Down to the wire : confronting climate collapse / David - Index of
Down to the wire : confronting climate collapse / David - Index of
Down to the wire : confronting climate collapse / David - Index of
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128 S connections<br />
exerted great infl uence on U.S. politics and are said still <strong>to</strong> intend<br />
a fundamentalist takeover <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> U.S. government “whatever <strong>the</strong><br />
cost” (Moser, 2005). The result, in Bill McKibben’s words, is that<br />
“America is simultaneously <strong>the</strong> most pr<strong>of</strong>essedly Christian <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
developed nations and <strong>the</strong> least Christian in its behavior” (2005).<br />
It is imperative, <strong>the</strong>refore, that we understand what extreme fundamentalists<br />
intend and what that portends for our democracy<br />
and our collective prospects.<br />
Evangelicals and fundamentalists, however, are not all <strong>of</strong> one<br />
accord. 2 Fundamentalism, as his<strong>to</strong>rian <strong>of</strong> religion George Marsden<br />
points out is a “mosaic <strong>of</strong> divergent and sometimes contradic<strong>to</strong>ry<br />
traditions and tendencies” (2006, p. 43). The difference between<br />
evangelicals and fundamentalists, according <strong>to</strong> Marsden, is “<strong>the</strong>ir<br />
relative degrees <strong>of</strong> militancy in support <strong>of</strong> conservative doctrinal,<br />
ecclesiastical, and/or cultural issues” (p. 235). Many evangelicals,<br />
including Richard Cizik, <strong>the</strong> former vice president for government<br />
affairs at <strong>the</strong> National Association <strong>of</strong> Evangelicals, and Jim<br />
Ball <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Evangelical Environmental Network, are constructively<br />
engaged in “creation care,” building alliances between churches<br />
and <strong>the</strong> environmental community <strong>to</strong> good effect. The problem,<br />
in <strong>the</strong> words <strong>of</strong> evangelical <strong>the</strong>ologian Ronald Sider, is that:<br />
Tragically, Christian political activity <strong>to</strong>day is a disaster. Christians<br />
embrace contradic<strong>to</strong>ry positions on almost every political issue.<br />
When <strong>the</strong>y join <strong>the</strong> political fray, <strong>the</strong>y <strong>of</strong>ten succumb <strong>to</strong> dishonesty<br />
and corruption . . . At <strong>the</strong> heart <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> problem is <strong>the</strong> fact<br />
that many Christians, especially evangelical Christians, have not<br />
thought very carefully about how <strong>to</strong> do politics in a wise, biblically<br />
grounded way . . . [The result is] contradiction, confusion,<br />
ineffectiveness, even biblical unfaithfulness, in our political work.<br />
(2008, pp. 11, 19)<br />
My concern, accordingly, is with <strong>the</strong> more-fundamental-than-thou<br />
brand <strong>of</strong> fundamentalism, and specifi cally with those at <strong>the</strong> extreme<br />
who pr<strong>of</strong>ess belief in <strong>the</strong> imminence <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> end times as allegedly