Posted: 06/17/05 16:39
By Dave Mindeman
The Fundamentalist Christians were wrong. But it isn't going to matter, because they speak for God. The Terry Schaivo autopsy has offered proof that Ms. Schaivo's condition was irreversible. Her brain had atrophied to 1/2 the normal size and all those eye movements we kept seeing on videotape were meaningless because Terri was blind.
But it won't matter to the fundamentalist mentality that nearly brought government to a standstill over one "right to life" case. You see, they are never wrong. They can't be wrong, because they speak for God.
Since their belief system is that God is perfection, then it only follows that if you interpret the teachings of the faith as a spokesperson for God, then you have perfect insight. Even in this case where science has shown us the proof, they will never compromise or yield. They are defending God's Word and that can never be questioned -- even with the truth.
We have a growing number of issues that require "approval" from the Fundamentalist Right. You can't really call them the Christian Right anymore because most discerning Christians aren't willing to go as far as this politcally charged group has gone. These issues have become rallying points for these God Agents. The chasm between science and religion hasn't been this wide since Darwin's theories were questioned in the Scopes trial.
The new focus points are stem cell research, oral contraceptives, intelligent design, gay marriage, and right to die. They stake out a position that allows for no compromise....positions that put families in untenable positions. Positions that refuse to look at scientific evidence or even common sense.
These barricades, these walls cannot be torn down. They are fundamental to a belief system that refuses to look at facts, evidence, or science. It is pure and it is simple. To complicate it with nuance destroys their belief. It must be absolute or it is nothing.
If you ever wonder why there are so many denominations believing essentially the same thing, then look no furthur than fundamentalist belief for the cause. Any breach of the "faith", no matter how small, can create division so strong that one side or the other must leave. Baptismal differences, communion interpretation, and ordaining of women have all been reasons for an entire denominational split. They cannot compromise... God would never do that. Yet each side claims the moral equivalent of "the one true faith".
As this rigid belief system creeps into our political system, the danger signs are everywhere. It is the reason for partisan rancor. It is the reason for electoral apathy in new voters. It is the reason we can't find real solutions.
So why is fundamentalism thriving in American politics? Because they never deviate away from their chosen agenda. They stand for life, and how life is perceived. They stand for marriage and how they themselves have defined it. That holds them together with a black and white perceived "truth" that keeps them rigid and together.
It is when they have to discuss other areas that the divisions begin again. They aren't comfortable with rich and poor, black and white, healthy and infirmed. They instinctively know that as Christians they have deviated from their own teachings on this. But they push that aside to stand together for pre-life, end-life, and marriage-life issues. Issues they know they can stand together on, because there are no "absolutes" from the other side. Science deals in knowledge not abstract belief. And science cannot oppose an argument based on beliefs it cannot prove or disprove.
Fundamentalists live in the "gray zone". The area that science is uncomfortable with. Where arguments are endless and pointless. We all begin life at some point and we all die. Marriage is an agreement, a social contract with no intrinsic value. These are the only facts we have in these areas. Definitions are the gray zone that fuels the fundamentalist's reactionary life.
The Terry Schaivo case will never really end. It will become a symbol of how uncomfortable all of us are with life and death decisions. We can't possibly solve problems like this with legislation. There are certain things that should be left to family. Occasionally we will get wrapped up in individual stories. We should hear them but not interfere. We should seek greater understanding but make no judgments. There are some things we can't know -- the mirror that we see through darkly is not open to absolute definition. We will know the real truth when we are ready to hear it, not before.
