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Tuesday, 29 November 2005 10:56 |
| Marc Mullinax
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?®I regard Christian and Jewish fundamentalism, and all other forms of fundamentalism, as the enemies of God ?± and I hope you??ll quote me on that.?∆
?±?± Arthur Hertzberg
?ÿ
MARS HILL ?? This is the first in a series of essays on the various religious postures people take. I shall treat each posture in a balanced way, so that active believers and disbelievers get equally ticked off. The basic postures include fundamentalism, conservatism, moderate-ism, liberalism and radicalism.
All have their admirable sides. I know this existentially, for in my spiritual pilgrimage I have had (often illicit) affairs with each.
We start with fundamentalism, the foundational, core conviction that life in its mystery (or reality) can be modeled mechanically, understood completely, spoken about exhaustively and followed unswervingly. It is usually a self and an us thing that sets up a dichotomy between self/us and others/them. In other words, those not with us are against us, and will be ?®left behind.?∆ Left unchecked, the dichotomy becomes stubborn, self-referencing and violent. Samson in the Hebrew Bible book of Judges was perhaps the first religious terrorist and fundamentalist. Not able to countenance defeat, he took down a building by force of his beliefs and his body.
Fundamentalism exists in many forms that ply political and religious
airways and pathways. While many consider fundamentalists to be to the
?®right?∆ of conservatism, they have yet to consider the rigid,
doctrinaire leftists and Marxists, who are perhaps the most dangerous
idea-mongers alive. We??ll deal with these next
week.
Fundamentalism is an addiction. Its promises are narcotics that
anesthetize one against ambiguity and diversity. Swallow this pill, and
one will have pre-determined and preternaturally clear vision about the
ways of the world and eternity. Like all addictions, this specter comes
at a cost: cocksure certainty through a rule-laden, life-negating
tunnel vision in which anyone who is not with them, is against them.
Divided into ?®We?∆ and ?®They,?∆ the We??s have the answers They never can. The logic of this Manichean division
often merges into political rationales for wars (always seen as holy), legislating of morality and schemes to
shore up the religious worldviews through political means.
Fundamentalists, to their credit, see the loss of a sure horizon and
fixed stars by which we can guide our life. Where they err is
attempting to fix the stars into static lights that illuminate only
their own prejudiced worldview.
While modernists and post-modernists speak of ambiguity, diversity and
tenuousness in all things that matter, the fundamentalist feels that
someone must cut through the fog and speak of certainties. Certainty is
their product, and certainty sells well in times of diversity and
multiple ways of organizing life.
This comes in a variety of packages:
?ÿ The school board that preaches a religious point of view to be upheld against all sciences.
?ÿ Pat Robertson calling for the assassination of President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela.
?ÿ Robertson??s warning to the citizens of Dover, Pa, when they voted not to include intelligent design in the
science classroom: ?®I??d like to say ... if there is a disaster in your
area, don??t turn to God, you just rejected Him from your city. (Y)ou
just voted God out of your city.?∆
?ÿ Denying women the same spiritual advantages or vocations that are given men.
?ÿ Refusing to allow that love can exist or be celebrated in other-than-heterosexual relationships.
You could add to the list: Fundamentalism is the great refusal of our
time. It is fundamentally the denial of God??s power. Suspecting their
worldview cannot stand on its own, fundamentalists see their private
cause needing public support in the public square (usually by school
teachers). What they cannot achieve through a democratic give-and-take
process, they enforce by undemocratic means.
Next week: Reality Check ?? How fundamentalist is Asheville?
?ÿ
Dr. Marc S.
Mullinax, chairman of the philosophy and religion departments at Mars
Hill College, can be reached at mmullinax-at-mhc.edu.
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