Stephen Fry on meeting God ...

It is the keeping to the Bible bit that is important. Not the word.

* Some Christians interpret their faith is very strange ways- sometimes dangerous and cruel.

But they are not keeping to the Bible. They are not doing what God wants.

So I suppose there are christian fundamentalists that do keep to the Bible and those that dont.
The two cannot be compared.

"Where is the danger in christian fundamentalism?"

Where to start? Catholic children's homes might be a good place. Or an eye for an eye - oh, or perhaps I should be turning the other cheek - now which one might it be? - which should I believe?

It is not good enough to say that the christians you don't agree with are not following the book - they are interpreting it in their way, just as you are in yours. All faiths have this problem in that everyone thinks they are right!

I am reminded of a line from a poem "Invoking god; that hackneyed devious ploy." Much evil is justified by individual's interpretations of their holy texts.

Each person thinks they know what god wants - I find that idea mind-bogglingly arrogant!

Neither is Muslim fundamentalism. Terrorism, labial ablation, even wearing a scarf or hijab... it has nothing to do with Islam.
But fundalism does exist in Christianity, just as it exists in Judaism or Islam...that is undeniable.

Not having a go at you Soon- but you have to accept reality. Some Christians interpret their faith is very strange ways- sometimes dangerous and cruel.

x post.

All that lot is not keeping to the Bible in the slightest granjura. That is not christian fundamentalism.
I wouldnt even like to say what that is.

I am sorry, I dont understand the second paragraph.

Where is the danger in christian fundamentalism? Assuming that christian fundamentalists keep to what is in the Bible and dont add or take away from it.

Fundamentalist Christians can and do cause much harm- in so many ways.

In Africa some children are beaten and burnt for incarnating the devil- still today. Eritrea has a huge % (about 90%) of genital mutilation for girls- for Christians, not Muslims, and so on. And in may parts of the world, including the USA and increasingly in the UK, children have a very limited education via Creationism and the denial of principles of evolution, for instance. I had students from several brethrens where girls had to leave at 15 and have arranged weddings and were totally forbidden to study, or to have any kind decision in their lives- all were Christians. They had to wear long skirts, long socks and a scarf over their head. too.

Not muddling faiths up.

Christian fundamentalism is equally dangerous as fundamentalism in any other faith. The need that some people have to have firm rules to follow that minimize the need to think is a powerful tool in the hands of the corrupt.

No. I think I have always believed.
I became a christian more than 20 years ago.

Are you a relatively new convert to Christianity, soontobe? Just out of interest.

I do want to say that, and I am being careful how I put this, that there are all sorts of spiritual places you can be at, being a christian.
And that is ok.
There are strong christians, weak christians, wobbly christians, doubting christians, etc. Just hang on in there.

Fundamentalism of some religions may well be dangerous.

ohdear - in the bible, as far as I know, it does not mention anywhere about not being allowed contraception. The other things you mention, they are not christian rules and requirements, so whoever is making them up or happen, is not following the bible.

Glad that you called God a fundamentalist.

Elegran - you are quoting rules from the Old Testament, not the New Testament. Except perhaps the woman and hair one, which was a custom in the New Testament, not a rule.

God changed the rules. That is why Jesus had to be born and bring in the revised version.
And that is the rules we still have now, to this day. Jesus had to change things from the Old Testament.

Mishap - I have only been talking about christian and fundamentalism. Not any other faiths' fundamentalism. It is very important not to muddle faiths up.

Very good points, Elegran, confusedbeetle. Jesus was a rebel who kept on emphasising that just following the letter of the law wasn't what it was about. But many human beings feel the need to have very firm rules and then they know where they are. Most of our laws and a lot of our conventions are based on this need, and the need to have a stable society. At any given time some of that will be out of step with public opinion and different places will be at different stages.

What if the widow was past child-bearing age?

rules are rules

It depends on the brother-in-law. The widow would be distinctly second-best poor relation to the original wife, and what if she had her eye on someone else and didn't fancy her husband's brother?

That's quite a nice idea.

Oh, and a widow's brother-in-law would be duty bound to take her as a second wife, and have a child with her - who would be regarded as his brother's son, not his. He would have to support him, but he would be his brother's heir and inherit whatever had belonged to his brother.
Deuteronomy 25:5-6

I do not believe that the Jesus/God I have believed in for so many years is/was a fundamentalist. I don't know any more if He exists. I' m gonna wait and see now. But I've got a feeling it will be "rounded by a sleep". I'm ok with that. Although the probably impossible would have been nice.

If Jesus had been a fundamentalist, he would have insisted on every detail of the old religion, Judaism, and not founded his own Christianity.

Every male would have to circumcised at a week old.
Women would worship in a separate area from men, and certainly could not have been priests/rabbis.
Men would wear little hats indoors.
Women would not cut their hair, and married women would cover their hair in the presence of men who were not family.
Women would attend a ritual at the mikvah bath at the end of each period, to purify them from their ceremonial uncleanness (not just physical dirt)
Animals would be sacrificed because God rejoiced in the smell of their blood.
No-one would light a fire or travel on the sabbath.
No-one would eat pork chops or sausages, eat shellfish or fish without scales, or meat which had not been slaughtered in a precise way.
No-one would eat meat products and milk products at the same meal, or within set hours of each other.
No-one would wear clothes of mixed fibres.

These are rules set out in the Bible, or made and enforced by the religious authorities.

The stuff had not yet been written while Jesus was alive, so he could not express a belief in it, whether literally or not.

What is a wish and not a requirement?

Do you know soon I cannot make head nor tail of your last post! What are you talking about?

I realise there is no point in discussing these matters with you because no amount of discussion will move you from your literalist and fundamentalist views. But, what is important is that you begin to grasp the danger of fundamentalism in terms of world peace and harmony. How it is just that literal reading of scriptures (from all faiths) that has always and still does threaten dialogue and true care for our fellows - not because we want to convert them or keep them from "falling by the wayside" but because they are our fellows, our brothers and sisters, and we share this world with them.

I understand how these beliefs make some people feel safe - the need to think and debate are unnecessary - but the world is an unsafe place, a place where we have to find ways of getting along with all our fellow beings through our own volition, honesty and caring spirit.

Deary me - how very sad this all is.

Interesting thread. I used to be Christian, now agnostic with much leaning towards atheism.

Like alot of people who grow up in a Christian country I love a lot of the "trimmings". I like carols, christmas cards, nativity plays and all the bells and smells of a service. They make me feel warm and comfortable. I have heard the term "tribal christian" which I think describes me perfectly. I no longer believe in the myth, but the history that the myth has given us is still my history. I have grown up in a country where much of our life and customs are religion based and it is nearly impossible to separate the two. For all of history there have been people who have not believed in the religion of thier time. Its just a bit easier for us in this country to do that.

Soon-- people of faith can do so much harm. Its fine if everybody has the choice of living by the rules that you want to live by--but what about the people who HAVE to live by those rules if they want to or not? What about the women in some parts of S America who have no access to contraception, no access to termination (no matter if they are 9 years old and have been raped by thier father) and sometimes no access to post-pregnancy medical care because of your religion? It does not matter if they are atheist--they still have to live (or die) by the rules of your religion. What about gay men and women in some parts of the usa who are forced into "conversion" therapies? Gay people in Eastern Europe beaten and sometimes killed by their religious peers?

And of course your god is a fundamentalist! It states quite clearly in the bible that the ONLY way to heaven is through Jesus. If you do not believe in Jesus you do not go. In the Christian tradition the bible is god-inspired and is the actual word of god. It is either true or not. As you say, you cannot pick and choose which bits to believe in. So, all witches should be burnt, the world was made in 7 days and a woman should have one rib more than a man (but not if, for some reason, god made Adam with one extra in the first place).

Such a very interesting topic--but I think I am now boring for England!!

I think (like Jackson Browne sings), that Jesus was a rebel:

www.lyricsfreak.com/j/jackson+browne/the+rebel+jesus_20068653.html