I had lunch with my brother

[Wildewolfe]

and his "friend" this weekend.

They are both fundamentalist as far as you can go over to that bent type of Christians and in my view frequently Christian should be quotes based on what they do.

The lunch started pleasantly enough. Idle chit chat about this or that. How the family (extended) was doing and then the conversation turned first to politics.

We had a long talk and it degraded quite quickly. I had been prepare for the conversation for some months and left him stunned and thinking this time.

I left the meeting still thinking about it all and it occurred to me finally what the true problem with his brand of fundamentalism is. I came up with a new term for it. Revivalism.

The revivalist takes no responsibilty for the community. They swoop into an area, stay a few days, save a few souls, then abandon them to the environment to fend for themselves. They move on the tne next area and repeat.

This attitude is reflected in the religious rights politics throughout society. They are pro-birth, but abandon support at the moment the baby starts to cry. They are anti anything that doesn't fit within their own little closed community.

Revivalism is the ultimate in non involvement in the real lives of folks while making yourself feel good. I mean what can possibly be of more value than to save someone elses soul. It takes an hours effort and you're home in time for the game. Revivalism is the death of the real community church that cared about it's parishioners and the birth of the megachurch that's about business, politics and facade of soul saving. With 10,000 members the pastor probably doesn't even know who you are let alone that you just lost your job, or you are having problems with your kids. Revivalism is about making yourself feel good at virtually NO cost to yourself. It takes little time to go set up religious ferver to get folks to get "saved" it takes infinitely more time to set up programs to help those same people eat.

This is the true tragedy of the modern far right Christian movements. The betrayal of true teachings for the drug of the revival. Call it what you will, that's exactly what it is. I saw it growing up. All the modern christian hate groups are based on it in one form or another.

Just one of those things watching your family for decades makes you think about.

[Heidi]

1. Guilt-mongering predation, but it's easy money.

Feeding people and helping them overcome systems that oppress them take time and money, and there's no return for those in it for the wrong reasons. Don't even get me started. The Southern Baptist church in which I was raised lost me when I was about 13 years old and asked too many questions.

[bobbolink]

2. Actually, the true "Revival" originally had a much deeper meaning...

It contained within it civic responsibility.

Many of these "fundamentalists" today ( and there are those who have kept the original founders concepts), have strayed far from their roots.

Here's a fact you may enjoy.... did you know that the original "altar call" was established by a fundamentalist abolitionist who would "signup" all those who came down to the altar into the abolitionist cause?

Here's a way to REALLY blow your brother's mind... take the time to read Jim Wallis' The Great Awakening, and learn these roots, and talk to him about this the next time you see him. Jim Wallis will give you so many facts and thoughts to get your brother's mind going, that you may find him actually begin to question the "religion" that he is practicing.

[JeffR]

4. Fascinating and depressing to think that this has happened.

It seems that much like Ike's Republican Party, half a century has wrought huge changes for the worse among segments of the fundamentalists. This got me thinking about all the other perversions of concepts I was brought up to have a clear understanding and appreciation of that have now been so twisted around it's impossible to make any sense of them.

Though mercifully, as you mention, not all of today's fundies subscribe to these perversions of the original intent of their faith. They do, however, seem largely outnumbered by the paint-by-numbers knee-jerk fundies of the current era. More's the pity.

[Why Syzygy]

3. Very valid observation.

This is where I think Christians have gone far afield of what we should be taught. Contrary to what I was taught as a child, my adult examination of scriptures indicates that we are not called to proselytize or evangelize. And, certainly not in the vein of the Crusades.

The so-called Great Commission given by Christ was fulfilled by Paul during the first century! He said the gospel had been preached to every creature. Done. Finished. Jesus said we are to care for the poor and live our lives in such a way as to reveal his love.

[metapunditedgy]

5. I used to briefly attend a megachurch/cult whose unofficial slogan

was "a mile wide and an inch deep." The church had a huge turnover rate, and the pastors would basically say that their expertise was converting people. It was up to the other churches to actually do something with all their "converts."

[Wildewolfe]

6. I think it carries over into

the modern republican party pretty heavily too. The entire thing can be said to be based on revivalism starting back with reagan an then newt in 94. It's just now folks are realizing the revival tent left and they are on their own.

Pretty stark realization and it's about the same time that that particular brand of christianity got in bed with the repubs so it's not too suprising. It's vivid in retrospect and a perfect example of why religion needs to stay out of politics.