One of the things that bother me most about the fundamentalist, "religious right" point of view is how I have to defend it. It bothers me how it presents an unloving, unmerciful and uncompassionate face to society; I don't think anybody in our society can characterize them positively at all; words like 'bigoted', 'hateful' and 'ignorant' come to mind. It bothers me, in that, on occasion, on some issues, I too, fall under the "Christian right-wing" banner, and I thus have to explain and defend my brothers and sisters. Then I have to listen to: "Oh no, not like you, they're not like you at all," at which point I do need to clarify, that yes, they are like me, because they are still part of my family.
I feel like it's kind of like having a very annoying brother, who does all that he can to torment and bother you at home. However, in the schoolyard, if some other kid is bullying him, you need to come to his defence and stand by his side, whether you like it or not, and even though you know, once you get home, he'll just be back to his regular self, with nary a feeling of thankfulness. Sometimes, there may even be some hostility for you having had been there defending his back, instead of letting him fight his battle on his own.
I just really wish, sometimes, that they would go away, that we could work again to create a faith that is loving and compassionate and can balance mercy and justice. Something that could take people's breath away and say, "For surely the LORD is in this!".
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I suspect the reason why you sometimes desire to defend the "religious right" is because even though some of its vocal advocates are brutish in their methods, there is some element of the Truth in what they say. When the Truth is presented in a way that other people don't understand, a lot of them may end up concluding that the only way a person can think those things is because they're stupid, ignorant, bigots, etc. I believe you step in to try to clarify and justify. I can't blame you for feeling frustrated that it's not made clearer in the first place, but sometimes people's prejudices prevent them from even granting the benefit of the doubt. I read all these nasty things said about conservative Christians that a person would never say to someone they actually knew. Sometimes I think they aren't even trying to understand.
At the end of the day, are we trying to pacify the sensitivities of Western Hedonism, or do we really have a transcending Truth to defend that can upset people's comfortable notions on life and morality? If Western society is too comfortable, as you occasionally argue, then what persuades you to think they will abandon their comfortable notions and receive the sometimes very uncomfortable Truth with open arms?
You have proof of this yourself. When you felt morally compelled to decline to personally assist a patient with something a number of years ago, did they not complain? Do you think the patient would have considered you loving, compassionate and balanced? If not, were you wrong to decline on the basis of your Christian convictions? No, not if it really was the right thing. Now what would you say if a fellow brother or sister in Christ, whom you didn't know, saw/heard of that incident and said we needed fewer Christians like you making Jesus seem unloving, uncompassionate, and unmerciful? You cannot help how some people will respond to your convictions!
I think your intervention reveals that, in your heart, you love the Body even with all its blemishes. I think though you may unreasonably expect the rest of the Body to think and act the same way you do.
1 Corinthians 12:20-24
Actually, I find that everyone on the spectrum of the Faith deserves defence, even if I may not agree with a lot of them. However, at least factions such as the "liberals" and the Roman Catholics have so much less venom against them, and for that, I thank them for helping bring some positivity to our faith.
Fundamentalism is all its forms, in all faiths, is an ugly, ugly thing.
I won't argue for fundamentalism without knowing to what precisely you are refering. Maybe you have in mind people like the guy who's sermon you mentioned, or some other guy with some rather crazy ideas? Yes, people like that have given Fundamentalism its bad name. I'd be concerned for them as a brother, but I'd also be openly critical of their ideas, as you are. If that's what you meant, no disagreements there.
However, you also used the term "religious right", so I assume you mean something much broader. That's unfortunate, since there are a lot of things that only conservative Christians have had the courage to defend.
I wouldn't say the Roman Catholic church has less venom directed at them. Amongst the denominations, they are the biggest target, and are the most often portrayed as evil from top-down. I am in touch with many Catholic co-workers, and I find they tend to be very much in sync with the Evangelical Protestant church. In my opinion, they collectively receive as much venom, if not more, particularly because they are more united on the subject of Truth.
Why does positivity matter so much?
"Tolerance is a virtue of a man without convictions." G.K.Chesterton
"Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division." Jesus, Luke 12:51
A Christian must please God first, and man second. This implicitly means you will have to sometimes be "negative" towards the World. Jesus never promised we would be loved by the World, just as many of the prophets were despised. All the good the Church does is casually over-looked for the sake of one or two things that some people find offensive to them. I feel no guilt for not pleasing them.
One might argue that neither the religious left nor right truly serves God, but at least the religious left tries to serve men. Honestly, if that is the case, I don't see the advantage. Anyone who isn't seeking to serve God will ultimately fail at serving men. The only difference is that the ones who seek to serve men boast in their works.
I took this discussion on a bit of a tangent. You are right that there is something to defend about anyone within the Faith. You are not mistaken to see redeeming qualities in the liberal churches and the RCC (I think the two highly contrast each other, but I agree).
I stayed with a more liberal Christian when I went to San Francisco a year or two ago, and the guy had so many qualities I wish I exhibited in greater supply. He was definitely in a place to help people, and he was also conscious of what honoured God. To some extent his thought-life was captive to the pervasive political environment he was in, but one can see how easily that would be forgiven.
I think it's important to note there was nothing about him that I admired that was anti-thetical to Christians who are more conservative. There are Christians on the other end of the political spectrum with the same qualities, doing the exact same thing. They aren't noticed so much, because people are easily offended about their positions on topics like abortion, abstinence and such.
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