Authors: Jake Gustafson (Poikilos) and Robert Kiraly (OldCoder)
License: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International

This is the first page, Introduction. For the next page, Foreword, click here. Note: The introduction is below the table of contents. Scroll down.

New Developments

October 03, 2021: It's been a lively few days. Every item listed below except for the August voice­mail inci­dent was added or came up sub­se­quent to Marie's camp­fire joke on Sep­tem­ber 25.

Sometimes a dam has cracks in it and it's best not to take a hammer to it. Marie's joke was a hammer.

1) An implied threat has been relay­ed to the book editor. The threat neces­si­tates, and creates legi­ti­mate and reason­able pur­poses for, the fol­low­ing new web­site:

https://raygustafson.news/

The new site is one of the editor's sites. It's par­allel to but separ­ate from the Over­comers site.

2) We've added more of the Ray Gustafson sexual inci­dents. To read about them, click on this link and scroll down. Warning: Some of the incidents are both grim and dis­turb­ing.

The story “Sucking on Ray Gustafson's hose” might be seen by some as simi­lar to humor­ous scenes from the “American Pie” movies. It should be noted that Jake wasn't a willing par­tici­pant.

The quasi-rape inci­dents are more serious. This wasn't an ideal situ­a­tion.

3) Jake has written more direct­ly now about physical abuse. To read that page, click on this link. Note: That page expands on the sub-theme of how abuse is pos­si­ble and even common.

4) On August 25, 2021, Chameleon Aconitum left a threatening voicemail for Jake Gustafson. To listen to the voicemail and to read the PDF response and reflections on the project, click on this link.

OVERCOMERS PART I: LESSONS FROM MY LIFE

OVERCOMERS PART II: ADVICE TO INDIVIDUALS AND COMMUNITIES

OVERCOMERS PART III: SUPPLEMENTAL ESSAYS

A) KJV-Only Churches
B) Camille Case Q&A

ABOUT THIS SITE

C) Site Notices
D) Wiki Tech Notes

Contact information, Privacy Notice, document license, etc., are on the Site Notices page.

WHAT IS THIS BOOK?

This is a personal story intended for U.S. readers. Especially current and former church-goers and people in problem rela­tion­ships.

One context is Fundamentalist ministries. If you're familiar with the Baptist Church or have a position on Maran­a­tha (MBBC), the story will be of interest.

The book also discusses toxic relationships, cases that involve man­ipu­lation or abuse.

There are situations that you're not expected to put up with or to take responsi­bi­lity for. We'll dis­cuss the line between things that can be worked out and situa­tions that you should exit as quickly as possible.

The backstory is about Jake and Ray Gustafson, two brothers who were born and raised in the Funda­mental­ist world, and the different paths that they took.

Jake Gustafson is a reserved software developer in his 30s. He's committed to the com­mun­ity and faith that have been the cornerstones of his life since child­hood.

Ray Gustafson is a massage artist and drug user in his 40s. He's a former Christian leader who posi­tions him­self as an Ex-Christian guru and, at the same time, seems to boast of bedding women who are as young as he's able to get.

Ray has been been arrested and prose­cuted for mul­tiple drug and/or alcohol offenses. His future is bleak. It's safe to say that his life hasn't turn­ed out as well as he might have hoped.

The two men are conflicted.

Jake retains his faith, but he's in the pro­cess of deciding where the bound­aries that define com­munity and faith lie.

Ray has explicitly rejected Christianity, but he seems to waver on this posi­tion. He's said to have tried to intro­duce the Bible to the local drug culture.

The key figures also include Chameleon, a mani­pula­tive and corro­sive woman that both men have had as a lover. She doesn't define the story, but she does com­pli­cate it.

Chameleon was into BDSM and hard drugs and once did a three­some involving two gay men. “Lol, it's a miracle I didn't get HIV”, she said. She asked Jake, on occasion, to watch her kids so that she could engage in pro­sti­tu­tion.

Chameleon arguably wasn't the best match for a Funda­mental­ist man, let alone for two Funda­mental­ist brothers.

This site will go into signs of relationships that aren't on a rock-solid basis.

This book is Jake's look at his life, Ray's life, and differ­ent per­spec­tives on Faith. Both the people involved and the public in general are invited to com­ment.

NOTE ABOUT PHOTOS

In most cases, you can click or tap on a photo on this site to get to a larger and/or zoomable version. On mobile devices, the usual zoom features should then work.

This is the first page. For the next page, click here.