The rise of the fundamentalist right in America

[katyseagull]

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I loathe deliberate institutionalised ignorance like in those videos though. That's child neglect at best and abuse at worst, in my book.

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As for what I saw in the video I loathe this kind of thing too. Trust me DB I really don't think this is common in America, at least not like that video it is not. That's just nuttiness.

But in the past year I've been doing a lot of thinking about this issue of devout Christianity, mostly because I have a couple friends and family members who are born again Christians. They take their religion very seriously, studying the bible 2-3 times a week, praying often. They are viewed as nuts and extremists by most people I know. They are not respected. And yet when I talk to them I'm surprised by how kind and non-judgmental they are. They are very concerned with the direction the country is moving. They are trying to raise their children to be deeply religious while living in a secular world. It's a real challenge.

I have a sister who is an atheist and she thinks it's terrible for my other sister to raise her children to study the bible. She thinks it's a horrible thing to do. Now I doubt she would ever say such a thing to a devout Jew or Muslim or Buddhist but when it comes to Christianity she thinks it's indoctrination.

[ChipWrecked]

These people are not hard-shell evangelists. In the hills, you ain't allowed to have musical instruments in church, 'cause God gave you a voice to praise Him with, and that's all you need.

[censored] heathen hypocrites. Cameras and amplifiers, bah!

[ChipWrecked]

Please forgive my levity on this issue. I have the highest regard for anyone who walks the talk regarding religion.

We had a 'resort' when I was a kid with a back row of cabins not visible from the road, that were popular with folks enjoying afternoon delights with persons not their spouses. A number of these were some of the loudest Bible thumpers around. I developed a very low tolerance for hypocrisy.

[Blarg]

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I have a sister who is an atheist and she thinks it's terrible for my other sister to raise her children to study the bible. She thinks it's a horrible thing to do. Now I doubt she would ever say such a thing to a devout Jew or Muslim or Buddhist but when it comes to Christianity she thinks it's indoctrination.

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I find it hard to believe your sister would not object to submerging kids in the old testament but would do so for the new.

[katyseagull]

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I have a sister who is an atheist and she thinks it's terrible for my other sister to raise her children to study the bible. She thinks it's a horrible thing to do. Now I doubt she would ever say such a thing to a devout Jew or Muslim or Buddhist but when it comes to Christianity she thinks it's indoctrination.

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I find it hard to believe your sister would not object to submerging kids in the old testament but would do so for the new.

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I don't think I ever responded to this post. I meant to. My sister dislikes the Christian religion. She is an atheist who attended a Unitarian Church for a few years and eventually concluded she is atheist. She thinks Christian churches border on being cult-like, indoctrinating young children and feeding them misinformation. With her it is almost like there is no distinction between a fundamentalist Christian and a non-fundamentalist Christian. To her all Christians are exactly the same.

I believe she would probably feel the same way about Jewish and Muslim families too if she were to live amongst them and watch them study the bible or Koran. However, because she doesn't know anything of their culture I think she is more tolerant and generous towards them, believing they are simply following in tradition that has been going on for many many centuries. She would never dream of insulting members of the Jewish or Muslim faith, but she has absolutely no problem doing so with Christians [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]. She just thinks it's wrong (unethical, negligent maybe?) to make children go to church and study the bible. But personally I think it's unrealistic to think that a parent would embrace a religion and then not teach it to their children.