christians and fundamentalism

I don't mean to offend anyone but this question has been bugging me for a while. How come there are so many people in their teens and early twenties about with a particularly fundamentalist take on christianity? I really don't remember many of my friends when I was at school and university being christian at all, let alone fundamentalists. I was brought up going to church once a month as part of cub scouts but the church didn't really play a large part of my life, it was just background. Of course I knew people who were christians, their parents were christians, they might have occasionally gone to church, but nobody I knew ever really talked about it. Fundamentalism, or the literal interpretation of the Bible, the insistence that homosexuality is a sin, things like that, I was simply never exposed to it. Now I see it everywhere... and on a forum like this, nominally associated with the counter-culture and alternative ways of thinking, I find that pretty surprising too.

Are churches teaching a more fundamentalist brand of christianity? Is the rise of christian fanatacism an element of the slow decline and death of the faith all across Western Europe? I don't get the impression there are any more christians around - and the statistics tell us there are less and less - but the ones I come across tend to be more fundamentalist.

Any thoughts? If you are a christian, how did you become one - your upbringing, or your own choice? Why did you choose that faith?

 

Actually there was one girl at my school who was a Jehovah's Witness... we all thought she was weird.

 

I don't know. What I do know is that the message taught in the bible has been misinterpreted by the church far too much. More time seems to be spent looking at people's "sins" than looking at forgiveness and turning the other cheek.

As usual, religion is the political wing of spirituality and it always gets in the way of true spiritual development.

 

wow thankyou paul.. ive been wanting to say that for ages, but could never find the words. i been trying to separate spirituality from religion for a while.. and there we have it.. yay for paul

 

A lot of older Christians refer to our generation as the 'lost generation'. I don't think there have ever been so many athiests or people practising an alternative religion in one generation since Christianity came to these isles. Most of the people I know are athiest or agnostic in some form. But many of those who are Christians, are quite fundamentalist, creationists, who'll tell me I'm going to hell. Perhaps it's a reaction to the climate of athiesm? Perhaps it's a subconscious way of reasserting themselves in a climate which has become increasingly hostile to them? I don't know. Either way, they scare me as much as Islamic fundamentalists and Zionists do....

 

i'm afraid you have seen some poopy christians...now older people in churches accept younger ppl...they see them as the future, not the 'lost generation' (this is happening all over the world not just in surrey). Im sorry that yoiu have just seen the ones who tell u thatu are going to hell. They are just speaking the gospel...but i believe there are certain ways of doing things...tahts not one of them. I can see y u'd be scared of them!
roly.xxx

 

That may not be a way of doing things. But do you believe I'm going to hell? Ultimately there's very little difference. It's a judgemental position to find oneself in. If there is a god, let it judge me on the life I've led. Us mere mortals can tend to our own gardens....

 

I don't find it frightening. I find it pretty fucking disgusting, actually. The hippy movement has always been about liberation from the oppressive structures and prejudices of society. It's been about the liberation of our thinking, and moving forward towards a new kind of culture where we're no longer burdened by the supersticious nonsense that the church has previously used to keep us in check. The fact that so many people on these boards choose to embrace something as vile as fundamentalist christianity sickens me. It's like watching lemmings walking over a cliff.

Sorry to judge, but it seems to me that fundamentalist christianity is entirely in opposition to the ideals of the hippy movement. It also pisses me off to see people embrace a way off life that has produced so much suffering, fear and persecution.

*edit*

Somtimes, looking at the the christians, pro-hunters, racists, homophobes and war mongers, I wonder why the fuck these people come to these boards at all. In fact, posting here sometimes just feels like pissing into the wind.

 

In contrast, some Christians are really very lovely people. I could name a few on these boards. In the same way that I ask Jonny not to see all Muslims as fundamentalists (invariably he does anyway) I'd argue that we shouldn't see Christianity as an entirely evil force, not if some of those who practice it can use it for good. I'm not arguing in favour of the religion, as I'm opposed to all forms of organised religion, but some of the practicers (call them misguided if you will) are very well intentioned, good hearted people. I'd say Jaz used his beliefs in very progressive way, and Luchi too. There are some, even if they are a minority these days....

 

To me spiritual development is being able to grow at your own pace, to develop your own relationship with your creator, higher power, force, god or whatever you want to call it. Your own concept or views of god should be a very personal thing.

The problem that many religious leaders seem to have is that they forget we are all human and thus imperfect, they seem to forget that we make mistakes and that we progress as we learn. This is also true of many 'worshippers'. It's like they find god, forget where they came from and join the church of the self-righteous. It seems that some even lose touch with their own human failings.

I've had some experience with the church and decided that it wasn't doing me any good as it was too restrictive to my own personal growth, but this doesn't mean I don't believe in spiritual principles.

My own personal spiritual values are based on my experience, my conscience and the developing of a relationship with a spiritual "something" far greater than me. It doesn't have to get swamped in religion and fancy language or doctrine to be effective.

 

Hmm I think that it's a very interesting question. What attracted me to Christianity was the radical nature of Jesus' message "Love thy neighbour as thyself," "turn the other cheek," all that stuff. And I became a Quaker and still firmly believe that there is something of the divine in everyone. When I came to a hippy forum I thought there would be a lot of people like me, but there simply isn't. I think I'm a sixties remnant, a left over, and that people in their late teens and twenties found that liberal christianity just wasn't inspirational,wasn't giving them any certainty in a very uncertain world.
Got to go now being shoved off the computer by the children.....will try and come back later....

 

Which is why I specifically singled out fundamentalist christians.

 

Thank you muchly, Sal.
Showmet i'll try to explain some things, likewise, i don't mean to offend anyone, these are free speech forums afterall, you didn't offend me.
it's good for me to try and answer the question thanks

OK first of all, what Roly says is true, many older generation christians now think of this generation as the future. I can't explain why this is happening, but i really believe we're getting closer to the end of the world. hear me out guys.... there's an increasing feeling that we're in the last years. Infact, a prophetic guy I heard explained it like this, imagine the life of the Earth is an hour - well, we're in the last minute. here are places in the Bible, in revelation that forsee certain things happening, and these things are looking more likely to actually happen than ever before. There's a new wave of christians that just believe straight from the Bible, instead of through the sometimes confusing and wrong teaching that other bits of Christianity use, one of the movements that is going back to this way of teaching (like in the day of Jesus) is called New Frontiers, the church Luchi and me go to.

it is alternative, is it not? when you think of really how many people there are who believe that, it says in the Bible how ALL christians will be persecuted and opposed, and will be in the minority. i can see this happening already.

i don't like the word fundamentalist....it sounds too dictorial almost.
but i know what you're getting at, and no, it's not more fundamentalist than it was, it's just that people are going back to the Bible and what it means originally, without being twisted and misinterpretated as it has been a lot.

i was upbrought as a christian, but didn't really take any notice until last year, when i met luchi and i learnt and discovered a lot. So i had already learnt all the values and morals, etc.. but only last year did i decide myself to actually try and live it. i'm not very good at it, but i try.
Why did i choose Christianity? i didn't, he chose me, n it was the best thing that ever happened.

Jaz

 

I thought revelation were about the roman empire or something and the end of the empire.

 

Revelation is the prophecy John saw about the end of the world, and the second coming.

 

Revelation scares me.

 

Sorry, i'm not the 'fire and brimstone' type, if you know what i mean, but if you're not living for God, by faith, it's hell, and if you are, it's heaven. It's not me being judgemental, it's God - and he has the right, which nobody on Earth has.
I just thought i'd put it simply.
With the whole Revelation thing, understand that heaven is out of time - so whatever happens I believe will happen suddenly, and those who are in heaven will be there when you are.
Xx

 

The lost generation is everyone who is not 'saved' - it's not referring to an age generation as a whole. Don't be a part of this lost generation.. fight, but not against it, against the power which is pulling it into darkness.

 

"if you're not it's hell" after the talk i've heen having with doktoratomik i have spent alot of time thinking about "sin" and the judgemental side of it and i was reminded of a quote from Charles Wesly, him and his brother John wrote lots of hyms and started methodism(not very fundamentalist christianity)

"faith is christ is surity that you are saved" meaning, if you have faith in Jesus you can be sure of your everlasting life, but just because you don't have faith in jesus doesn't mean that you aren't equaly saved, just that you can't yet be sure of it.

no i know Dok is going to think this is still judgemental as i think i braught it up in our special thread but it's at least slightly better than damning all sinners to hell.

 

it's nothing to be afraid of, simply the righting of all wrongs. think of all the scary fucked up shit going on at the moment and think how good it will be to lose it all, to lose pain,suffereing,sadness,death,fear,oppression. to gain complete freedom, and live in the presance of God. it's an amazing prospect.