This posting in late July on an article by one Dave Belden contesting the depth of a divide between the religious right and the secular left produced an interesting comment from reader Tyler Whitmer that I wanted to highlight; Mr. Whitmer wrote:
"First...as a young agnostic liberal raised Southern Baptist in Texas, I find that this comment, though perhaps generally true, does not represent the reilgion that scares me (or the one I grew up in):
'After all, the popular churches all now stress love over doctrine, sin, or blame.'
"Show me how the religion of Tom DeLay, John Ashcroft, et. al. is about love rather than doctrine, sin or blame.
"Second...to casually reference the 'Left Behind' [book] series as some popular fantasy pulp series is to fundamentally misunderstand the method through which fundamentalism operates in this country. The narrative of the end times is a cultural centerpiece, but it is also a call to arms. The series is billed as fiction, but can be read as a socio-political manifesto. If you want to read good fiction about fundamentalism, may I suggest Tom Robbins' 'Skinny Legs and All.' Robbins lambasts from the outside what the 'Left Behind' books are to the core...religious fanaticism alive and well, working tirelessly to bring about the end of the world. I have a problem with that not as a liberal, but as a breathing person.
"That may sound like I'm just buying into the liberal nightmare to the Nth degree, but when my AG and my President both believe that if the world ends they will live eternally in paradise and I will burn forever in misery, I can't help but feel they don't have my best interests at heart.
"I can only hope the leaders are frauds, using the faith of the masses as a leash to lead them against their financial best interest. That is a sad thing for a young man to hope for from his leaders.
"Third...our author acts as though it is 'christians generally' who hold political power in the modern American right wing. He is wrong. Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, John Ashcroft, and gang are not 'christians generally' who are cool with switching churches and the female orgasm. They are modern fundamentalists who have a distinct ideology that embraces none of what Belden sees as moderating forces in modern American Christianity.
"My verdict? Our author here hasn't had much contact with real, American fundamentalism. Sounds to me like he's an Englishman living in the north who is a moderate Christian. Let's see:
"'Dave Belden, an Englishman living in New York State, is a corporate business writer. He has worked as a religious volunteer in India and Ethiopia, as a carpenter in England and America and is an active member, and past President, of a small congregation in Catskills, New York.'
"Hmmmm...."
Comments are open. No anonymous postings, as always.
