Search Results for “fundamentalism is fatal”

by Roxanne - June 27, 2011August 10, 2011

Fundamentalism Is Fatal

wheat&weedsBeliefnet.com — Photo Beliefnet.com

Not too long ago I came across a someone who was profoundly fundamentalist. What do I mean by “fundamentalist”?

Fundamentalists believe that not only do they know what God wants them to do – they know what God wants me to do too! This is appallingly arrogant and narcissistic on two counts. First, it insists that the fundamentalist somehow knows more than other people know about others’ own lives. Second, it insists that the fundamentalist knows more than God (Spirit) working in the heart of the other person! This is pathological narcissism at its worst.

I was raised in a fundamentalist home by parents masquerading as Catholic. Catholicism, by definition, rejects fundamentalism. The term “Fundamentalist Catholic” is an impossibility and an oxymoron.

Catholicism requires on-going reflection and listening to the Spirit; in one’s heart, in one’s life, in one’s prayer. We can never know what God is calling someone else to do. The truth is that it’s often difficult to know for sure what God wants us to do. One of the fruits of the Spirit is that God will often lead us to a surprising decision, one we hadn’t considered or thought of. Usually, it’s a decision others haven’t thought of either. This belief that every person must search and follow their own conscience is called “Primacy of Conscience.” It’s a cornerstone of Catholicism.

From my upbringing I do know that fundamentalists are closed-minded, controlling and judgmental. Any attempts to convince them that they may not know best for others will result in denial, inappropriate displays of anger or manipulative behavior.

On the other hand, living in the Spirit is welcoming, curious, engaging and joyful. One is death-dealing, the other life-giving. We must choose with whom we spend our brief, but precious lifetime.

Fundamentalists repel others the way oil repels water. In the end, I think it’s true that God/reality separates the wheat from the weeds (Matt 13:24-30).

by Roxanne - November 29, 2012November 30, 2012

Why Don’t Catholics Vote the Same?

You may have noticed that Catholics didn’t vote as a group in recent elections. “Why not?” you may ask yourself. Don’t they all believe the same thing? Don’t they vote the way their bishops or the pope tells them to?

Some may ask, “Aren’t all Catholics Republican?” Or, depending on where you live you may ask, “Aren’t all Catholics Democrats?”

Actually both answers are “no” and “no.” Catholics don’t all believe in the same way and neither political party is truly Catholic. Some Catholics have a good understanding of Catholic Social Teaching preferencing those made poor and those who are oppressed, as well as caring for life from womb to tomb. Many understand that Catholics must inform their consciences, discern and then vote how they determine they are called to vote using the foundational doctrine of Primacy of Conscience.

On the other hand, some succumb to the heresy of fideism (blind obedience to authority) and simply vote they way their bishop indicates without any reflection or consideration. Finally, others simply follow their political party, tribe, family or culture – another form of fideism. Catholics are all over the spectrum in terms of formation, education, training and belief.

Nevertheless, the Spirit is active in the lives of everyone, regardless of the level of education, relationship to an institutional church or political affiliation. The Spirit, around the globe and over time, helps creates the sensus fidelium or the “sense of the faithful” to discern what is moral and what best serves the common good. Vatican II proclaimed that the Church is the people of God (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium 9). Thus, this sense of the faithful becomes part of the teaching of the Church.

The Spirit doesn’t work in a vacuum. No one individual or group has exclusive access to the Spirit. All must cultivate gratitude, an orientation of otherness, an understanding of justice as well as solitude in order to listen to the Spirit. We must read, become educated and listen to theologians and church leaders. God lives in everyone. The incarnation of God in Jesus and the community’s experience of that event confirm this. God or Christ is with us everywhere and always.

It is in listening and sharing our insights as a community that we can come to know what we are being called to do. Conversation, education and sharing various understandings help us to know what is most compassionate and what will best serve the common good. Without ongoing conversation there is no access to the Spirit active in others.

The question for those who name themselves as Catholic is, “How do we listen and discern what the Spirit is calling each of us to do?” God works in the world through our hearts and hands, after all. For Catholics it is not “What would Jesus do?” It is not about following the rules or imitating Jesus’ specific responses to specific situations, even though Jesus serves as a model of compassion and justice. Rather, we allow Spirit to emerge from within and ask, “What is the Spirit calling me to do now in this situation?” This is something quite different.

Each of us is unique with unique experiences of life and of Spirit. The decision for any question, issue or situation, therefore, may be different for each of us. And that is just as it should be.

by Roxanne - March 14, 2012March 12, 2012

InnerPeace – “Family Only” Idiocy

Educator Parker Palmer’s new book Healing the Heart of Democracy, had this memorable paragraph on socializing only with one’s family or the resistance to developing friendships in the public sphere:

“It is worth noting that the word private comes from the Latin privare, the root that gives rise to the word deprived. How ironic that the private life so highly prized by Americans is a life that the ancients regarded as a form of deprivation for grown-ups. As my Manhattan cabbie said, ‘If you’re with the same kind of people all the time, it’s like wearing the same suit all time – you get sick of it.’ What could be more stupefying for fully functional adults than to have nothing but a private life where one continually sees the same people and recycles the same experiences, attitudes, and ideas? No wonder the Greek word for a strictly private person was idiots, from which we get the term idiot, meaning someone who says or does stupid things.” (emphasis author’s, 95)

The next time someone brags that they’re a “private person” or are too busy with their family activities remember this.

This is not a matter of being introverted or extroverted – or the ability to be comfortable with many people rather than one or two people at a time. Either way, we need a wide variety of rich relationships with others who are different from ourselves and our families in order to be more of who we are, healthy and whole.

Our culture lacks this which is why so many of us are xenophobic (fearful of strangers). It is also why we too often become drama-focused and narcissistic. Committed and ongoing friendship with those who are different brings social, psychological, physical and spiritual health.

Stretch beyond your comfort zone. Invite someone new for a cup of tea. Meet someone new for a walk. Join a discussion group or book club. Teach English as a second language. Expand your support network of friends over family. You will learn more about who you really are.

by Roxanne - December 17, 2011December 17, 2011

Dangers of Obedience and Compliance

Too often in Christianity (Catholicism included) obedience is held up as a virtue. This is true if the obedience is to God within ourselves or our deepest interior voice. Unfortunately this is not typically the reference for the virtue of obedience. The reference is all too often to religious authorities, institutions or superiors.

This is the opposite of what Christianity calls us to. We are called to answer to God within. We are to discern our own heart and listen to our own voice. Those who call us to obedience to others often have their own benefit in mind.

Society, of course, encourages obedience and compliance. What better way to control large numbers of people?

Are you obedient to others? If so, why?

You may also like A Walk With God, The Guest and Fundamentalism is Fatal.

by Roxanne - December 3, 2011December 2, 2011

Four Kinds of People

Yoga philosophy has been around for more than 2,500 years. The Yoga Sutra texts have been around in written form for at least 1,500 years. These texts describe the yogic path. They also provide helpful wisdom in understanding the nature of human beings. The Sutras describe four kinds of people along with how we should approach with them. While this advice isn’t absolute – it is an interesting point of departure and something to think about.

Yoga Sutra 1.33 lists four basic character dispositions of people: those who are happy, sad, virtuous or wicked.

Approach those who are happy with friendliness.
Approach those who are sad with compassion.
Seek out those who are virtuous.
Avoid those who are wicked.

Certainly people are more complex than this and people change all the time. Still, at its core, I think this is very wise advice. Particularly because it describes “approaching” people which by definition requires we assess, re-assess and possibly change our approach each time we encounter someone.

Regarding those we “seek out” – because we are persons in relationship with others, those very relationships help form who we become as human persons. In the end, who do you want to spend your time with?

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