Religious = fanatic? Wtf?

I thought I'd share a quote from a recently-written article which is a progressive critique of newly-elected President Obama's cabinet choices. While making good points about the hawkish nature of our new President's picks, the author sort of makes a fool of himself at one point:

Is there reason to be happy that the insufferably religious George W. is soon to be history? "I believe that Christ died for my sins and I am redeemed through him. That is a source of strength and sustenance on a daily basis." That was said by someone named Barack Obama. The United States turns out religious fanatics like the Japanese turn out cars.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21377.htm
-William Blum

So all of a sudden, anyone who derives personal meaning from spiritual faith is a fanatic? I'm sorry, but this dude appears to be straight out of one of those Christian urban legends. You know, the ubiquitous stories that somehow assert that any intellectual, liberal or secularist is "anti-religion".

- Like the story about the college professor who told his class anyone who believed in God was a fool...and then challenged God to keep a piece of chalk from breaking.
(Which is false.)
- Or the one about atheist Madelyn Murray O'haire petitioning to ban all Christmas carols and religious programs from the airwaves.
(Which is also false.)
- Or the myth that Janet Reno once said that anyone who believes in the Second Coming of Christ and goes to Bible studies is a member of a cult.
(You guessed it...false.)

Unfortunately, this guy is one hundred percent for-real.
Seriously...he really believes that deriving hope from your Christian faith makes you a fanatic? I really don't know where to begin with that statement.

But I'll try.

First: As psychologist M. Scott Peck once said, everyone has a religion, in the sense that your "religion" is the way you see the world, other humans, existence, life and death, etc. Making any sort of value statements about these things qualifies as some sort of worldview, or "religion".
And one would assume that most humans seek to derive some sense of hope or meaning from their particular worldview--even the most diehard atheist finds a reason to get up in the morning, a reason to believe that their actions matter.
So are all these people fanatics? Is the atheist who finds meaning in her volunteer work at a homeless shelter a fanatic? Or the agnostic who derives great satisfaction from potentially saving lives through his anti-war activism? Or the Buddhist who feels that she is more conscious of life after meditating?

Second: I have to say, this guy seems like someone that Sarah Palin would make up. The progressive "elitist" who is a die-hard secularist and looks down his nose at anyone with religious faith. No, Sarah, most of us progressives do not fit this mold...but, after reading the above article, I have to admit that there are a few of them out there.
And I can think of nothing more hypocritical. It would be one thing if you were a neo-con elitist who was honest about the fact that you think you're better than most people out there. That the world is divided into "gods and clods". (As per the South Park episode.) Then, at least, you would be consistent--those ignorant masses down there have their silly, primitive beliefs.
But I just don't get the limousine liberal. Don't claim to represent the interests of marginalized sectors of the population if you are going to take this kind of snooty attitude toward their beliefs.

Third: "Fanatical" seems like the wrong word to use in this context. I mention this to begin with on my Hallelujah Complex blog precisely because...drumroll please...I don't believe George Bush's religious faith to be fanatical.

Sure, I believe that it's grossly perverted, misguided, self-serving and shallow. I believe that he manipulates religious language to serve overtly militaristic aims. But I wouldn't define it as fanatical...precisely because one of the main tenents of my Hallelujah Complex theory is that fanaticism is in the eye of the beholder. Culture defines fanaticism, and groups that are outside of their cultural mainstream often self-identify as fanatical, and end up behaving as such. And, like it or not, believing that God has a purpose for what happens in your life is a pretty ordinary part of the American cultural mainstream.
Sure, Bush has manipulated this belief for his own political aims. But what political leader in history hasn't manipulated the mainstream religious / cultural beliefs of his country to further the interests of the elite? Let's face it, civilizations as diverse as Aztec, Mayan, Egyptian, Byzantine, Greek, Roman, Mixtec, etc, have traditionally justified oppression using the religious language of the day.
But that doesn't make those politicians fanatics.

Fourth: Making a connection between the belief that "I am redeemed through Christ" and the belief that "I need to invade a defenseless country and torture prisoners of war" is a pretty big leap. In fact, for a person to assume that the latter is a natural reasult of the former, you would think that the person never heard of religion before listening to Bush's speeches.


Mr. Blum, I respect your agnosticism. But please, at least try to be informed about basic religious facts before making statements like this. To do otherwise weakens all the other (very valid) arguments you make against militarism and the politics of force...and, like it or not, a lot of us religious folk are on your side in that fight.  ¶ 11:53 AM

  While not strictly falling under the definition of the Hallelujah Complex, I have to mention a fairly recent phenomenon among Evangelicals as the holiday season approaches us:

The fad of co-opting Jewish cultural symbols.

More and more often, dispensationalist pro-Israel Evangelicals are putting out menorahs during the holiday season. These are people with no Jewish background or history, and yet they seem to feel they have license to use the symbols of the Jewish culture at will. It's like, just because your church (and the Left Behind books) teach that Israel will one day raise up in arms and slaughter the armies of the Antichrist, all of a sudden this makes you Jewish? You get to insert yourself into a 5,000 year old tradition, just because your pastor said that Israel should not coexist with Palestine? Zuh?

I'm seeing it more and more often (it seems especially prevalent among Calvary Chapelers). The menorahs, the Stars of David, the mizuzahs on the doorpost--Jew chic is the in thing.

But here's my real concern:
How many of these Israeli-flag wavers actually stand up against the defamation of Jewish people in our time? How many of them are actively fighting anti-semitism in their communities?

The Southern Poverty Law Center puts out a magazine called the "Intelligence Report", which keeps track of hate crimes committed across the nation. I wonder how many of the menorah-loving, blond-haired Christians subscribe to it? (Subscriptions are free, by the way.)

How many of them came out against Mel Gibson when he made his anti-semitic remarks?

How many of them are out there standing with the Jewish families who've had swastikas burned on their lawn in the past year?

Apparently:
It's very easy to romanticize the Chosen People of the Bible.
It's very easy to romanticize the customs of the "exotic Jew" of modern day, imagining that, some day, he will take the lead in the battle of Armaggedon.
It's easy to equate "giving nuclear weapons to the political nation of Israel" with "loving Jewish people". (??)

But it's much harder to actually stand together with people in holy solidarity, listen to their problems, their concerns and their woes, and fight together for solutions. Jewish people are not just a cultural phenomenon of the past or some far-off place in Eastern Europe--they are a living community that still faces discrimination, hatred and defamation.
So if you really want to show your "love for the Jewish people", how about making a stand about these issues now?

For that matter...why stop with the Jewish people?

Labels: Is Evangelical the "new Jewish"?

  ¶ 1:09 PM

  BLOG MODE

It's about time I got back into this. Believe me when I say that I've been collecting a lot of material for this blog, but have spent another year in full posting jack. Well, guess what? I'm going to start intersparsing the organized analysis with Hallelujah Complex news and commentaries. Beginning with this one...

You know who sucks?
Carson Daily.

Why do I mention this on my Hallelujah Complex blog, of all places? Because his late night talk show (on NBC after Conan O'Brien) is exactly the kind of crap-on-a-stick program that the Evangelical Christian sub-culture would put out (sans religion). The entire show can be summed up in three words:
trying too hard
It's a solid hour of a mediocre, untalented, unfunny man trying way too hard to act like a professional late-night talk show host. Every single one of his comments or jokes is a desperate attempt to imitate what's popular...and the result is a mundane, mediocre, half-baked product. Heck, even his band has just the sort of name that a band would half-assedly throw together in an attempt to sound like a cool band that young people listen to: "No Need For a Name". Could you have picked a more predictable name?
Here's a sample of the sort of dialogue you may hear between Carson Daily and one of his celebrity guests (who, miraculously, continue to appear on his show...Providence seems to at least favor Daily over the Evangelical shows themselves):
Carson: So, I hear you're making a new movie? Nice. That must be good times.
Jeff Goldblum: Yes, Carson. Yes it is.
Carson: That Elizabeth Hurley, she's hot. Really nice.
Jeff: Yes she is, Carson. She is very good looking.
Carson: So, um, we have a doctored photo here of Elizabeth Hurley. As you can see, she looks like she's on a topless dance floor.
Jeff: Yes, I see that.
Carson: Of course, she's not. It's a doctored photo. We did it with photo shop. That's why it's funny.
Jeff: I see.
Carson: So, uh, it's really good times, huh? Good times.Haha.

Take away the crude jokes and add a preachy agenda and you've got a carbon copy of almost every Evangelical talk show, game show, novel, rock concert, soap opera and movie-packaged attempt to be hip.  ¶ 11:10 PM