Former Westboro Baptist Church member Lauren Drain says she was ‘banished’, OT Rating?

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Lauren Drain is gratefully moving forward with her life and pursuing a passion for wellness after enduring a harrowing ordeal that resulted in her reportedly being banished from the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) and, most importantly, her family.

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In her new life, the 33-year-old fitness model and registered nurse runs a personal training and nutrition program in hopes of encouraging others to get healthy and feel confident about themselves. She also previously chronicled her experience in the 2013 tell-all titled “Banished: Surviving My Years in the Westboro Baptist Church.”

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Still, she does wonder about her family, whom she hasn’t seen in over 10 years.

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“I’ve tried many times to stay in touch with my family,” Drain told Fox News. “Unfortunately, my father doesn’t really give me any room to do so. I’ve tried to reach out to my mother. She’s given me some feedback along the years, but not with any of my siblings. … I’ve done everything I can to reach out to them. I still continue to do so.”

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Drain alleged she was kicked out just before turning 22 in 2007, despite yearning to leave WBC. However, Drain insisted she didn’t leave on her own because she feared to lose her family. She alleged her father shamed her for questioning the church and for finding some of the elements of the doctrine hypocritical.

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In response to Drain’s allegations, a rep from Westboro Baptist Church sent Fox News a lengthy blog post, which addressed “the departure and exclusion of non-believers.”

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“At Westboro Baptist Church, our duty regarding our children is simple — we raise them by a Bible standard,” read the statement. “Our children are taught from the cradle of what the Lord their God requires of them. Some of those children are given the grace of God, make a sincere profession of faith, and choose to suffer afflictions with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. Others, when they come to years, simply decide that they don’t want to live by the standards of God, and they leave without ever making a profession of faith. Still others claim a profession of faith for a time, but eventually are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life (Luke 8:14) and eventually leave, being overcome by those desires.”

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“I can’t be dragged down by somebody who has no interest in serving the Lord,” he claimed. “So you go live your life, and I’ll live mine. It’s so shocking to people that I wouldn’t unconditionally accept my daughter for whatever she does. It was an unburdening. It was just a stifling burden for her and for us. She didn’t want to live this kind of life, and we did. I wasn’t trying to be cruel about it.”

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When asked if he wanted to hear from her, his response was “God, no.”

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“Ultimately, she doesn’t love the Lord,” he added. “She doesn’t fear God. She doesn’t fear hell. And so, what can you do about that?”

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