Re: ANYT THOUGHTS ON AMERICAN PBS SERIES

Hi Elson!!!

Elson wrote:
>I saw it too.  My impression was how stupid the comparison was:
>comparing religious fanatics in the US (who support the US
>oppression of people in the Middle East)

Don't forget the roots of Christian fundamentalism in the antisystemic 
movements of the Protestant Reformation.

Well, having lived in the Midwest for a couple of years now, I think we need 
to be careful to acknowledge our own subject position when characterizing 
Christian fundamentalists as "religious fanatics" in contrast to  
"Modernism" never really caught on here.

In Indiana, I know a Christian fundamentalist who won a public welfare seat 
(Township Trustee) on the theme of family values and hard work. The 
Democratic Party had controlled Trusteeships for decades. Typically, these 
elected welfare officials (who decide who gets and doesn't get the 
dole)never showed up for work, meaning that families who needed welfare 
assistance generally didn't get it.

After this guy got elected, we finally had an accountable person who 
families could turn to for (some) financial assistance, subject to 
predictable (as opposed to arbitrary) guidelines.

BTW, has anyone seen the new book on the failure of the "religious right" by 
Cal Thomas and Dr. James Dobson? They are claiming that Pat Robertson's 
organization is the "revolution betrayed," and that Christians should pursue 
the family values agenda in the realm of everyday life. Shades of 1968 for 
the religious right.

John Till


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