Perspective From a Former Christian Fundamentalist
By an Atheist With an Unfortunate Amount of Experience
Since perspective is subjective, a little background on myself:
I’m a Buddhist Atheist. I’m not religious about Buddhism; I like the psychology, its impact on my life, and enjoy benefits of meditation. I began adopting parts of Buddhist philosophy around the summer of 2013 during a hard period of my life. It really helped me get back on track. This is interesting because denouncing religion entirely was my most liberating moment of college. I had interacted almost exclusively with Southern Baptists in rural East Tennessee for 18 years, but it only took a short exposure to secularists to figure out which side was full of shit. Beneath my cloak of Christianity I found a deeply rooted anger for evangelical religions and bitter contempt for those who preach it. I suppose Buddhism helped me let that go. I won’t pretend I’ve completely made peace with it, but I’m less likely to cuss out street preachers these days because namasté and whatnot. If you’d like more insight to how profoundly Christianity has affected my life, read my coming out story to my parents.
But I’m not going to write my angst-filled dissent of conservative Christianity and process of deconversion, at least not today. I won’t try to change your opinion of religion or your faith. I’m going to explain why these American religious nut jobs think the way they do and provide insight to their behavior. I see a lot of speculation as to why Phil Robertson thinks the gays are ruining America or why Josh Feuerstein thinks children should be handling guns. I’m ashamed to say I know the answer, first hand, and it’s a bit complicated. Obviously there are more factors than religion which affect one’s position on these issues, but I’m only going to focus on the influence of Christian Fundamentalism. This is written for anyone who didn’t grow up learning the mental gymnastics necessary to practice it. I acknowledge many Christians are not of the fundamentalist conservative variety, so if that’s you, don’t get clouds in your coffee. This essay isn’t about you.
On Faith and Consequence
We’ll start with this idea of faith — all the unknowable things you must believe or suffer the consequences if you don’t. Evangelists say it’s all in the Bible, but the loophole is its natural requirement for interpretation. All you need is fear and circular reasoning.
For Southern Baptists, it goes something like this:
- God’s word is infallible, and the Bible is God’s word.
- You must read it or have someone interpret it for you.
- You must realize you are a natural-born sinner.
- Once you feel really bad about your sin, you can “accept Jesus into your heart” and become “saved.” (This is the only way to enter Heaven upon death)
- A true Christian will then devote his or her life to Jesus/God.
- We know all this to be true because it is God’s word.
Rinse, repeat, ad infinitum.
The entire Christian epistemology is based on this loop of ‘we believe because we have faith, and we have faith because we believe.’ This is the magic of faith — something mystical and uncertain — the romanticization that those who believe are imbued with some rational capacity not accessible to unbelievers. If you need more motivation, the unbelievers, or at least those not saved, will suffer an eternity in Hell. No one is entirely sure what this is, so they encourage you to imagine a worst possible infinite suffering involving fire — pretty scary stuff.
If you press them on their faith, they’ll probably default that they feel Jesus in their heart — something that wasn’t there until salvation. They’re not entirely making this up. Southern Baptists have this trick down to a masterful art form. It usually begins with a contemplative hymn or power ballad, depending on the demographic the church is targeting — something very powerful and emotional, yet reverent. Think — your favorite song when you feel sad. When the guitar soloist really nails it and fills you with pure musical bliss. The goosebumps when listening to Mahler through headphones right before you ugly cry. It occurs toward the end of the preacher’s message when he then shows you how to put it all into action. He uses a classic psychological technique of association with emotion and an idea. If you utilize this emotion generated by music as a vehicle for internalizing the message, then they’ve got you. Call it salvation, and they’ll make a really big deal out of commemorating it. Now you have something like a concrete foundation for your faith. You’ll remember it the same way you remember where you were during the 9/11 plane crashes. If you’re a good Christian, you will continue to reinforce it, thinking about the wonders of God each time you appreciate the scenery during a hike — feeling blessed instead of simply pleased.
If you understand this cycle of belief, faith, reinforcement, and consequence, the rest follows organically.
Authority and Respect
Fundamentalist Christians have an innate sense of hierarchical authority based on fear. We were taught to ‘honor thy father and thy mother’ — the fifth of the infamous Ten Commandments. This is no radical idea, but fundamentalist parents are rather fond of the Proverbs passage 13:24(KJV)
“He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.”
It also tends to come with this theme of blind faith. “Because I said so” was a commonly acceptable and fear-inducing response to questions regarding their corrective behavior among children. We risked physical harm if we didn’t comply with our weekly church routines, so acquiescence to authority without reasonable explanation was a heavily reinforced norm.
One may argue this indoctrination of authority is a common cultural phenomenon, but it is especially prevalent among Fundamentalists. Take a look at the rest of the first half of the Ten Commandments:
- Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.
- Thou shalt not make false idols.
- Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
- Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.
Literally half of the Ten Commandments directly emphasize authority and respect, so it’s no wonder they take it so seriously. This is one reason people like Ted Cruz and Donald Trump garner so much of the conservative Christian base — following an authoritative demagogue is in their very nature. For people who’ve spent lifetimes following orders on faith, freedom of expression threatens the very backbone of their culture.
Social Progress
Which leads me to why this crowd so adamantly pushes back against issues such as marriage equality, racial equality, transgender rights, the list goes on. Sure, Leviticus 18:22(KJV) says,
“Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination,”
but the same book condemns shell fish at 11:12(KJV):
“Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination unto you.”
Cherry picking isn’t just a commonality among Christians; it’s a necessity. The Bible says a lot of things, and interpretation is both its logical downfall and saving grace. An informed Christian must make a decision whether to emphasize 1st Peter 2:18(KJV):
“Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward”(where “froward” refers to sexual slavery)
or Mark 12:31(KJV):
“…Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.”
So why don’t we see more John Pavlovitz-esque Christians? You have to consider the historic role of Christianity in society — it functions as an effective tool to maintain the status quo, and social progress is, by definition, deviation from social norm. Eventually they come around, but they do it at a glacial pace. No one seems to consider divorcées adulterers anymore, as specified by Luke 16:18(KJV):
“Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery.”
Normally, enough of the remaining Christian leaders who oppose the progress must die off. Think back on the strong role of authority.
Science Denial
Another reason Fundamentalists resist social progress is because to progress is to acknowledge we didn’t quite have it right before. God is perfect, and God is unchanging; therefore, to admit God didn’t flood the entire planet some 4,000 years ago would be to *gasp* say parts of the Bible are a myth. This is where the cognitive dissonance, at least for a science nerd like me, becomes especially difficult — blatant denial of empirical facts, and they will grasp at any explanation (Biblical or not) to support their preconceived paradigm.
You would think the fossil record provides fairly indisputable evidence the Earth is older than 6,000 years, but not to many Creationists. Ken Ham likes to argue our methods of strata and carbon dating are flawed. Others say God “planted them” for humans to find in order to test their faith, and for a Fundamentalist it is well worth the mental leap to pass this test of faith. If you thought death by stoning seems harsh for the gays, changing parts of the Bible may be the most damnable offense of all, according to Revelations 22:19(KJV):
“And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”
In other words, even if you’re saved you’ll go to Hell.
The Environment
Speaking of Creation, one of the most perplexing facets of conservative Christianity is a common disregard for the planet. Ever notice the high percentage of climate change deniers who happen to be conservative Christians? This is partly because to embrace climate change would mean to take action, and to take action would be to embrace change. I’ve dwelled enough on why conservative Christians resist change, but what about Numbers 35:34(KJV)?
“Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inhabit, wherein I dwell: for I the LORD dwell among the children of Israel.”
Unfortunately, this verse didn’t survive the popular cherry harvest. They prefer, instead, Isaiah 24:1(KJV):
“Behold, the LORD maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof.”
In fact, the entire 24th chapter expounds how God will destroy the shit out of the Earth with a macabre bravado after the great second-coming of Christ.
Were you aware Jesus is coming back? If you’re not a Christian, don’t get excited because he’s only coming to protect Christians from his Father’s imminent destruction of Earth and its unsaved sinners. No one is sure when this will happen, though many speculate, but most Fundamentalists seem to believe it will occur within their lifetime. This is because Revelations recounts Nostradamus-style predictions of “signs of the end of time.” Some are oddly specific, but others are generalized Orwellian accounts of technological advancement, social progress, or natural disasters, so many are convinced it will be any day now. This is why they don’t care about the planet, or at least not enough to save it — it will imminently be destroyed, regardless of our painstaking efforts to curb carbon emissions.
Evangelism
As the End of Times draws closer, Christians have a very important duty to fulfill — to make sure you don’t get left behind. God commands them to convert the entire world population in Matthew 28:19(KJV):
“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:”
I’ll admit their dedication to this goal is impressive. It’s a rough life, being a fundamentalist — lots of responsibility, especially if you want that nice corner lot on Streets of Gold Blvd in a hundred years.
Furthermore, the world would be a much better place for Fundamentalists if everyone were Fundamentalists, and this is their fantasy — no more damn atheists telling others they don’t have to go to church on Sundays.
I once had (what I though was going to be) a casual conversation with a Christian friend about our faith or lack of it. When I revealed I wasn’t concerned with my own afterlife, he literally began to cry. To him, I had just blatantly admitted I’m complacent going to Hell. It was a strange paradox — we each wanted to give the other a hug and say, “It’s going to be okay. All you need to do is think more like me.” It may be hard to believe some who preach hellfire and damnation actually have your best interests in mind, but they’re trying to save you from it. Then again, refusal to accept Jesus from a Christian doesn’t always end with a sympathetic shed of tears.
Why So Angry?
Were you wondering when I would touch on Westboro Baptist Church? It’s a perplexing phenomenon — surely they’re aware that offending practically everyone does the opposite of drawing more people to Christ. The short, incomplete explanation is simply that they’re losing, and it pisses them off. It’s true, what they say — equality feels like oppression to those long accustomed to privilege, and they see it crumbling more and more each day. Church attendance is declining all over the U.S. Previously unquestioned insults to Muslims now make them “bigots” and yeild a barrage of criticism.
But I remember angry preachers before the current progressive movements gained sustainable momentum. Though few admit it, most Fundamentalists don’t like to question their faith — trust me, it really sucks to learn you devoted all that time and energy into a sham. It’s much easier to simply reinforce it, and, in a way, that annoying street preacher is just trying to convince himself. Deviation is a rejection of Christian authority which is disrespectful to God, and you dare disrespect God?! Them’s fightin’ words.
Guns and War
It seems strange to think this old religion says anything about a device first conceived in 13th century China because it doesn’t. It does, however, say a lot about war, and guns are simply how we do it these days (at least they did in WWII and Vietnam, and some of those guys are still around). And God loves war! There’s even going to be a war in Heaven during the Rapture (the second coming of Christ). Revelations 12:7(KJV) says,
“And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,”
You’ll get a slew of answers if you ask how they reconcile this with the sixth Commandment, ‘Thou shalt not kill.’
Conveniently, the Bible justifies this in several places, such as Romans 13:4(KJV):
“For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to wrath upon him that doeth evil.”
War is pretty risky, but the good news is something even better awaits a Christian if he or she dies.
Heaven and Death
If you sincerely trust in your faith, this is one of the most beneficial and simultaneously twisted aspects of Fundamentalism — the afterlife will be infinitely better than life on Earth. Not that they have a death wish, but they certainly look forward to it. There’s a popular Baptist hymn set to a jovial tune called “When We All Get to Heaven” in which the chorus continually repeats “What a day of rejoicing that will be; we’ll sing and shout in victory!” They’re actually celebrating and welcoming death.
It begs the question, why not just do it already? Instead of Koolaid, we could spike the communion grape juice. (Baptists don’t drink — this one I can’t explain) But, the Bible seems to be against it. 1st Corinthians 6:19(KJV) says,
“Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?”
It can be a benevolent verse to encourage good health practices, but they also like to reference it against tattoos and masturbation.
But a Fundamentalist’s sacred duty to evangelize is reason enough to prolong life as much as possible. Heaven will be there eventually, and some believe Heaven will be stratified by material wealth according to good works done on Earth. If I haven’t made it clear already, good works alone do not permit one into Heaven — they only increase your quality of life once you arrive. So, what is it about the simple and instantaneous act of salvation which trumps a lifetime of good deeds?
The one true requirement to enter Heaven is that you are free of sin when you die. Since we are all sinners by virtue of a human birth, the only way to accomplish this is through forgiveness by Christ. Jesus forgives those whom He recognizes as his own, so, in turn, salvation is the only way. They literally (figuratively?) believe Jesus somehow comes to “live” in your heart through manifestation of the Holy Spirit, and the Christian becomes one with Christ (hence the name). Jesus cannot “live” in sin, so the self — your body which is now a holy vessel for the Lord — must be absolved of all sin.
Absolution
This may be the greatest logical conundrum of Christianity. Whether one must consciously and consistnetly ask forgiveness through prayer or whether Jesus forgives automatically is a divisive question among Protestants. But one theme remains constant, and it’s pretty terrifying — all sin is forgivable (perhaps aside from the various abominable offenses, but this is debatable) which affords one eternal bliss in Heaven.
You know, Hitler was (arguably) a Christian. So was Charles Manson in his own way, and though most Christians want to distance themselves ideologically from these two, I can make a cringeworthy argument they will all one day be united in eternity using fundamentalist logic. I’m not comparing Fundamentalists to Hitler. I’m emphasizing that absolution, according to Christian doctrine, is theoretically accessible to anyone, and you can do almost anything you want until you get to Heaven. After all, absolution is just a prayer away — just don’t be gay or change parts of the Bible.
Now, this is good news for Fundamentalists, but the rest of us have to live among a huge demographic with an invincibility complex and unquenchable sense of entitlement. Think about it — life on Earth is temporary and its sole purpose is to glorify God, but Heaven awaits regardless. So, depending how motivated you are to score some primo real estate by the pearly gates, this reasoning tends to yield people along a continuum of two types of fundamentalists — the elitists who take evangelical devotion very seriously and the backsliders who would be satisfied with a modest duplex down the way. Honestly, I’m not a fan of either, but why should they concern themselves with what happens during life on Earth if, worst case scenario, they die and find themselves living better than Bill Gates for an eternity.
Yes, most Fundamentalists fall somewhere between these extremes or enjoy a hybrid of the two. But if you’re curious about their motivation when listening to the bizarre ramblings of Pat Robertson or why Kim Davis doesn’t seem deterred by her three previous marriages, this is why. This is why some Christians defend Josh Duggar after molesting young girls — bless his heart, he’s a good Christian man, and if he is forgiven by God, who are we to judge?
A few disclaimers before I conclude:
I’m not a psychologist, just a person offering perspective from over two decades of experience and observation. As with any culture, religion is only part of the influence and motivation of any individual. I have only touched on key elements of the complex and varying ideologies of American Christian Fundamentalism. I only focused on issues I believe are more heavily influenced by theology than politics, social class, or other factors. All Fundamentalists are not “bad people” out to stifle your rights. In fact, many find themselves in situations like myself — forced to fit into a culture and offered no alternative, given the choice of either Heaven or Hell.
It’s abusive, really, this idea of conform or suffer, and I sympathize with those caught up in its rhetoric because it’s a miserable way to live. I hope you’ve found some insight to their logic, and next time you scratch your head wondering why James Dobson believes SpongeBob SquarePants is gay and therefore should be banned from television, I hope you can at least follow his rationale. This, of course, isn’t to say one should endorse it or that it is okay to teach children creationist theory is true and evolutionary theory is false. In fact, we should do everything we can to stop the ongoing damage caused by fundamentalist extremists, and to understand how they think is half of that battle. Knowledge is power, and it’s time we start using Christian fundamentalist logic for good rather than pushing us further into theocracy.
