Religious Fundamentalism and Peace

We find in the Gospel of Saint Luke (chapter 9) a typical and interesting case of a concrete fundamentalist attitude. We read: “They (Jesus and the disciples) went to a Samaritan village to make preparations for him, but the people would not receive him because he was going for Jerusalem. Seeing this, the disciples James and John said: ‘Lord do you want us to call down fire from heaven to burn them up?’ But he turned and rebuked them, and they went on to another village” (Lk 9:51-55).

The two disciples indeed show in this incident a concrete fundamentalist attitude: a Samaritan village did not receive Jesus, so James and John who did not yet understand the spirit of Jesus, wanted simply to burn up the village with a fire coming from heaven. This is one among many aspects of Fundamentalism: the condemnation of those who are different in their belief. It is the incapacity to accept and respect who is different.

Fundamentalist Christians reject modern and scientific approaches of the Bible. They rather stick to the literality of the text, and especially those apocalyptic referring to the end of the world: the last fight of Harmageddon, the one thousand years reign of the Messiah, the conversion and the Baptism of the Jewish people, and then the final establishment of the kingdom of God. The state of Israel as such is seen to be the divine instrument for these achievements and the precursor that announces these messianic times. Hence the unconditional religious and political support for it.

The above are just a couple of snippets. Be sure to read the whole thing. Another excerpt:

7. Christian, Jewish or Moslem Fundamentalists have a concept of being a chosen people, directed by divinity to establish God's kingdom on this earth and prepare for the day of a Messiah to rule. Compared to Humanists, these “believe in the equality of all races, that no one is inferior nor superior, that all are created equal, that everyone has basic rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. If fundamentalists are successful in their drive for power they would eradicate humanism, while the dominance of Humanist power permits fundamentalist freedom of expression and the freedom to try to become theocratic dictators”.

I know this speech is almost two years old, but given recent the unpleasantness in Israeli-Vatican relations I thought it was apropos to post here.

If the Israelis want to bash a Catholic, then here's a much more appropriate target than the Pope.

Patriarch Michel Sabbah is the first "Palestinian" Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. He is an implacable Israel-basher and a leftist liberation theologian who is also beloved (of course) by those sectors of the Right who hate Jews, Zionism, and Israel above all other things.

Please note that this Patriarch of the Roman Catholic Church quotes humanistic anti-religious propaganda with full approval and explicitly criticizes Fundamentalist Protestants for refusing to subject the Bible to modern scientific "theories" (that are ironically the creation of liberal German Protestants).

"His Beatitude" Patriarch Sabbah is a symbol of the very worst of Catholicism and chr*stianity from all sides of the political/religious spectrum.

Sabbah is a disgrace.

He is a liberation theology Communist.

He is an anti-Semite.

He is a traitor to the Church - look what he permitted to happen to the Church of the Nativity.

He is also a legacy from a short-sighted policy enacted by John Paul II in the 1980s.

That policy was to replace European prelates serving in the Third World with "natives" - no matter how unlikely or unqualified the native candidate was.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.