It’s Only An Insecure Person
That Requires Everyone
To Believe The Same Things
Gallop Poll does a survey at the end of each year (End of Year Survey) to measure optimism about the coming year. They ask respondents if they think things will be better, worse or the same.
Compared to the past ten years expectations are low at the moment. According to Gallop, 29% believe 2025 will be more prosperous, 35% believe it will be economically difficult and 31% say it will be the same as the last 12 months.
That last category, the Same, is revealing because at present, confidence levels are at some of the lowest degrees of all time. Not the GOAT but the WOAT.
Expecting things to be the same is the equivalent of expecting things to be as dismal in the future as they’ve been in the recent past. What that means is a total of 66% of those responding had a bleak outlook. Things aren’t looking too good. Hope is generally not up.
And, of course, the question is why is that so? What’s contributing to the negative perception?
One answer would be the government (aka the President).
Nine years ago Obama was finishing his final term as President and things looked very good. There were naysayers and antagonists for sure, but public perception in general was at an all time high.
That period of positivity was followed by Trump and that’s when public perceptions (along with the economic realities we live with at the moment) began to slide. The slide continued until we are hovering at close to all time lows and according to Trump’s own words it will get even worse before it gets better.
In other words, the thing Biden worked really hard to avoid and did a fair job at curbing, Trump is not just embracing but provoking.
But Presidents aside, religion is to some degree guilty too. If you go to church regularly, you’re getting a consistent diet of philosophical negativity. Since fundamentalism is very much in league with the Trump movement, it is fair for us to look a little deeper. We need to understand the what and why of fundamentalism’s negative effects.
I know about this negativity because I played that roll for many years, decades even.
Fundamentalisms Negative Effect
Fundamentalism, of course, is a term that doesn’t apply only to one religion. It applies to many different religions and usually refers to the most extreme version of each. Fundamentalist types share a common attitude regardless the religion they adhere to, Christian, Muslim or otherwise.
Fundamentalist attitudes are expressed even among groups that aren’t religious at all. Nazism is good example.
Do a web search on fundamentalism’s negative tendencies and you’ll get more than you can take in and from many different angles. Fundamentalism it nothing if not boisterous and has become so loud that it can’t be avoided.
But why the noise? What makes fundamentalists so out of sync with the rest of society?
One answer might be the differences. The number of different Christian religions is estimated to be 35,000 at the moment. That’s huge. How can any religion harbor so many differences?
That’s a fair question because Christ not only taught that we should be unified but prayed we would all be one (John 17:20-21).
It is strange to think that Christ prayed for something that hasn’t been realized. Maybe He prayed in the hearing of the disciples and the prayer was recorded for public consumption because the answer to this prayer was dependent on our response.
Meaning, we are suppose to find a way to exist in unity, as one, not harp on the differences. I’m not suggesting the differences aren’t important or they don’t have a place. I’m saying that we may be assigning a level of significance to some ideas that can’t be justified.
Fundamentalism, instead of creating unity, is forcing the issue sometimes vehemently and have earned the description fighting fundamentalists.
The Root Cause
The real question is where does this attitude come from? What produces this negativity?
Most think the negativity comes from their beliefs. Religious people hold their ideas very tightly and challenges to those beliefs aren’t received very kindly. Say something negative about baptism or church and Christians take it personally. Say something negative about the Koran and you might get bombed.
We need no proof that fundamentalists can be contrary but what we don’t always talk about is how they differ among themselves. The differences, especially among Christians, are well known but rarely feature in these discussions.
It’s best not to go there if we want to have peace.
In fact, Paul understood this phenomenon and used it to his advantage when he was examined before the Sanhedrin.
Following his third missionary journey he returned to Jerusalem (Acts 21) and was arrested. In the trial that followed, he did something that we don’t talk about much. He raised a question about a difference in theology between the Sadducees and Pharisees (both on the Sanhedrin) and it had the desired effect.
They started arguing theology, a fight broke out, and to keep Paul from being assassinated, the Roman guard took him away from Jerusalem. He wasn’t released from custody, but he was removed from danger. This happened because fundamentalists can’t tolerate differences.
How we think about any particular teaching isn’t as important as how we manage differences in general. Infant baptism, eternal security, and many other concepts are argued endlessly, but what should we take away from the fact that there are so many differences, that the differences mean so much to some (although quite insignificant in some cases), and how should we manage this?
We’ll never be free of differences. Trying to corral everyone into one circle of ideas isn’t going to happen so we must learn to live with the differences.
Fundamentalism’s Bad Characteristics
At present, the way these differences are managed has brought a long list of very undesirable characteristics to the surface: divisive, fearful, judgmental, guilt inducing, inequality, regression, fatalism (apocalypticism), insecurity, and exclusivity (isolationistic) to name just a few.
And these effects are the same for all versions of fundamentalism. Muslims fundamentalists are no more exclusive than Christian fundamentalist and even among the various sects of each religion, exclusive sentiments are present.
Christians would never admit this, but they are acting just like the Muslims they disagree with so adamently.
Sunnis don’t get along with Shias, and Catholics and Protestants have a long history of drawing blood, not to mention the conflicts that exist within Catholicism and among Protestants.
But what is it about fundamentalism that fosters these negative qualities? It can’t be specific beliefs. Sunnis and Shias aren’t that different. Catholics and Protestants though different, share a large number of ideas.
There is one factor common to them all that’s responsible for negative outcomes. It’s so obvious it’s easy to miss: Control. Fundamentalists love to control what people think and believe. They aren’t happy with anything less than complete compliance.
Control is the point behind every message preached, every lesson taught, every book written, in every religion you come across.
Control Leads To Destructive Manipulation
Religionists aren’t happy to know the truth and share the truth they know. Once they’ve shared it, if it isn’t well received, they begin developing strategies to force their version of the truth into the public square.
And fundamentalism (any version, any where) is apoctalyptical about their ideas. We easily recognize how destructive Muslims can be. It was this mindset that motivated 911.
If they won’t listen to us and bend to our will, we’ll maim and destroy.
But what about Christians. They have their burn-it-all-down moments too.
Donald Trump’s election, not once but twice, is proof that Christians don’t mind destroying the status quo if it means getting control. The election of Trump is the equivalent of:
If you don’t accept and believe what we say, we’ll take extreme measures to force the issue even if it destroys the democratic system that enables the privileges we all enjoy to this day.
Never mind the fact that he lies, cheats, has a long history of womanizing, and breaks any laws that don’t suit his plans (not to mention he is crudely inarticulate), if he will promote pet fundamentalist issues, we’ll vote him into office.
Trump, enabled largely by the Christian voting block, is a destroyer. Project 2025, motivated mostly by Christian fundamentalists, is forcing their points of view even to the destruction of democratic freedoms.
It’s all about control.
Prohibition Is Not A Doctrine And Thinking Is Allowed
I can say these things because I grew up in fundamentalism. I was subject to the same dominating and controlling effects.
The atmosphere in every church I attended may have differed on the minor points but the same psychology was in play.
If you want to be accepted member of the group, you can’t go there, eat that, wear that, see that, think that, be that , associate there, and on and on and on.
To be fair, the intention was to protect the sheep but it was negative. Instead of encouraging adherents to develop and grow and expand, they were encouraged to isolate and hide.
Prohibition is not a good way to develop your potential.
I still believe most of the things fundamentalism taught me. The basics are there but I have changed only because I never stopped thinking.
I still believe the Bible is truly God’s Word but I differ with what fundamentalists say it means.
Fundamentalism has a long history of disagreeing with itself so I’m not so different.
The problem is Christian groups have attributed so many different and contradictory meanings to the Bible you really have to read it for yourself.
I also believe Jesus is a very willing and capable Savior. Not just able to save but desiring to save every soul. In fact, I believe He takes any and every opportunity to save as many souls as possible.
I also still trust in God but I finally realized that trust in Christians must be diligently qualified. No single Christian is qualified to tell the rest of us what to think or do, not even the Pope (no disrespect intended).
One fundamentalist may believe women can’t wear slacks (believe it or not that idea prevails in some groups). Another may think completely different.
One group of fundamentalists I was familiar with believed that any building in which food was prepared or consumed could not be attached in anyway to the sanctuary. If the sanctuary had a basement, the kitchen could not be in the basement.
How To Be Evenly Christian When Christians Are So Uneven
The natural human response to these differences is very different to what the Bible teaches and, clarly, to what Christ said.
We view differences as the ideas of enemies. Christ taught us to love our enemies and pray for them.
We view differences as insults. Christ taught us to turn the other cheek.
We view government regulations as infringements on our Christian liberties. Christ taught us to go the extra mile.
We view differences as insults, ideas to be resisted. Christ viewed them as opportunities. Not opportunities to argue or prove a point but accept the person in spite of the difference. There is always common ground.
Compliance Is Religions Requirement
If you think I’m off center, next time you’re at church try questioning some of the pet ideas they promote. If the church is Calvanistic (Presbyterian, Reformed, Covenant, and many Baptists also) try questioning their version of election and you get a glimpse of a controlling response.
Questioning the practice of baptizing infants can have the same effect. There was a time in the not too distant past when such disagreements resulted in execution. Killing people was seen as the best way to suppress ideas that were considered heresy.
That happened both ways. Each side was crushing the other.
Belief Is Personal
Society might agreeably form a common set of rules to live by (like the Constitution) but beyond that, when it comes to beliefs about God, we are each on our own.
I can’t make you believe anything. You can’t make me or anyone else believe anything. We can argue the point but that’s it. We can create a constitution of sorts for a particular church or group of churches to live by, but agreeing to that set of rules is a matter of personal choice.
Fundamentalism argues for the acceptance of their social ideas broadly. When that doesn’t happen, they shift gears and attempt to have it codified for everyone.
That goal, if achieved, will never last.
THINK!AboutIt
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