... quoting from James Barr's book "Fundamentalism" on the three distinguishing features of the Fundamentalist:
'Firstly, a fundamentalist has a very strong emphasis on the inerrancy of the Bible, and believes ion the absence from it of any sort of error.
Two, a strong hostility to modern theology and to the method, results and implications of modern critical study of the Bible.
And three, an assurance that those who do not share their religious viewpoint are not really true Christians at all.'
From Peter Cameron "Heretic" (Doubleday; Sydney: 1994) p. 178
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Fundamentalists are "Trew Kristyuns"
They are characterised by one or more of the following:
- an extreme lack of rationality
- fondness of logical fallacies
- repeated use of emotional appeals
- rigid adherence to Bronze Age mythology
- endorsement of pseudoscientific nonsense
- bigotry and discriminatory attitudes towards minority groups
- belief that certain children's media is the work of Satan
- propensity to post Bible verses instead of valid argument.
They have the following unfortunate features:
- a distrust and fear of freedom
- a belief in the importance of authority and in controlling what people believe
- a corresponding preference for obedience rather than love
- a desire to give people what they want rather than the truth
- a refusal to allow themselves to be in the least disconcerted when confronted with the true nature of their fundamentalist religion
- a readiness to persecute and exclude anyone who is of a different persuasion.
They prefer authority, obedience, and conformity over freedom, truth, anddissent.
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John: Well, everything that you've been saying implies that[Fundamentalism] is a manifestation of a fairly low level of mental health,doesn't it? For a start, Fundamentalists call for a literal interpretationof scripture, and as we saw when we were discussing secular values, focusingin on the letter of the law is a characteristic of the less healthy. Inaddition, wise people tend not to exhibit literal mindedness, so it seemssingularly inappropriate to assume that this is the vein in which greatspiritual teahers are speaking. Then again, whether we're talking aboutChristianity, Islam, Judaism or Hinduism, the values of Fundamentalists seemaimed at making themselves feel better by placing all negative anddestructive emotions in people with different beliefs, and enjoying thegolden glow of self-justification that results. ... You know that simile:'As rare as a Fundamentalist who loves his enemy.' ... the Inquisition didlargely miss the point of 'Love Thy Neighbour', didn't they? Wasn't burningheretics 'worse' than being tolerant towards them? ...
Robin Skinner & John Cleese "LIFE ...and how to survive it" - (Methuen;London:1993) p. 287
