Christian Fundamentalism and the Culture of Disenchantment

Preface

Preface Paintings of the Rapture tend to depict the saved not just floating upward but drawn upward, as if caught in a vortex; after all, lifted free of the Tribulation , they ascend to heaven under the prepotent force of Grace. It’s hard to imagine another escape from worldly suffering as absolute as this. Most of us outside the fundamentalist fold will instantly dismiss the End Times scenario of bodies being sucked up into eternal paradise as patently absurd. Yet such a hasty and disdainful response to this key fundamentalist doctrine seems inadequate when it is a matter of faith for tens of millions of Americans and deeply embedded in their culture. Once “nonbelievers” get over their amused surprise that so many of their compatriots believe in the Rapture, the challenge is how to respond to that momentous fact in a more reflective way. And I invoke this doctrine as just one example of how difficult it is for many of us to come to terms with the tenets of fundamentalism. The Rapture also marks the total and irrevocable separation between the saved and the unsaved, who remain hopelessly grounded. But for a remnant of late converts to the faith, eternal damnation in “a lake of fire” is the fate of the unraptured, that is, those who refused to accept Jesus as their Savior. And while many non-fundamentalists will be disturbed by the severity of this order of segregation and by the magnitude of the punishment meted out for the “sin” of being a non-Christian, the stern piety of fundamentalism rules out compassion for those left behind. Thus, in response to the FAQ, “How can we enjoy heaven with loved ones in hell?,” a commentator at RaptureReady.com cites Revelation 21:4, reminding the Maltby, Christian Fundamentalism.indd ix Maltby, Christian Fundamentalism.indd ix 10/29/12 11:00 AM 10/29/12 11:00 AM x / preface questioner that there are no tears in heaven; that memories of “the past, sinful world” will be “totally erased.” The raptured will be oblivious to the infernal suffering of nonbelievers, who are doomed to be forgotten and so placed forever beyond pity. It was not until leaving my native England, where Christian fundamentalism has a low profile in terms of both church membership and political influence, and moving to the United States that I became acquainted with fundamentalism. But what made that encounter such a singular experience was not simply its novelty but something more like culture shock. Educated and socialized in secular institutions, where I grew up with the tenets of empiricism and, later, materialist philosophies, I found it disorienting to learn that a good percentage of Americans believe in biblical prophecy, the existence of the Devil, archangels, and celestial paradise . (This is not to suggest that secularists should have the last word in such matters; indeed, extended reflections on any religion should, at least, prompt a reexamination of secular assumptions.) I was also troubled by a belligerent post-separationist fundamentalism that has mobilized as the Religious Right. The latter not only seeks to impose its bibliocentric beliefs on high school curricula but also assails gay rights, demonizes liberals, discredits environmentalists, and gives vociferous support to political attacks on welfare programs and efforts to regulate the free market. My encounter with fundamentalism has provoked three questions: (1) How should I participate in the critique of a powerful creed that aggressively promotes dogma and ethics antagonistic to my own secular beliefs and democratic values? (2) What are the conditions that have enabled this religious extremism to flourish? (3) What are the limits, if not inadequacies , of my own secular positioning, in the light of which fundamentalist tenets may be all too easily brushed aside as absurd or delusional? I devote most space to the first question but, I trust, the second and third receive sufficient attention. A polemical engagement with Christian fundamentalism must resist the susceptibility to cultural stereotyping and condescending judgment. For example, critical encounters with fundamentalism are often marred by the failure to distinguish between the doctrinal, ideological, and generational differences that divide fundamentalist communities (to say nothing of the differences between fundamentalist and non-fundamentalist evangelicals ). This results in a caricature, often found in the popular media, of the fundamentalist as simply a reactionary bigot. And, at times, I have felt Maltby, Christian Fundamentalism.indd x Maltby, Christian Fundamentalism.indd x 10/29/12 11:00 AM 10/29/12 11:00 AM [18.117.196.184...