Christian Fundamentalism

Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris are at it again, spewing potential fertiliser about what fundamentalism, so perhaps its time time define that.

If I could list the attributes of a Christian Fundamentalist, I think of Jesus' sermon on the mount, and I get the following:

• A voice of reason and love in a time of darkness and evil (Matthew 5:13-16)
• To be transparent in EVERYTHING, in other words to be honest in EVERYTHING at ALL times even down to the time you got much change, to the time you could have taken that bootlegged MP3 (Matthew 5:13-16)
• Never to seek the blood of men or even allow the thought to enter your mind (Matthew 5:21-22).
• Never to keep a grudge, seek revenge or anything else that poisons your soul (Matthew 5:23)
• Pacifism (this is how I see it anyway) (Matthew 5:38-48)
• Selfless charity and and aversion to the pointlessness of materialism (Matthew 6:1-4,19-24)
• Don't worry be happy (someone start whistling :-)) (Matthew 6:25-34)
• To be willing to lay down your life for your most bitter enemy in the same way you would be willing to lay down your life for your own child. (Matthew 5:43-48)
• To be faithful to the people you love at all times as you expect them to love you and be faithful to you (Matthew 5:27-29)

Now I will be the first to say that as a Christian I have fallen far short from this lofty piece of idealism, both before and after my religious enlightenment. Which is whole point of why the Uber dude had to come down and pay for all our potential fertiliser in the first place. The the goal however remains and we are called to strive to this lofty ideal with all our heart mind and soul.

What a world it would be if all Christians could stoop to this level of fundamentalism :-)