Fundamentalists Losing Favor with Public <barf alert>

The Data Lounge ^ | Friday, 6 December 2002 | -- C. Barillas, Editor

[doc30]

Fundamentalists Losing Favor with Public
Friday, 6 December 2002

WASHINGTON -- The American Family Association, a far right lobbying group in Washington, released results from a recent survey that shows mainstream Americans see evangelical Christians as one of the least likeable groups in the country.

Small wonder

Researchers from the Barna survey asked respondents how they felt about evangelicals, born-again Christians, ministers, and other groups of people in society. According to the survey, evangelicals came in tenth out of eleven, narrowly beating out prostitutes.

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Below lawyers and just above prostitutes.

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Fellow evangelical George Barna, president of the Barna Research Group, said religious conservatives "have a lot of work to do" in combating the general public's negative views.

Speaking to distressed members of the AFA, he said, "We may not be 'evil' people, we may not be 'bad' people -- we may be completely loving and wonderful. But somehow we are being perceived by non-Christians in America as a group of people who are not particularly loving [and] not particularly generous, kind, or understanding."

Particularly galling to the AFA constituency was the country's more open embrace of gay men and lesbians. Gay people, a group conservatives frequently slander and oppose politically, ranked significantly higher in the survey than evangelicals.

"Whether that's because the media portray evangelicals in a negative light or because [religious conservatives have] earned that 'badge of dishonor,' if you will, we've got to figure that out," said Barna, "we have to address that."

Affirming results from other studies, the Barna survey also found the more highly educated non-evangelicals are, the less likely they are to have a positive view of fundamentalist Christians.

-- C. Barillas, Editor

[HamiltonJay]

I don't dislike fundamentalists, other then when they decide they want to "save" me. I have absolutely no care at all for born agains... I have yet to meet one that wasn't a hypocritical bastard. Just putting on a show.. So for them I have no love loss at all.

[logos]

If you want to shake up your mental image of a "fundamentalist" Christian, find a copy and read Francis Schaeffer's Trilogy. Schaeffer was perhaps the premier "fundy" of the last century; I suspect what he writes will give you a whole new definition of that particular strain of Christianity. If you're not familiar with him, let's just say that Schaeffer and C.S. Lewis could almost have been cut from the same bolt of cloth.

[betty boop]

Sometimes the attempt is the important thing, not whether you actually succeed.

Right, general. BTW, I heartily endorse logos' suggestion that you read Francis Schaeffer's Trilogy. He made the same suggestion to me a while back, so I bought the book. Which is absolutely marvelous. Also, if you haven't read C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters, you might want to dip into that one, too: It presents Christianity "from the Devil's perspective" -- the ultimate "outsider's view".... Also: Lewis' Mere Christianity, The Abolition of Man, and (a personal favorite), The Great Divorce are immensely important works that explore what man really has "at stake" in this post-modern, "post-Christian" world....

[general_re]

Thanks for the recommendations - I am well familiar with Lewis's work, but I may very well take a look at Schaeffer when I have the chance...

[stands2reason]

You judge all people on what one person things?

No. I didn't say he would be judged by me, but others.

Besides, the world is never going to like Christians.

That may well be, but Christians who don't act like Christians and give Christianity a bad name isn't a good reason for the sentiment.

[stands2reason]

I have absolutely no care at all for born agains... I have yet to meet one that wasn't a hypocritical bastard. Just putting on a show.. So for them I have no love loss at all.

Somehow, I really doubt it. I bet you have met many "born-agains" and you didn't know they were; they were just "nice people."

[HamiltonJay]

Somehow, I really doubt it. I bet you have met many "born-agains" and you didn't know they were; they were just "nice people."

It is possible that I have, but the overwhelming majority that I have met that I knew to be, gave me no reason to care for them at all.

The one who was born again yet had an affair with a married man, broke up his family, and then married him after the fact. And of course only had to stand up and ask forgiveness for the church to say ok... This is someone who was "born again" before she even started the affair... Or of course the "Born Again" couple who got married after she got pregnant.... etc etc etc... I am sorry, I just have repeatedly had to be bombarded by their "righteousness" amongst their hypocrisy. Worst that the evangelical Baptists in my experience.

[RAT Patrol]

Correction (LOL): used to get sooo mad at the track people

track = tract

ROTFL! Not the runners, lol (I love it when I find dumb typos while looking for something else. LOL)

[Kevin Curry]

I have yet to meet [a findamentalist Christian] that wasn't a hypocritical bastard.

*Whew* It's a good thing you're not judgmental like all those hypocritical bastard fundamentalist Christians you know.