January 18th, 2007 by The Bosphorus
“We keep trying to explain away fundamentalism,” writes Jeff Sharlet of The Revealer. And on the other end of this article, Sharlet concludes that fundamentalism is doing the same to its opponents. Those are the folks who identify with the “we” of that opening line.
I grew up going to fundamentalist churches. I know the language. I can speak it. I miss it’s certainty even as I deny it. I find myself rooting for that certainy like a newborn baby.
Sharlet hammers the nail into what I’ve always found fascinating about fundamentalism. He writes,
One afternoon last year I found in my mail an unsolicited copy of “The Vision Forum Family Catalog,” a glossy, handsomely produced, eighty-eight-page publication featuring an array of books, videos, and toys for “The Biblical Family Now and Forever.” This catalogue, I think, is as perfect and polished a distillation as I’ve found of the romance of American fundamentalism, the almost sexual tension of its contradictions: its reverence for both rebellion and authority, democracy and theocracy, blood and innocence. [italics mine]
Fundamentalists make me uncomfortable, But they’re fascinating, too. They’re like those mythical beasts that were a mix of two animals. They’re Republican Anarchists.
I have a love hate relationship with the idea of fundamentalists. I mean I don’t really have any friends who are self-professed fundamentalists. So I’m not arguing with flesh and blood. Any argument I have with a fundamentalist is all in my head. It’s with myself.
There’s the rub. I keep trying to explain away my own fundamentalism. When I came to accept that I am a Christian I realized that I had to deal with those churches I grew up in. I have to deal with that language, that mix of rebellion and authority.
I’m still working on that.
January 19th, 2007 at 6:04 am
{stammering with relief} … yes!
thank you!
January 19th, 2007 at 6:21 am
I think a lot of us are still working on that, and in times of crisis - I tend to revert a little in my reactions.
January 19th, 2007 at 7:21 am
I never got fundamentalism. It seems so shallow to see the world in terms of black and white, and it appears to me thats what they do.
January 19th, 2007 at 7:40 am
You wrote “I grew up going…’ I think that is the key. We all seek the comfort memories of childhood on many levels,by visiting old playgrounds, telling our kids stories of past snowstorms and eating meatloaf with mashed potatoes. The mix you see in that belief system might really be the mix of your childhood romanticism of a religious comfort zone meeting your discerning adult eye.
January 19th, 2007 at 7:59 am
You might be onto something there MSueS. Family is tied up in all this.
Fund. is a severely logical system. It starts w/ a few premises and then pushes them as far a they will go. The logic may not make sense to those outside its bounds, but that’s beside the point.
It’s no more shallow than the various world views it rails against and vice versa.
January 19th, 2007 at 8:41 am
Well, let me clarify that. It’s an illogical attempt at being rational about religion.
January 19th, 2007 at 11:07 am
Fundamentalism scares the crap out of me… On a personal level: I don’t ’speak the language’ and that marks me as an outsider to an insular and powerful world. I’m not part of the fraternity. On a global level: These ‘truths’ may be worth dying for for those who believe them, but what happens when we are all dragged into the fight?
January 19th, 2007 at 11:37 am
Thanks for the excellent post Bos. You’re making me think. I would really like to discuss this way further. You know, one former dogmatic fundamentalist to another.
January 19th, 2007 at 1:00 pm
Labels like “fundamentalism” are inflammatory. Being a christian has nothing to do with being republican or anarchists. The whole denomination thing is uncomfortable to me, as is the idea of religion. Mom told me that whortly before her dad, a staunch Catholic, died, he heaved a sigh of relief and told her “Y’know Anne, all you have to do is do what Jesus said. You don’t have to worry about anything else.” Now that’s comfort.
January 19th, 2007 at 2:27 pm
I struggle daily…weekly, monthly..yearly…continually..
AT, you are a great writer!
January 19th, 2007 at 2:36 pm
Daco, I’m always game for a religion discussion. We’ll get a few beers and talk.
damama, you’re right that being a christian is above and beyond labels like repub. or anarchist. That was a dumb joke on my part. :) There are a significant # of people who claim the label “fundamentalist” w/ pride. What I find fascinating is this mix of rebellion and authoritarian mindset that Sharlet pointed out in his article.
I want to gain what use I can out of denominations and take them for what they’re worth. I don’t see any one having priority. Each may highlight different facets of Christianity. Each has problems, too.
January 19th, 2007 at 3:20 pm
In C.S. Lewis’ Screwtape Letters, the devil takes delight when the human has to think about it all (so I’m pulling this from distant memory and not quoting, but it’s there somewhere) Explain it all away all day long, but A feeling will still be there. It’s either a feeling of fullfillment, or a feeling of something lacking, something missing that you can’t put your finger on. Too many people try to argue the feeling away or find the reason for that feeling. What’s funny though, it’s usually only after you’ve surrendered that the answers come.
January 19th, 2007 at 4:31 pm
PunkHP, I’d like to direct your attention to the top of the screen, just underneath that name of the post, wherein it is written that Bos was the author of this particular post…
Unless you’re talking about that one line comment, where I’d say somethign like:
Thanks.
January 20th, 2007 at 3:00 pm
It’s not who (or what) you say you are, it’s what you do.