Introduction
Once upon a time there were two travellers who were on a journey. As they journeyed they saw a large forest in the distance and their path drew them nearer and nearer the forest. There was no way around the forest so they had to go through it. Naturally they felt apprehensive, fearing they might lose their way. But they had the good fortune to meet a gatekeeper who gave them a map showing the various trails through the forest.
The first traveller studied the map , found the trail that seemed to be the most direct, and followed it unswervingly. In doing so, he saved himself a lot of time and trouble and danger. But he also cut himself off from the riches of the forest.
The second traveller studied the map every bit as carefully. She noted not only the main trails. For her the map was not something to be followed rigidly. Its main purpose was to give her bearings, so that no matter where she was in the forest she wouldn’t be lost. Using the map in this way opened up the whole forest to her, and all its riches were made available to her.
The forest represents the world of truth. The map represents the Christian faith. The various trails represent the various doctrines and teachings of the faith.
The first traveller is a fundamentalist. He understands the doctrines and teachings of Christianity in a narrow way and in a very literalist way. For him these doctrines may not even be related to the rest of life. If one’s life experience is different from what these doctrines say, then one’s experience must be wrong!
The second traveller uses those same truths to give her bearings. They open things up for her. They enable her to plunge into life with all its complexities and wonder. They give her a key to unlock the mysteries of life.
The way of the fundamentalist is safe. It protects one from the hard work of finding out one’s own meaning and values. It spares one the anxiety of dealing with choice, responsibility and a continually changing sense of self. Fundamentalism is a faith which is born out of insecurity. For the fundamentalist, religion is just a part of life. For the non-fundamentalist religion is life – seen and lived from a religious perspective.
Thomas – an Early Fundamentalist!
In today’s gospel we hear Thomas say: “Unless I see the holes that the nails made in his hands and put my hand into his side, I refuse to believe.” Thomas was looking for absolute certainty. We would now call him a fundamentalist. For the fundamentalist issues are either black or white. If something isn’t literally true, then it isn’t true at all.
Fundamentalism is on the increase in all religions. The trend started in Christianity in America in the early 20th Century. A group of Christians were concerned about the growth of what they perceived to be liberal ideas – like evolution – and they published a set of tracts called “Fundamentals”. From these track the movement draws its name. Evangelical and Pentecostal churches are the most affected by fundamentalism, though large part of the Church of England are also influenced by it as is the Roman Catholic Church where fundamentalism takes a different form. The current government of India is formed from a political party which draws its roots in fundamentalist Hinduism. The current policies of the State of Israel seem to many to be a form of fundamentalist Judaism and we know too well the effects of fundamentalist Islam.
Not All Bad!
Many of us have been in churches which, to some degree or another, have been fundamentalist. Sue Lawlely’s guest on Desert Island Discs last week was the author Bernard Cornwell. He talked about being brought up in a little fundamentalist Christian sect called the “Peculiar People” – as in “separate people”. In his childhood he was not allowed to go to the cinema, he was beaten for reading a “wrong” sort of book, his father was convinced that the forces of Moscow would unite with the Roman Catholic Church and extirpate Protestantism from England, and he was forbidden to eat Black Pudding because the book of Leviticus outlaws eating blood.
Our own experiences are not likely to be this extreme. When I first came to faith I did so through the Roman Catholic Church. To my young teenage mind seeking answers the Catholic Church had it all and I learnt all the answers to all the questions. Not being bothered by that thing called life and experience I thought that religion was all about providing answers and doing the right thing. I was well on the way to becoming a fundamentalist Catholic – though I suspect the other, gentler, aspects of Catholicism would have helped me grow out of it! In my mid teens I joined a very lively charismatic evangelical church. Here I was told that the Bible was literally true and I entered the world of fundamentalism properly. I read Christian books, listened only to Christian music, only socialised with Christian friends – being convinced that my non-Christian friends would be going to Hell – and was generally obnoxious.
There was much here that was good though. I learnt about intensity in worship, that it was ok to be emotional in worship. This was quite a change as my previous church was very traditional and subdued. I learnt the Bible like never before, and got a reasonable overview of the whole Biblical story as well as some in depth understanding of individual books. I learnt some important spiritual truths about using my money and time for God. In the muddle of the modern world fundamentalism offers a place of safety, a path through the forest which is straight and true and simple.
However, there was and is a darker side to fundamentalism. I found it deprived faith of its richness by seeking to have an answer to everything. All mystery was removed from faith and as I got older I longed for a sense of mystery more and more. It was very rigid, simplistic, moralistic and authoritative. If your life somehow doesn’t fit with ideal that they teach then you experience profound rejection. For those of us who love in a way fundamentalists don’t approve or who can’t conform to their expectations around gender and role then fundamentalism is a very hard place to be.
Finding A Middle Way
Jesus reserved his harshest criticism for the fundamentalists of his day – the Pharisees because he felt they had put the letter of the Law before God. They were more interested in rules and regulations than the God who was supposed to be honoured by those same rules. I don’t think Jesus wants us to see the forest from just the main path – but encourages us to wander off and to search after truth in many different ways. If something is true then it speaks of God who is the ultimate source of all that is true.
However, many people have been so hurt by fundamentalist expressions of faith that they have rejected all forms of rules doctrines. As mature Christians we need to find a middle way between the vagueness of liberalism where anything goes and all truth is relative and the strictures of fundamentalism where only the things they agree with are true.
Jesus didn’t encourage fundamentalism at all. He didn’t want spiritually blind followers. Quite the opposite. He tried to open people’s eyes. He didn’t threaten or coerce. He invited. He wanted people to follow him freely, and with both eyes open. After all he came that we might have life – and not just in Heaven – and have it to the full.
Amen.
This sermon was first preached in the Metropolitan Community Church of Manchester. Click here for further information.