American fundamentalists win

When we look at what is going on in the United States of America, it looks like the American fundamentalists are winning.

The conservative Christian community is growing very quickly and trying to get its hands in political decisions. In a time when and where several people became very deeply uncertain about religious and spiritual truths while still being deeply committed to a faith, a group of religious fanatics saw their circle growing and getting more importance in cultural life in the rural surroundings.

Some people may simply not identify along the lines of “Christian;” whilst others may identify themselves as “Liberal Christian,” “Conservative Christian,” “Agnostic Christian,” “Social Justice Christian,” or “Mystical Christian.”

All over the world, there have been going on a lot of discussions about what and who can be a Christian. In the United States many even say those who follow the Nazarene Jew Jeshua ben Josef or Jesus Christ the Messiah and believe in his God, can not be Christians, because for lots of Americans only believers in the Trinity can be called Christian. That is one of the great problems in that state, over the years them even going further and further away from the Biblical Truth. Most Americans have forgotten the essence of being a Christian and could do with a summary of being a Christian. The problem with a lot of Americans is that they often do not see that there are different ways a person can be religious or may worship a god or God. The way of looking at religion may also be very different and the way of how to go on with the relationship with a god, gods or with the Divine God, may also be very diverse.

In many communities, we also may see that people try to get some feeling of security. More often we also see that zealous engagement focusing on the security, protection and preservation of the rituals, customs and traditions of religion reflects the mind of a fanatic believing that service or commitment to the faith lies in these acts. Traditions become holy and not to be broken. People even want to go so far that those sacrificial acts of tradition get the focus in their annual worship services. Many get obsessed with ceremonial practices, only believing that is the right religion. They start seeing other ritualist forms as wrong but also as dangerous or the anti-Christ movement to undermine their true faith.

Andy Tix writes:

As far back as the first American “psychologist,” William James; continuing with the famed personality psychologist, Gordon Allport; and up to today, psychologists of religion have discussed how there are multiple ways of being religious. To put it simply, some individuals approach religion as fundamentalists and some approach religion as mystics.

According to psychologists of religion, Ralph Hood, Peter Hill, and Paul Williamson, in their book “The Psychology of Religious Fundamentalism,” religious fundamentalists approach their faith through exclusive reliance on a sacred text as the foundation for truth and living. They believe their sacred text is (1) divinely inspired, (2) without error, (3) sufficient for expounding on many kinds of truth claims, (4) privileged over other ways of knowing, (5) authoritative for providing insight and guidance into one’s life, and (6) unchanging. With all this seems to come a sense of certainty in religious and spiritual beliefs and a missionary zeal to persuade others to the same beliefs. {The Ways of the Fundamentalist and the Mystic}

Today’s American does not want any uncertainties in his life and longs to find something to hold on to in his surroundings, in which the church plays an enormously important role. The pastors are very aware of this and use it to control and influence their community to vote for a particular political group and see the other political parties as a threat to their security and the security of the nation.

For most Americans, it is the words of the pastor who is the glue for their community. They do not let themselves be guided so much by the Word of God. Not many do really read the Bible from A to Z. Lots of people consider others only as religious people when they belong to a church and go to Sunday mass or Sunday service. Many consider that they fulfil their duty as a Christian when they hold to these Sunday meetings and when they listen to the sermon, and say “amen” to it. Much too often in Europe as in America, we notice that lots of people call themselves “Christian” but do not keep to those teachings of that Jewish master teacher. What is striking about this is that precisely in those American fundamentalist churches one is very far removed from the love-spreading message of Jesus Christ.

It is also sometimes very difficult to follow or understand their way of thinking. As recently as their jubilation of breaking the law Roe v. Wade making abortion a criminal offence, anyone who promotes, permits, does or undergoes abortion is seen as a murderer. Even someone who has been raped is now not allowed to have an abortion. Though those Christians claiming that such people are killing a human being have no objection against police officers shooting at and killing young people (and certainly not when they are black) and even want the state bringing murderers to death, by lethal injection or on the electric chair, as if those people then would not be human beings. So why may those persons who already are human be killed, whilst the cell which is not yet a human being may not be taken away from a woman?

On certain levels, we also see that those American fundamentalists, mostly belong to American evangelical churches those so-called religious people are living out a heartless, cold, and arrogant brand of self-righteousness — the kind that looks down on others and judges others while simultaneously congratulating oneself on having it all together.

Their ego is standing on the first and most important place and they do not want to give some place to someone who does not have his or her origin in “their nation” which should be made great again by their people of the only right religious direction. It even went so far they made a man in their new god, and got blind for all the terrible things he had done in the past and all the lies he told in the now; They even are convinced that man is not able to tell lies and was unrightfully taken of his presidential post.

Those who do not read the Bible with the mind and idea of the language it was written in, want to keep to the literal saying instead of being willing to see and understand the idioms and way of Hebrew saying. Something as contexts also does not seem to exist for them, and they do no effort to compare the different verses with what their pastor brings forward at the pulpit, having the text totally pulled out of context.

Some even believe we may stone adulterers to death because that is said in the bible, though that cell in the woman’s womb may not be taken away, or not being killed, because God has said a human may not kill another human being and all life is sacred. What about the life of gay people, divorced people, transgender, adulterous people, is that also not a life given by God and as such to be respected?

In any case now with several previous laws overturned by the Supreme Court, we can see how Trump managed to install conservative judges who dare not to be neutral and speak those Christian fundamentalists to the mouth.

For sure the tendency is very clear already now, that the fundamentalists in the U.S.A. are on the winning hand, and when they are not careful democracy will be gone very soon.

Preceding

Additional reading

+++

Published by Marcus Ampe

Retired dancer, choreographer, choreologist Founder of the Dance impresario office and archive: Danscontact-Dansarchief plus the Association for Bible scholars, the Lifestyle magazines "Stepping Toes" and "From Guestwriters" and creator of the site "Messiah for all". - Gepensioneerd danser, choreograaf, choreoloog. Stichter van Danscontact-Dansarchief plus van de Vereniging voor Bijbelvorsers, de Lifestyle magazines "Stepping Toes" en "From Guestwriters" en maker van de site "Messiah for all". View more posts