Monday, September 11, 2006
Intolerant Christian (continued #4)
The typical conservative fundamentalist Christian does not want to be an Intolerant Christian and they certainly do not see themselves in this way. And fortunately most are not. The majority of fundamentalists are good, well-meaning individuals who are woefully misled and misinformed. The typical American is not well informed about other peoples, cultures and religions. The American people are not stupid but too many are isolated and sheltered, or only knowledgeable about things of little consequence. They have a very limited worldview and don’t realize the harm that their leaders and pretend leaders do in their name. The worldview advocated by the Jerry Falwells, Pat Robertsons and Dr. James Dobsons of the Christian right are dangerous and their actions are causing problems not only for Americans, but also for the entire world.
As with most religions, Christianity has a violent history and has brought about immeasurable harm, as well as much good to the world. It was the ideas and ideals of Western Christianity that formed the foundation of societies that could produce the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment. These changes in European society had a dramatic impact on the future development of American society. However, beginning with the landing of the Pilgrims on Plymouth Rock, America has also had a very strong fundamentalist Christian influence. The arrival of thousands of Puritans and their attempt to establish a “city upon a hill” helped to set the stage for the future success of a conservative Christian theology in America.
After the upheaval of the American Revolution, the arrival of thousands of new immigrants in the early years of the republic and the cultural disruptions involved in establishing a new nation, the American people were ripe for a religious revivalist movement in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. This “Great Awakening” established an even more powerful conservative evangelical Protestantism that enhanced an already very strong fundamentalist underpinning within American society. However at the same time that the Baptist, Methodist and Presbyterian movements were spreading across America through the efforts of charismatic traveling preachers, an American political culture was being established that also placed an emphasis on religious tolerance and the freedom of each individual to worship as they pleased.
The established Congregationalist and Anglican churches were not happy about this development, which cut dramatically into their membership. The new churches were dependent upon this emphasis on freedom of worship since they were challenging the special status of the denominations that preceded them. Political and economic turmoil in early America also provided for a sense of uncertainty among a large portion of the population, which left them particularly open to fundamentalist message of this revivalist movement. America was a wild and unruly place and the women living the frontier, often left alone with their children found solace in this new movement, often bringing their reluctant husbands with them to the vast open-air camp revivals of the itinerant preachers.
As with most religions, Christianity has a violent history and has brought about immeasurable harm, as well as much good to the world. It was the ideas and ideals of Western Christianity that formed the foundation of societies that could produce the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment. These changes in European society had a dramatic impact on the future development of American society. However, beginning with the landing of the Pilgrims on Plymouth Rock, America has also had a very strong fundamentalist Christian influence. The arrival of thousands of Puritans and their attempt to establish a “city upon a hill” helped to set the stage for the future success of a conservative Christian theology in America.
After the upheaval of the American Revolution, the arrival of thousands of new immigrants in the early years of the republic and the cultural disruptions involved in establishing a new nation, the American people were ripe for a religious revivalist movement in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. This “Great Awakening” established an even more powerful conservative evangelical Protestantism that enhanced an already very strong fundamentalist underpinning within American society. However at the same time that the Baptist, Methodist and Presbyterian movements were spreading across America through the efforts of charismatic traveling preachers, an American political culture was being established that also placed an emphasis on religious tolerance and the freedom of each individual to worship as they pleased.
The established Congregationalist and Anglican churches were not happy about this development, which cut dramatically into their membership. The new churches were dependent upon this emphasis on freedom of worship since they were challenging the special status of the denominations that preceded them. Political and economic turmoil in early America also provided for a sense of uncertainty among a large portion of the population, which left them particularly open to fundamentalist message of this revivalist movement. America was a wild and unruly place and the women living the frontier, often left alone with their children found solace in this new movement, often bringing their reluctant husbands with them to the vast open-air camp revivals of the itinerant preachers.
