As someone who was raised in one of the South's most fundamentally
conservative Christian religions, I can tell you right now the things
Falwell said in NO WAY represents ANYTHING I was ever taught. True, I
haven't been to church in years, but the problems I have with that don't
have anything to do with extremism. The term fundamentalist has to do with
removing what this and other churches like it see as distracting and
excessive trappings practiced by Catholics and certain similar Protestant
denominations -- keeping it simple and 'bare bones,' cutting through reams
of religious dogma to get to the heart of the message. Evangelical is a far
better term to describe what they're about.
People who handle snakes, drink strychnine or listen to Bob Jones and Jerry
Falwell are extremists, plain and simple. Even though they would have a
heart attack if you compared them to extremists such as the KKK or other
Aryan nation types which practice violence routinely, they are the same in
that they don't advocate violence directly, but they do seem to approve it.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Frank Theriault" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Sunday, September 16, 2001 8:04 AM
Subject: Re: Too Bad Falwell Wasn't In WTC
> I don't disagree with much of what you say regarding the dangers of
> fundamentalist religion, but I don't know that they are "the greatest evil
on
> earth".
>
> I know that I'm fudging the language a bit, but I'd say that
"fundamentalist" or
> "fanatical" ANYTHING is the danger. Capitalism taken to it's extreme is
> undoubtedly just as dangerous.
>
> And let's not forget that some of the most evil regimes of this century
have
> outlawed religion - I'm thinking the USSR and China here. Think Gulags.
Think
> Cultural Revolution.
>
> BTW, I'm not defending religion here; I'm an atheist!
-
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