267: Ruthy Heiler | Don’t Turn A Blind Eye to Abuse
Preacher Boys Podcast
Eric Skwarczynski
4.5 • 737 Ratings
🗓️ 19 November 2023
⏱️ 67 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Ruthy Heiler is one of the featured interviewees in Let Us Prey: A Ministry of Scandals, a new four-part docuseries exposing the predatory and insidious behavior within the Independent Fundamental Baptist (IFB) Churches, and the struggles of survivors to find justice. Featuring first-hand accounts from survivors, church defectors and activists, Let Us Prey offers crucial insight into the troubling culture within the IFB and the stronghold the churches have on its members. All four parts of Let Us Prey: A Ministry of Scandals premiere across two nights airing Friday, November 24 and Saturday, November 25 starting at 9/8c on ID.
Since its inception in the 1950s, the IFB has evolved into one of the dominant religious forces in the United States today with an estimated 8 million believers spread out over 6,000 churches across the country. Let Us Prey uncovers the dark innerworkings behind the IFB’s cheery and virtuous exterior by exposing depraved secrets and violence that have existed within their churches for decades. Rituals oriented towards “breaking a child’s will,” mind control and torture are only the tip of the iceberg. Below the surface lurks accusations of rape and physical abuse of members, including minors, at the hands of IFB figure heads.
Anchored by the testimony of survivors who have come forward to tell their stories and seek justice, Let Us Prey explores the deep pain and lifelong trauma they experienced. Survivors and IFB defectors Ruthy Heiler, Kathy Durbin and Amanda Householder, among others, share their accounts of abuse at the hands of church leaders and the violence, manipulation and suspected cover-ups of other members. Also featuring key independent voices, including Fort Worth Star-Telegram reporter Sarah Smith – one of the first journalists to uncover IFB’s tangled web of abuse allegations and unregulated teen boarding schools – Let Us Prey offers a deeper understanding of how those within the IFB have continued to operate unchecked for years. Through powerful, emotional testimonies and archival footage, Let Us Prey reveals the sexual abuse of IFB members and the insidious efforts to cover up pastors’ abuse and silence survivors.
Let Us Prey: A Ministry of Scandals is produced for ID by ITV America’s Good Caper Content, with Emmy Award-winning Director Sharon Liese, who created the series, serves as the director. Liese is a critically acclaimed and award-winning filmmaker, whose recent Emmy Award-winning documentary short, The Flagmakers, was Oscar shortlisted and nominated for a Critic’s Choice Documentary Award.
Use #LetUsPrey to join the conversation and follow on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X and YouTube for exclusive content.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Trigger warning. This podcast contains descriptions of various abusive situations. Listener discretion is advised. |
| 0:09.3 | You are listening to the Preacher Boys podcast, a podcast shedding light on decades of mental, physical, and sexual abuse within the independent fundamental Baptist movement. |
| 0:20.4 | The testimonies shared on this podcast are told from the personal experience and perspective |
| 0:25.1 | of the survivors. |
| 0:26.8 | Not all legal outcomes are known or final. |
| 0:29.8 | Any suspect is presumed innocent until proven guilty in the court of law. |
| 0:34.4 | Now, here is your host, Eric Squarsinski. Hey, everybody, welcome back to the Preacher |
| 0:40.2 | Boys podcast. If you're listening to this episode, you're probably already aware by now that there is a |
| 0:46.1 | four-part documentary series about the Independent Fundamental Baptist Movement called |
| 0:50.9 | Let Us Pray, A Ministry of Scandals. Hitting Investigation Discovery, November 24th, and |
| 0:56.8 | November 25th, and then streaming on Max, formerly known as HBO Max. And this is obviously |
| 1:03.1 | incredible and exciting news. And it's exciting news for a lot of reasons. One, it's incredible that |
| 1:08.5 | this is getting a widespread, culturally impactful |
| 1:12.9 | type of coverage. This is something that I've wanted since the Preacher Boys podcast started. |
| 1:18.3 | As many of you know, when I started doing Preacher Boys, my original goal was not to do a podcast. |
| 1:23.2 | It wasn't to ever record now 250 plus episodes. It was to try to find two or three people that |
| 1:30.4 | might be willing to share their story and to create a documentary myself. And with everything |
| 1:37.6 | from the entire country shutting down to then starting the Preach Voice podcast, which really |
| 1:44.1 | through happy accident, blew up. |
| 1:47.0 | And to date, I mean, I really don't know how I could match the reach of the podcast and the |
| 1:52.7 | hundreds of survivors I've been able to talk to through the show. |
| 1:56.2 | It's been truly amazing. |
... |
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