

Thanks, Debbyski, the sad thing is that it happened to me AGAIN.. that time with Jehovah's Witnesses

However, they were actually nice, they just tried to cram their religion down my throat...

I was also baptized Mormon (via step father)....

As extreme as it sounds, I can well believe it's true.

However, they were actually nice, they just tried to cram their religion down my throat...

Oh, I cannot be doing with this at all. Everyone is entitled to believe what they believe but as soon as they start to try to impose those beliefs on me, I'm finished with them. I've been really cruel and rude to people who've done that in the past (we used to have a lot of Jehovah Witnesses knocking on doors here, for example), but I've found that one needs to be harsh.

When they Mormons or Jehova's witnesses would come knocking on my door, I'd just tell them I was Catholic. They usually didn't want to talk to me any more after that proclaimation.

HA! I should try that! I'm a [lapsed] Catholic. I could still carry it off though!

My roommate and I had a problem (in college) with JWs showing up every Sunday at 10am... so he got naked and waited for them one morning.. the look on their faces was priceless, I only wish I had a digital camera then to capture it..

They never did come back. i was a bit afraid they'd call the police, but I guess they figured they were just as in the wrong as we weer (we had asked them on countless occasions not to come back)

That was prolly our issue debbyski, we initially told them we didn't believe in god.

Ah, that'll be where you went wrong indeed. You presented them with a challenge, you see!

We won in the end tho

I lived in germany for a couple years and I met several German kids who had had experiences like this as exchange students. No wonder Americans get such a bad rap overseas.

It really freaks me out that adults like this are not only able, but incredibly eager, to influence their ways on kids. These people haven't had sex in 17 years. They need to shut up and keep to themselves.

If this story is true, it's deplorable. That being said, don't put all Christians or even "fundamentalists" in the same category.

There seems to be a lot of joy in finding the most disgusting stories about those who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ....post them and pile on. This behavior would not be accepted or encouraged by the conservative Christians I know and love.

Oh,
I don't have any joy in finding any disgusting stories about Christians and I don't lump fundamentalism into one bad catagory at all. I think bringing these behaviors into the open for all Christians and non-Christains to see is positive if it brings about attitude and behavior change.

Sad to say but it is true, many Christian (mostly Baptist) Fundamentalists are plain NUTS! The pressure tactics that they use often backfire on sensible, thinking people. It took the recent U.S. elections for Americans to realize and reject the hypocrisy shown by these bigots and their right-wing collaborators in the Republican Party.

Ugh. I am so sick of them. I live in the Bible Belt, so I know a lot of people like that.

Horrific, deplorable. I hate such mahayana concepts. (Mahayana is technically "big raft" Buddhism, Buddhists that share their journey to enlightenment. I personally use the term to describe christians who try to force their ideas on others.)

It's this kind of thing that gives Christianity a bad image.

We all want people to believe like us. Some of us are more opinionated than others. However, to be stuck with anyone that is fanatical about anything, atheists included, is awful. They can't understand why we can't move to their way of thinking. As long as they just use words, and not violence of any kind towards anyone, or incite violence in others, then ok, and if you are stuck with them for a long time, like this poor kid, give it a rest, and try and get to know the kid. Fanatics always assume you are not as high up the ladder as they are, and this kid probably could have taught them some needed things, but a fanatic has a closed mind to other thoughts.

The next time someone rings your bell with a conversion offer, tell them you're a Nuddhist. I have this on my door.