Is it fair or correct to use blanket generalizations about Fundamentalist Christians?

Searcher, I'm Catholic, and almost to a person, the anti-Catholic bigots on this Forum are either fundamentalists or Baptists. I'll grant you that generalizations are usually unfair, but this is a matter of observation and not just opinion.

When fundamentalists stop their hatred, name-calling, and bigotry toward the Catholic Christianity that I love, I will be the first to extend a hand in friendship toward them. But until they get the message that we are also *their* brothers and sisters in the Lord, this is one Catholic who is going to be very wary of all fundamentalists.

Edit:

Gee, where are all of you open-minded, tolerant, loving fundamentalists when a Catholic brother or sister in Christ is being trashed and our faith denigrated by your fellow fundamentalists?

I've seen more than one of you slamming Catholics and accusing us of every lie ever spewed by Jack Chick or Alexander Hislop. All of your great brotherly love seems to vanish every time you get the chance to chime in and put down my Church and my Christianity.

All I have to say to you is: hypocrites!

Edit #2

And I don't see anybody responding, either. Gee, what a surprise.

I suppose I'm one of those people on occasion. If believers see the Bible as a great moral code or the inspired word of God that's cool, I certainly can't disprove the resurrection of Jesus. But fundamentalism is equated with literalism, and it does get my hackles up when I see people ignoring overwhelming evidence that the creation myth in Genesis impossible.

It's not just the massive amount of physical evidence being ignored (although that's the main thing), the fossil record, the speed of continental drift and so on. It's also the fact that Genesis 1 & 2 aren't even original.

Gen.1 where God separated the the light from the dark, the heavens from the Earth, the water from the land and so on, is a theme of creation myth named "separation of the primordial chaos". And was borrowed from the much older Babylonian Enuma Elish.

Gen.2 was also a borrowed motif from the older Epic of Gilgamesh. Where a talking snake suckered Gilgamesh out of the "tree of eternal youth".

Maybe it isn't fair, and I don't see fundamentalists as bad people. But I do see literalism as willful ignorance. And willful ignorance to such massive amounts of contrary data sometimes brings out a tendency to paint in broad strokes.

It's ok for Christians to take a literal reading of the Bible. It's not ok for those same to mock those who rather implore the analytical, cryptic, symbiotic, metaphorical and allegory aspects which happens to speak louder to us than a literal read.

After all, most all normal "fundamental" Christians extract the same message, no matter how they derive their means. In the end, it's the same message. However, "fundamentalists/literalists" attacking brethren are for sure missing the "big picture," and destructive to their own faith.

~Catholic.

What I don't get is where are these others who claim to be like you, when the fundamentalists are spewing their ant-Catholic rhetoric day after day here?? Eds is about the only one I've ever seen who actually is telling the truth.

I gotta echo Wolfeblayde on this one, and not just from this site, but also my real life experiences with fundamentalists.

not sure if there will be peace/agreement between us "fundies" and the unbeliever for the same reason that has existed forever---people do not want others to tell them what is right (even if its for their own being; don't fornicate, do not steal, no adultery, do not murder, sin is a sin by any name or deed---sexual immorality, drunkenness, gay relationships, lust in the mind) and what is the truth (there is a heaven and there is a hell). They want to do what makes them happy and are not willing to let go of what they believe and that is called free will but in everything we do there are repercussions that will be addressed even if some opt not to believe this it is there.

Some hide behind "what is truth" but at the end we will all be judged--believers and nonbelievers and we shall all be rewarded according to our deeds like or not.

not sure who these 6 ministers are but to judge a whole people by the deeds of a few (not all muslims kill) is not a measure of standard but lets be assured that if they use the Bible to determined what is right and not it would make sense---all sinners (rapist, robbers, homosexuals, murders, fornicators, adulterers, haters, etc) will go to hell unless they accept Jesus, (those that are considered sinners need Jesus even if they believe not) hey its in the Bible, sure not everyone believes it but if we judge these 6 ministers by their use of the Bible we are wrong to judge them in their use. but i guess if the deeds are indeed sinful--cannibalism, killing of a "fetus" by a few (say in an island or nation--where sin is natural law) then it would be easy to stereotype the entire group---all sinners are distant from God no matter the sin..

No, it's not fair or correct to use blanket generalizations about any group. There are always exceptions & extremes in every group. I know many Fundamentalist Christians that are beautiful kind people and nothing like Koresh, Robertson, or Phelps and it would be completly wrong to lump them together.

It's perfectly fair to correct generalizations. The reason people feel that way is because the fundamentalist christians who try to push their beliefs on the rest of us are all hate filled bigots. And i agree with you, it's not fair for the rest of us to think you're all like that. I'm sure many of you understand that christianity is supposed to be about loving everyone, and i think you should explain that to all the hateful people among you.

What about generalizations based on the millions of followers that those 6 ministers have? Is that fair?

It's a fair question that you ask, but I wonder how far the "don't generalize" shelter will extend when group cohesion takes precendence over individuality in the face of unbelievers in most other cases.

Sweet Searcher,

I agree and try my best never to throw rocks at others. I am truly a Fundamental Christian and I do not believe in throwing rocks because my house has too many windows (I had children and replaced several of them). Have a great week.

Thanks,

Eds

~~~

Be Blessed,

That is a great definition of Fundamental Christian in my book.

Thanks,

Eds

~~~

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It's not fair to make blanket generalizations about any group of people, but it happens a lot with the R & S crowd.