Unfundamentalist

Above All, Love

Don M. Burrows

Evangelicals eagerly trade public prayer for their most "cherished" fundamental beliefs

by Don M. Burrows in Christian Issues

There is perhaps no greater irony in Christendom just now than fundamentalist Christians’ new and oft-repeated assertions that prayer is merely cultural or ceremonial, that Christians must not proselytize, and that their own religion should never be pressed upon the unwilling masses.

Oh, that doesn’t sound like the fundamentalist Christianity we have all so often witnessed and experienced? It sounds decidedly opposite of the ideologies for which Christian fundamentalists are so well known?

Well, that is precisely what is now routinely being argued by the legal teams representing conservative Christians who are fighting to “reclaim America for Christ,” or “take America back” or who lament “kicking God out of our schools,” etc., etc.

That’s just how it was rationalized in Monday’s Supreme Court case allowing prayers before city council meetings in Greece, N.Y., a decision hailed by the American Family Association as a victory for “religious liberty.” And what exactly was the majority opinion in this case? That it is okay for city council meetings to start with prayer, even prayer of a decidedly Christian stripe – and that if the town is going to invite a clergyperson in to pray in the first place, it cannot then censor that person’s prayer.

But like virtually all modern cases of this nature involving public prayer, the prayers before council meetings are restricted to being purely “ceremonial.” Writing for the majority, Justice Anthony Kennedy stipulates, no less… [Read more…] about Evangelicals eagerly trade public prayer for their most "cherished" fundamental beliefs

Fundy Christian college students who fear knowledge

by Don M. Burrows in Fundamentalism

In the wake of my review of the movie God’s Not Dead, a movie which I submit plays into conservative evangelicals’ narrative fantasy about secular universities, many have responded with anecdotal stories about this or that professor or university where they witnessed outright hostility toward fundamentalist Christians.

Does this hostility toward fundamentalists and/or Christians generally exist among college faculty? Sure, sometimes. But should anecdotal instances be inflated into a grand narrative concerning all of the thousands of professors who teach at our colleges nationwide? No.

Yet this narrative persists. At the beginning of almost every school year, some conservative pundit writes up a piece about how college will negatively affect your Christian children, with some even going so far as to say they shouldn’t attend at all. The drumbeat is always the same: university campuses are a hotbed of liberalism, where good Christian students will be tempted away from their faith.

This narrative is a fantasy, yes. But it’s true enough that sometimes there is grousing in faculty offices about fundamentalist students turning in papers—but not for the reasons many of these fundamentalists assume. It’s not because the professors simply disagree with them on the issues that they are asked to address. It’s because often said students reject the entire methodology of the class from the start; from the outset they reject the very critical tools they are supposed to be there… [Read more…] about Fundy Christian college students who fear knowledge

Professor Strawman and the Right-Wing Fantasy Circus: a review of "God's Not Dead"

by Don M. Burrows in Movie Reviews

God’s not dead, but if he had to sit through the movie currently in theaters by that name, he might wish he were. A cinematic romp through stereotypes, caricatures, and gross generalizations, “God’s Not Dead” is one of the worst movie experiences I’ve had in a long, long time.

I suppose I should give a spoiler alert here, though it’s hard to imagine spoiling a movie already so thoroughly rotten.

For those who haven’t seen its comical trailer, “God’s Not Dead” is about a heroic Christian college freshman named Josh who defies his maniacal philosophy professor (Kevin Sorbo) by refusing to write and sign “God is Dead” on a piece of paper in a bizarre opening assignment, earning him the course requirement of defending the antithesis: that God exists and is very much alive.

I’ve taught college classes, and Sorbo’s class bears little to no resemblance to reality, but then neither do the myriad other caricatures throughout the film. Indeed, that is really all this film is: a Christian Right exercise in stereotyping all manner of God haters and God deniers.

There’s an anti-religious, vegetarian reporter who ambushes one of the Duck Dynasty crew to get him to admit he kills ducks when he hunts them (a very strange scoop indeed). She ends up with cancer and of course converts.

Her corporate tycoon boyfriend, played by Dean Caine, cares only for himself and his success, going so far as to ask her if their discussion about her cancer diagnosis can’t “wait till tomorrow.”

There is… [Read more…] about Professor Strawman and the Right-Wing Fantasy Circus: a review of "God's Not Dead"

Black Saturday: Satan, Hades, and the Beginnings of Hell

by Don M. Burrows in Christian History

Oft forgotten amid the Holy Week observances of Palm Sunday, Maundy-Thursday, Good Friday and then Easter is Holy Saturday, or Black Saturday, the day Jesus supposedly lay in the tomb after his crucifixion on Friday and prior to his resurrection on Sunday.

But this day worked on the imagination of early Christians in fantastic ways. In the Apostles’ Creed is the statement that Jesus “descended into Hell” as it is often translated into English. But in the Greek it is κατελθόντα εἰς τὰ κατώτατα, or “going down into the lowermost parts,” and in Latin something almost identical, descendit ad inferos, or “he descended to the lower ones/places.” This is not necessarily Hell, because such a concept was not fully worked out yet. It was rather the netherworld or underworld of Greco-Roman mythology, the conception of which would eventually provide us with the imagery most commonly associated with Hell.

The most fascinating account of Jesus going down to the underworld has been handed down in the Gospel of Nicodemus, an apocryphal work that includes the Acts of Pilate (yes, that Pilate, whose ahistorical contrition in the Gospels is later elaborated to the point that he becomes canonized in some Christian sects) and Christ’s Descent into Hell. The older, out-of-copyright translation of Nicodemus by M.R. James is available in many places online. But the more updated and much less baroque translation by J.K. Elliot is far superior.

Probably… [Read more…] about Black Saturday: Satan, Hades, and the Beginnings of Hell

The Methodists, slavery, and homosexuality: is history repeating itself?

by Don M. Burrows in Christian History

I grew up United Methodist. I was baptized and confirmed United Methodist, and remained a Methodist until my early adulthood, when I attended the Disciples of Christ briefly before joining my current denomination (the United Church of Christ).

One of the main reasons I have not considered rejoining the UMC in recent years is because of its stance on GLBT matters: in short, the current (2012) Book of Discipline states that… [Read more…] about The Methodists, slavery, and homosexuality: is history repeating itself?

Christian "politicians" and the end of time

by Don M. Burrows in Uncategorized

When congressional stenographer Dianne Reidy got pulled from the House floor for screaming “prophetic pronouncements” at voting representatives, most of us simply viewed her as someone worthy of pity.

But to others she was the victim of “religious persecution,” because, they believe, she spoke what the Spirit led her to say—that being, of course, that the government is run amok (since, as everyone knows, the Holy Spirit is a fiscal conservative). To these folks, slavery, Civil War, two world wars, and decades on the brink of possible nuclear annihilation were not enough to bring about the End Times. For that, it took a debate about health insurance.

But this is not really about Obamacare; it’s not about whether the government should provide health care at all; it’s not about the proper role of government in people’s lives. Legitimate philosophical debates about the role of government have been around since (before) the founding of the republic.

But one subgroup on one side of that debate has now decided that such discussions must always be about something much larger than that. And in retrospect this turn of events was inevitable. Fiscal conservatives have been courting religious conservatives for decades, and now, finally, they have now successfully wedded the two. So we can’t be too surprised that, for some, whether the government sets up private insurance exchanges or outlaws policy rejections based on pre-existing conditions—whether the government does anything at… [Read more…] about Christian "politicians" and the end of time

Romans 1:26-27: A Clobber Passage That Should Lose Its Wallop

by Don M. Burrows in Christian Issues

Whenever I’m debating with someone who authoritatively declares that the Bible condemns homosexuality, and who cites the infamous Romans 1:26-27 as proof, I almost always offer this rejoinder: “What do you make of the vocative at the beginning of Romans 2?”

The question is admittedly pretentious on my part but I’ve found it effective, because those often most eager to wield the Bible as an authoritative weapon are also often those who have read it only in translation, and not very closely at that.

But it’s not an idle question.

Anyone who has engaged the issue of sexuality and the Bible has at some point contended with Romans 1:26-27: “For this reason God gave them up to degrading passions. Their women exchanged natural intercourse for unnatural, and in the same way also the men, giving up natural intercourse with women, were consumed with passion for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men and received in their own persons the due penalty for their error.” (NRSV)

Sounds pretty bad, and indeed, so does the entire last half of the first chapter of Romans. Who, broadly, is being described here? Most agree it’s the Gentiles, and most agree that what is being represented here is boilerplate, Hellenistic Jewish material that attacks the Gentiles. But the condemnatory nature of the verses from 1:18-32 also fits awkwardly, if at all, with the spirit of the rest of the epistle, which goes from talking about the “uprightness of God” in the early verses to… [Read more…] about Romans 1:26-27: A Clobber Passage That Should Lose Its Wallop

The Spirit vs. the Letter: Biblicalism and Conscience

by Don M. Burrows in Christian History

Imagine a contentious public issue, rending not only America, but American Christendom, in two. In this battle are two sides: one which maintains and asserts a literal, straightforward reading of the Bible to maintain its position, the other which argues that its side is supported by the spirit, even if sometimes not the letter, of the Bible.

If what comes to mind is America’s continuing culture wars over gender and sexuality, and how the law and the church should approach them, my guess is you’re not alone. According to public polling, the issue of acceptance for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender individuals is trending toward inclusion, and many mainline Protestant denominations are reflecting this movement.… [Read more…] about The Spirit vs. the Letter: Biblicalism and Conscience

Al Mohler Does It Again

by Don M. Burrows in Fundamentalism, Uncategorized

If Jesus taught that what comes out of a man defiles him, surely the blatant inaccuracies and lies peddled by many of his most ardent followers must concern him at least a little, especially when they are done in connection with the Bible.

But such was the case yet again recently when Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s flagship seminary, was asked at the SBC’s recent convention to give his “succinct” and “Biblical” view of homosexuality. As per usual when Mohler opens his mouth, what he claims to be the case is almost precisely opposite what any mainstream scholar on the topic would tell you.… [Read more…] about Al Mohler Does It Again