The rise of the fundamentalist right in America

[Enrique]

I am shocked at the response you got for putting "Atheist" on facebook. A friend of mine, put it out too, because he got afraid (in certain nations, like Iran, being atheist is worse than not being the religion of the majority).

It is sad that there's so much intolerance, it should also be unChristian, given that Christ was a very tolerant man.

The main problem with fundamentalists is the lack of tolerance for other ways of life. I don't have a problem with people believing whatever they want to believe as long as they don't judge others for not believing the same.

[J.A.K.]

The tolerance issue is somewhat disingenuous, in that the expectation is ALWAYS that the church is the one to yield, reinterpret, or annul it's position on scripture rather than the individual yield to the principle. I suspect it's because the principle is often suggested by a hypocrite through invective. However, this is a non-issue for non-believers because you are not bound by the Christian faith.

My hipocrisy lies in the fact that I know certain acts to be wrong according to my faith (i.e. lying, getting drunk) but I do them at times anyway. But I do not desire the scripture to be less condemning or more "tolerant" of such things. It is my duty to overcome these, so "hate the sin and love the sinner" is not a license for perpetuity. "He that is without sin cast the first stone" was followed by "go and sin no more". But I note that Christ was alone with her when he said the last part which I think is significant because the things that matter are always between the individual and God.

I feel in interpreting much of the scripture the fundy will see what he wants as will the agnostic, atheist, and even myself. It is a struggle to truly read with an open heart and open mind when we are taught that "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9) and "Behold, this only have I found: that God made man upright; but they search for many schemes." (Ecc 7:29)
The kookie fringe is not hard to spot and avoid, but getting out of my own way is another matter.

[MrWookie]

JAK,

I don't think doing things you know to be wrong is necessarily hypocrisy. Humans are weak, and we can't always be perfect, even if we know what to do. The hypocrisy is when we judge and condemn others for their shortcomings while trying to establish our own righteousness. A smoker admonishing people not to start smoking is not necessarily a hypocrite. He may just be a guy who screwed up and is now an addict, no matter how much he'd like to shake his addiction. A DEA agent who smokes reefer on the side is a hypocrite, though.

There's a difference between teaching the scripture and enforcing the scripture, and you can definitely do one without the other.

There's a whole lot to read in the casting stones story. I've always read the concluding "go, and sin no more," not as a command meant to strike fear into the heart of the adulteress, but as a proclamation of her freedom. She is no longer a slave to her sin and its consequences, but she is free to breathe in the fresh air of a better life. She'll probably slip up again, but she'll still know to whom to turn to shed the chains for her once again.

Great passages at the end there, and very true.