Unfundamentalist

Above All, Love

Darrell Lackey

For the Invisible People

by Darrell Lackey in Christian Issues

People need to be seen. People need to know they exist, that they matter. People need to know they have gravity, weight, that they bend space and time. It is a slow, quiet death when a person feels like no one can see them. Imagine knowing you exist, have feelings, dreams, and desires, but are treated like a ghost — you can see others, but they can’t (or won’t) see you.

A significant damaging effect of the fundamentalist (evangelical?) mindset is its tendency to make some people feel invisible. It happens in many ways, but here are just a few:

When we see people in a strict, black and white world of “saved” and “lost,” there is a tendency to dismiss the views, opinions, and feelings of those considered “lost.” Not only does this make them disappear, it reveals a pride, as if nothing could be learned from a “lost” person (Remember the Magi in Matthew 2?).

When we treat certain sins as more “sinful” than others, there is a tendency to treat the people who commit those “sins” in a way that makes them feel invisible. This is a paradox of sorts, because on one level they are actually made to feel more visible, exposed, shamed, and guilty, so there is also a sense of being paraded about — or being made very visible.

What this does, however, is make the people being shamed (for instance, gay people) want to shrink away, to hide, to become invisible. Think about it. Why do you think it is called coming out of the “closet?” The closet exists to hide in,… [Read more…] about For the Invisible People

Christian: You Are Upset About the Wrong Things

by Darrell Lackey in Christian Issues

Sociologist Tony Campolo has been known, when speaking to Christian audiences, to begin by saying something like this:

“I have three things I’d like to say today. First, while you were sleeping last night, 30,000 kids died of starvation or diseases related to malnutrition. Second, most of you don’t give a shit. What’s worse is that you’re more upset with the fact I just said ‘shit’ than you are that 30,000 kids died last night.”

When citing this, I have had people prove his very point by responding something to the effect of, “Yeah, I get it, but I still wish he would make his point some other way…” Ummm, that is his point. His point, in my opinion, isn’t really about the children (although it is, obviously); his point is that we (Christians) get upset over the wrong things. Our moral sense of outrage is often misdirected.

The fact that we notice the language, our being offended, before we really register the fact that children are dying, tells us all we need to know. Any focus on a crude term and not on his greater point that children are dying of starvation or malnutrition and that we might be complicit proves his very point. If there was a tiny gasp from the crowd at that word or an awkward silence—such reactions were misdirected. These people were upset about the wrong thing.

The legalistic, simplistic, and shallow world of fundamentalism (and even many aspects of evangelicalism) breeds some rather odd triggers for what it is we are supposed to… [Read more…] about Christian: You Are Upset About the Wrong Things

Fundamentalism Is about Policing the Borders

by Darrell Lackey in Fundamentalism

Fundamentalism, as a description, is used in different ways depending upon the context and point a writer is trying to make. I am using the word in its general dictionary meaning, such as given in the Cambridge Dictionary: “the belief that the traditional principles of a religion or set of beliefs should be maintained.” I am also referring to its historical context, as found in a set of essays published from 1910 to 1915 by the Bible Institute of Los Angeles (BIOLA) called “The Fundamentals.” In that series of essays, the writers called the church and the culture back to the so-called “fundamentals” of Christianity.

For an in-depth study of fundamentalism, I recommend George Marsden’s acclaimed book, Fundamentalism and American Culture. But in this post, what we might gather from the general dictionary meaning and the reference to the early essays, is that fundamentalism is about policing the borders or boundaries. We might think about Christian theology or doctrine as castles (Truth) of great importance. There they stand in the distance, big and beautiful. We must protect them. So, we begin to build walls around these castles; we build them thick and high. Once built, we then proceed to police them. Like guards, we walk along the border, the boundaries of the wall, to make sure no one scales the wall and attacks the castle.

It is easy to think we are very noble for doing this. Look at us: here we are on the very boundary, the border, diligent, making sure… [Read more…] about Fundamentalism Is about Policing the Borders

"I Just Go by What the Bible Says" and Other Ridiculous Things Pastors Say

by Darrell Lackey in Christian Issues

If you’ve spent any time in a fundamentalist or evangelical church, you’ve probably heard some variation of the following from the pastor or leaders: “I don’t preach my opinions, I just preach God’s word;” or, “I just want to know what the Bible says;” or, “I just believe what the Bible says;” or my favorite, “The Bible says it, I believe it, and that settles it.” You get the idea. And even if you haven’t heard these exact words, you’ve likely heard the similar sentiments. However, these assertions and the ideas they represent are entirely unhelpful and frankly ridiculous.

The primary idea informing the statements above is that we need to remove ourselves from our Bible reading. We need to stand outside the text, at a distance, so that we don’t taint our reading with our own personal subjective opinions and ideas. The Bible just means what it “says” or what is written. Simple. Just open it and read. What’s the problem? Wow–where to begin?

First, no one can step outside themselves and interpret any writing from a purely objective space. No such space exists. We are always persons in context. We exist in specific locations, whether culturally, geographically, philosophically, or theologically. We were and are shaped by a myriad of complex influences, many of which we are hardly even aware. We are the result of a long process of shaping and the influence of others. We are always “situated.” We bring all this to whatever it is we are reading (not just the Bible) and we… [Read more…] about "I Just Go by What the Bible Says" and Other Ridiculous Things Pastors Say

People, Not Projects: Re-Thinking Evangelism

by Darrell Lackey in Christian Issues

We need to re-think evangelism—what it means and what it should look like. The common Christian understanding of evangelism sees the world in a stark black-and-white of “saved” and “unsaved.” We are “saved” and everyone outside our understanding of what that term means is “lost.” (Notice what I did there?) This view of evangelism is both destructive and un-Biblical.

When we view people as part of a black-and-white world, they become “projects” rather than people, who are, in many ways, just like us: people on a journey. It can make us approach people differently. In our consumer driven world, it can turn us into sales people rather than friends. It can also engender a sense of superiority. We can begin to develop the attitude that the Pharisees, and the Jews in general, had toward Gentiles—the notion of them being “unclean” and less than God’s “chosen” people.

The person we approach with this sensibility (project rather than person) immediately, or sometimes slowly, begins to sense a hidden agenda. It’s not that we really want to get to know them, or just befriend them regardless, or that we are acting out of an innocent and pure display of love and caring. They begin to sense that we want to “sell” them something, and that our “friendship” is just a ruse to tell them about our religious beliefs. Often, if they are not ready or not interested, we soon drop them. We no longer call or show much interest in them. We move on to the next “project.”

This is not to say that we… [Read more…] about People, Not Projects: Re-Thinking Evangelism