Why I Love Fundies [View All]

[oldlady]

From Another Post-- but a poster asked that I push it into a new thread and so here it is: peace

Nothing is Black and White. The fundies are not 100% wrong and there is nothing 100% right. The dawning awareness of living and learning always includes the realization that the world, including faith, is mighty, mighty gray. That's why you can't "fight" them-- with reason, similar tactics, blah-blah-blah.

I have a lot of empathy for these believers, because I remember being in similar groups as a rather thrashing and convulsive time emotionally, spiritually-- I also have a fair amount of respect for them because I admire anyone who will take risk for what they believe, who are looking for meaning beyond consumerism and selfishness.

I won't say this is the definitive perspective, but I've spent a lot of time thinking about this (especially lately, how could it be avoided?)-- What I'm seeing/hearing reminds me of a piece of one of the letters in the New Testament, where Paul is writing to some believers who are having an argument-- the argument is about whether or not it is a sin to eat meat that has been sacrificed to idols. The answer he send them is that if a person's faith is new/weak and they feel it is sinful to eat meat sacraficed to idols-- well, then it is sinful. If a person's faith is older/stronger and they recognize that there's really no magic power and the meat is safe to eat, then they can eat it and it is not a sin. However, if the older/stronger Christian flaunts their eating of the meat and tries to convince the younger Christian they are stupid or wrong, well then that's a sin.

I think that's a beautiful perspective and useful when talking to fundies and pondering where these fundies are coming from-- here the text points out that it is possible for two people believing two different things to both be right and okay in their relationship to God. The cautionary part of the message is to the older and wiser believer-- don't cause another to sin against their own personal understanding. For me personally, that means I would not argue with a fundie; I would not try to prove anything-- I'd just listen for the questions that are surely there and lead to the next "level" (I don't like that word because it seems judgemental, but I need something to imply growth-- I didn't think my fifteen year old was superior to my twelve year old, but they were certainly capable of different things, and yet right where they were supposed to be at any one time).

The part of watching and thinking about fundies that pains me most is how trapped they are by fear. (I know this from my fundie days). They aren't going to read Chomsky or Zinn. They just aren't. Because they fear that these people are agents of deception. There's a lot of warning about the devil roaming the earth like a lion seeking whom he may devour and all that-- it takes TIME to recognize that love is really stronger after all and fear is the opposite of love. Those meat-eating early Christians played this out, too-- it wasn't two people fighting over their superior understanding (although, we tend to think that way and the things I read on this board don't deviate from that pattern). It was fearful/magic thinking ("that meat has evil powers and I don't want to be evil") and powerful/rational thinking ("evil doesn't come from the outside in, but the inside out and what I eat won't make me evil, God/Love is stronger than Evil/Fear, so I don't have any reason to fear that meat and dang! I'm hungry!).

Granted, some folks do seem to get stuck in the adolescent phase of growth-- which is where I think most fundies are. Adolescence is crazy time-- I spend a lot of time with teens and they can be so foolish, so obstinate, so obtuse, so offensive, so thrashingly ACTIVE. But, there are things I deeply admire-- they are so passionate, so motivated, so willing to put themselves on the line for what they think is right/true.

That's why I love fundies. I hope they'll grow along and figure out the fear isn't useful-- in fact, it's getting in their way; it's blocking love. That's pretty plain in all the conflicted messages about life/death going on right now. Hey, if your faith is so strong, why are you asking Bush-- he's not powerful.

Just picture all that committment and energy and passion focused behind solving world hunger or ending war--- YES, we need the adolescents-- and we need to help them grow into the bigger things. We aren't going to bring them there by acting childish and laughing at them or hating them. Patience. Many will grow out of it and be highly productive and progressive in time.

Okay, sorry about the pulpit proclamation here-- I hope I didn't offend anyone. Just my 2cents.

peace