I stumbled across a new blog yesterday via Redwood Dragon called Real Live Preacher. His piece on Fundamentalists hit home.

….If you want to know about the Taliban, ask an Afghani woman. If you want to know about Christian fundamentalism, ask a Christian. Fundamentalists are more than interesting television for us. They are people with real power who harm our churches, destroy good ministers, and sully our name.

We’ve been in the cages with these cats, and they go for the jugular. They are always on the prowl, circling the campfires of the followers of Christ, howling the name of Jesus and splattering our heritage across their banners of hatred.

I’ve run across a lot of people like that in my life, sometimes I think I fall into their trap.

Watching fundamentalism do its work is like watching the crucifixion over and over and over again.

Never confuse fundamentalism with a particular set of beliefs. Fundamentalism is a methodology. It is a way of relating to people. There are fundamentalist Christians, fundamentalist Muslims, and don’t forget the politically correct zealots. You will meet fundamentalists in every walk of life.

Yeah. Seen them in politics, church, environmental movements, newsrooms, volunteer organizations, business….

Fundamentalism’s method is confrontation and its fuel is anger. There can be no dialogue and no mutual respect. There will only be winners and losers. They are right. You are wrong. End of discussion.

He’s got that right. Dialogue isn’t a concept. They respect only their own opinions. We forget the messenger isn’t as important as the message.

Fundamentalist Christians also carry a terrible, secret burden. Your soul is their responsibility. If you go to hell, they will answer to God for their lack of witness. Imagine carrying THAT load around all day. Naive Christians are shackled to this burden by pastors whose need to enlarge their personal church kingdom has an “Enron” feel to it.

With such hellish stakes, extreme measures are called for. The end justifies the means. This is why so many Christian fundamentalists want to use the government to push their agenda.

Ultimately fundamentalists will consume their own young and gnaw at their own flesh. The way of anger always leads to consumption.

Even covering them as a reporter, leaves you bruised, battered and weary. And dealing with them in your own life can kill the spark of the Divine.

But the way of anger was never supposed to be our way.

Did you know we were first called Christians in Antioch of Syria? 1 Before that, the followers of Jesus simply called themselves, “People of The Way.” 2 They believed they were called to follow the way of Christ.

You cannot follow the way of Christ and walk in the way of anger.

You just cannot.

I’m human. I get angry. My cry is that I will not sin in that anger by resorting to labelling, name calling, derision, spite, gossip, slander, insults and the need to be the assistant Holy Spirit or even right about my stance. God doesn’t need me to prove Him, He needs me to be surrendered and faithful.

The way of Christ is for those with nothing to prove and nothing left to lose. It is not anger and conquest that sustains you on “The Way.”

What sustains you is the simple placing of one foot in front of the other, all The Way to the end.

Published 5 years, 8 months ago