apocalyptic upbringing

The reflections of a 33-year-old man who was immersed as a child in fundamental Christianity are ... what? ... saddening, cruel, evocative, recognizable...?

In the evangelical Christian world of midwest America, it was normal for adults to tell children they would probably never grow old. The end could and would come any minute now.

Are the glories and cruelties of any other immersion less dangerous, less elevating, less cruel? Perhaps to go the distance is to fall into the fiery pit. Ascending is a strange and touchingly human pastime. Just ask your average Ph.D.