It is worthy of note that today (Friday) the Church Times has a leader entitled Fundamentalism. I have noticed over the years that the word is one that is normally avoided in articles and comments in the paper. I suspect that this reluctance to use the F-word is based on two fears. One is the fear of being misunderstood and the other a fear of giving offence. There are of course some precise definitions linking the word fundamentalism to Christian groups in the USA in the 1920s which stood firmly against the ‘evils’ of modernist tendencies in the church and in society. Also in a looser context the word is sometimes used to describe people of a religious conservative bent you do not like. Many Christians of an evangelical background hate the word and bristle at the thought of being identified with Creationists or with people who work tirelessly to keep women in church under strict control. The Church Times leader, no doubt aware of all the problems of using the word, helpfully provides a definition from a 1992 article. It goes as follows: ‘(fundamentalism is) the belief that there is one set of religious teachings that clearly contains the fundamental, basic, intrinsic, essential, inerrant truth about humanity and deity; that this essential truth is fundamentally opposed by the forces of evil which must be vigorously fought; that this truth must be followed today according to the fundamental, unchangeable practices of the past; and that those who believe and follow these fundamental teachings have a special relationship with the deity.’ The leader comments in its conclusion that such a system of belief for Christians fails in one important way – namely in its attitude to outsiders. Jesus himself gave special attention to those who were unclean, those who could be argued to have the least claim to a ‘special relationship with the deity’.
It is unsurprising that the press both secular and religious is now using the word and giving particular attention to extremism in religion in the context of the terrible events in France. Philip Collins, the Times columnist, today writes that ‘when people lay claim to certainty about ultimate questions, sooner or later there is going to be trouble. If the truth has been in some way vouchsafed to you by the divinity then dissent is not reasoned disagreement, it is blasphemy. I am no longer an interlocutor, I am an infidel.’ This Times opinion piece can be summed up by some words that I wrote on the topic fifteen years ago. ‘Fundamentalism cannot and will not listen’.
I want to unpack my own pithy definition of fundamentalism, acknowledging that the other quotes I mention with approval provide a background of explanation about this slippery word. My own definition tries to preserve two aspects of the phenomenon of fundamentalism, one to do with the thinking intellect and the other to do with psychology. The extent to which the non-communication is intellectual or emotional will vary in every case. To say that someone cannot listen to another person in a situation of potential dialogue or communication is on some occasions, I believe, to do with a failure at an intellectual level. Here the conservative Christian (or Muslim) cannot deal with more than one explanation of truth. As the CT leader said, ‘there is one set of religious teachings’ for the fundamentalist. If that is true, then logically there will be, as my definition states, an inability to hear or listen to anything else from another person. For someone to be in this place of intellectual deafness is a sad plight. How they end up in this place is not clear but one cause would be a failure to be exposed to the norms of educational process as we understand it in the West. ‘I cannot hear you’ may be statement about a weak education. It may also be the result of a long term conditioning which we recognise as having created a closed mind.
The second part of my definition picks up the emotional and psychological aspect of being a fundamentalist believer. In this second case, the reason for the deafness is that the believer chooses not to listen. Listening or hearing something that would disturb a settled point of view and belief is uncomfortable and to be resisted. According to this way of thinking, discomfort of this kind is interpreted as the forces of evil mounting an attack and these must be vigorously fought. There is of course a desperate need to remain in a place of stability and certainty. Space forbids me going further in my description of the fundamentalist stance beyond the basic observation that there seem to be these two aspects or components, the intellectual and the emotional.
For the final part of this post, I need to say why I believe, as my title suggests, that religious fundamentalism is a place of danger. Most of what I intend to say on this has already been suggested in what has been already written. First, would any of us want to place a child in charge of those who cannot allow the cut and thrust of discussion and debate? Would any of us leave another person with a view on life that denied the possibility of anything new being discovered? Would we ever be happy for ourselves to have our lives controlled by a existing fixed set of rules? Can we imagine that every conversation with another person would have to be checked by an internal censor for fear that it might lead us into areas of unsoundness? The world that I am describing is indeed a place of danger, and the danger arises from the fact that important aspects of a wider humanity are suppressed or denied. When we think about the fundamentalist universe, it is hard to distinguish who is being harmed the most, the abuser (teacher) or the pupil-victim. Simply living in this paranoid universe is opening oneself up to the infection and danger of having one’s full humanity damaged and partly destroyed. How far we are here from a master who said ‘I have come that they may have life, life in all its abundance.’
A very thoughtful article. I am accustomed to thinking of “fundamentalist” meaning “literal interpretation of the Bible”. So yes, creationists, only 144,000 shall be saved and so on. Most would also consider that women can’t be active in the church. They don’t usually however think that women should not cut their hair, nor that women’s hair should be concealed, nor that you can’t have a female doctor, nor that you can’t eat a prawn cocktail. Strange, isn’t it? As far as taking your faith very seriously, and living it out 100% of the time, well we should all do that.
I agree. We do need to stand against fundamentalism wherever we see it. (And I have encountered fundamentalism in areas well beyond evangelicalism). I pray that marches in France today (11th Jan 2015) are peaceful and that fundamentalism wherever it is found meets grace and peace in those who oppose it.
24 7
‘Terrible in hopelessness’.
This line is taken from Frederick Manning’s First World War poem ‘Grotesque’
Stephen has had to venture into places like God TV and the locked in mindset of what we call ‘Fundamentalist ‘. This I know is irksome to him. However, I am so grateful to him because, it has revealed the dark web of cunning and labyrinths of mind games, that are being used to inject the ‘Ungodly fear’ that he knows so well, into the mind of the uneducated and poor.
It is my responsibility to concentrate on the victims, this I hope I do?
In commenting on this new blog I note that ‘How they end up that way’ and ‘chooses not to listen’ does not always fit the individuals that I know. Products of environmental conditioning seem to explain this more (To me).
The carnage that this dreadful system leaves in its wake really has to be seen up close.
As I look into the eyes of my friends D, and G, I see a terminal suffering and hurt that breaks my heart. They lost their youth their marriage to a tyrant that they simply did not have the tools to resist.
Much more to say but I ask for prayer for them. I was one told that God can ‘piece together anything broken’.
Sadly, I now doubt that absolutely.
Chris
Miracles are possible. It is right to ask for one. We all know that prayer is not a magic trick, and it doesn’t always work. But we should ask. I’m sure we will all put your friends on our lists.
Thanks EnglishAthena,
Just to hear those comforting words are helpful. I too lost my youth to this system as did Mary. D and J will be very thankful for your prayers.
Chris.
Closed minds are not the sole province of religious fundamentalism. In rejecting Fundamentalism are we just inventing a new fundemental belief that must be defended at all costs?
Thank you A Believer,
Welcome to the blog. Can you tell us a bit more about what your saying. I’m sure that the people who contribute to this blog would be interested to hear from you.
Whatever we call it, be it, ‘Fundamentalism,’ or just ‘power control.’ I think you will agree that, just attending a church or a fellowship has broken many lives?
You will find a listening ear here on this blog.
I wish you peace.
Chris Pitts
A believer. Please read what I have said carefully. I have not talked about fundamentalism as an ‘ism’ to be compared with other ‘isms’. I have talked about it as a refusal to engage with what other people are saying. There is something, a readiness and willingness to engage with other people, which is part of what we are as human beings. Not to do this, on the grounds of an existing belief system, is a denial of that humanity. That desire to be human through listening and communicating with others is not an ‘ism’ of any description but resonates with all I understand of Jesus’ understanding of what it means to be human. I am not attacking evangelicals or even so-called bible-believers. I am questioning anyone – anyone who cannot open themselves in true dialogue with their fellow human beings. That is an attitude that causes fundamental tragedy, something we have seen in Paris and around the world recently.
I am here. I have been raised in this. I do believe in my faith and I find my comfort in the relationship I have with My Christ, but I am trapped and the only two choices are to get out and never return or to continue to appease my parents to keep the peace like I have for 28 years. I love my family and would never want to cause them harm or break their hearts but I have lost all joy and hope and happiness and my Christian spirit. I don’t blame it entirely on the Fundamentalism I was raised in but my father is a very hard man himself. When you are called a slut because you are wearing a tank top in a photo and when you over hear them talking and saying if they grow up to never speak to us, then so be it. That “parents” aren’t supposed to be your friends. When it becomes my way (my dads way, or the “solid biblical way)or the highway(which has no biblical direction at all). What does a girl do? Damed if I stay and damed if I don’t…. problem being I have you get siblings I look out for. You just cant please him anymore. I am tired of trying to please my parents. I am an adult and need to seek what God wants for my life. It is so hard to get out of the mire though.
E. Thank you for contributing your thoughts very frankly. It seems that there are two separate issues you are describing. One is your relationship with your parents and the right to grow up and be your own person. The other is your relationship with the faith structure that you have been taught which sounds very conservative.
Each part of the dilemma has probably a solution of its own even though they are course confused. The daughter having to agree with a father is a story that is as old as the hills. Sadly the culture you describe makes it likely that your father feels he has the right to control you and tell you what to think and do. The solution to this part of the problem is difficult for me to determine. It could involve mediation by a professional or a wise member of the family. The principle you have to fight for is the right to be your own person, to make decisions – in short to act as an independent adult.
The second part of the problem can only be resolved by education, education education. There is literature out there to allow you to grow away from a narrow conservative perspective on Christianity. If you have the patience, there is a lot of material on this blog to help you see that Christianity is not something narrowly defined by a few biblical texts. Rather it a way of life, a full life, which draws on the witness and experience of Christians of every tradition for 2000 years. The way Christianity is often taught is a bit like being taught about the sea from a post card. No, the vastness of the sea cannot be described from a picture or even words. You have got visit the sea and plunge into it. Even then there an infinite ocean stretching out which you cannot even imagine.
Start to read stuff and do not be afraid of books that are forbidden. You are unlikely to come to any harm. Read my blog as it was started four years ago precisely for people like yourself. Hopefully it will help to escape from a narrow repressed place into the broad sunlit lands where fear, control and terror are totally banished.
Good luck in your searching.
All the best, E. So hard for you. I’m sure we will all pray for you. Your parents probably think they are doing the best they can for you. But it sounds as though they are heading in completely the wrong direction. Showing God’s love is what parenting should be about as well as faith.