According to www.thefreedictionary.com the term Fundamentalism is defined as
“A usually religious movement or point of view characterized by a return to fundamental principles, by rigid adherence to those principles, and often by intolerance of other views and opposition to secularism.”Notice that they say, usually religious movement, and not specifically ‘limited to religion’. That is an important distinction, make sure you appreciate that distinction, good, and now let it go.
My daughter has a particularly calculating form of Auto Immune disease (JDM) to entertain herself with daily. I say entertain not just to give it less power (my way to deal) but also because I believe she will get to the point where she realises what it is doing to her and grow bored with it and ultimately shed it from her life. JDM attacks muscle and skin in such a way as to be misdiagnosed would have meant premature (is there any other form?) death as most of the organs we need to survive, are either muscles themselves or muscle-based. It sucks thanks for asking, but in all fairness to The Great A'Tuin, we are pretty fortunate with the degree she has to deal with. Understand this: She deals with it, we deal with her. She has a relationship with it, we have a relationship with her. She is the one who can’t get up in the morning because her muscles don’t work; she is the one who wakes up only to have to throw her stereo off the table just to wake someone because she can’t breathe properly. We just help her as much as we can. Yes, it sucks, thanks for asking. Unemotional dealing with it is the way I get through the day. It’s the only way I can get up in the morning. It’s the only way I can help her to figure the whole thing out. But I can’t tell her where it comes from; even science can’t help us there. Enter the Fundamentalist.
My mother lives approximately 1000 km from us, for me a blessing, for the kids not so much. She belongs to a Christian Discussion Group (Cell) and they have weekly meetings to discuss and eventually pray for whatever they have on their minds. Sounds like a supportive group of friends with a similar interest in the way they see life and their beliefs. Sounds ok enough, where does the fundamentalist part fit then? The cell leader called my mom away from the group one fateful day, proclaiming that God ‘spoke’ to him while he was in ‘reverie’ and that God told him (‘cause he’s special) that my daughter has this affliction because, get this, I as her mother, isn’t a good enough Christian. Ok, breathe – they know not what they say – find the silver lining however thin a fooking thread it might be. Mom calls in tears. Moments of non-breathing fill my side of the conversation. My head is doing the chameleon thing, trying to come to grips with what is being said, with who is saying it, and lastly, how this message reached her in the first place. I have to treat this the right way, but what is it?
• Will God ever forgive me so my daughter would miraculously be healed?
• Are you on drugs, Mom?
• Who the hell is this cell leader?
• Give me some drugs!
• Sorry mom, bad line, call back in a century?
Me: Sorry, did I hear you correctly now? Jesus sent me a divine message via a man I have never met, who lives 1000 km from me, in a fugue, to my mother who actually believes all this crap?
Mom: Sorry, bad line, can you repeat that?
Me: Come on mom, you actually believe him?
Mom: Why ever not? He carries the ‘Holy Spirit Gene’.
Me: How do you know that ma?
Mom: Because I have faith.
So I have a deep conversation with the only sane Christian I know. He’s actually a priest, believe it or not. And he is utterly opposed to religion. Says that the next time something like this happens I tell them to go read Job. First book written. Even before Genesis. OK, I didn’t know that either. Then he tells me the story of Job and I almost fall over backwards. Taking emotion out of the equation it does make a kind of sense, but I am a writer. I try and find meaning and understanding to make myself stay here on Earth. It’s difficult to deal with your kid being diagnosed with cancer, but she gets better. It’s difficult to deal with your kid getting JDM, but you keep believing that it will all turn out okay for her, simply because this: If this is all this life has to offer, I want to go home immediately. What if she doesn’t though? Well, then you deal with it as best you can. People of faith have that one down pat, IF they keep the faith. I don’t have that kind of faith.
Short version of Job: God and the Devil are talking. Devil says that the only reason Job is so fortunate in life is because God protects him. God says, nope, it’s because he has faith. Devil says ok then, I betcha I can make him falter. God basically says, do your worst, but leave him alive. Devil pulls out all the stops, kids die, he loses his wealth, his wife wants him to just kill himself and get it over with. In walks his ‘Christian Friends’ telling him the reasons they believe all of this went south. Apparently that is the point of the story. Not the fact that poor Job had his life in the Russian Roulette of Really Powerful Beings. Do I come across as blasphemous? No disrespect intended, remember, I never said that I am religious. His entire life falls into ruin and yet he doesn’t waver from his faith. In fact, beseeches God not to punish his ‘Christian Friends’ although they royally pissed off God by basically defining who and how God is, by telling Job that they have inside information about the great Plan God has for the world. And here I understand what the priest is explaining to me. Fundamentalists are those ‘Christian Friends’. Puts JDM into perspective, doesn’t it? Now just to get a handle on this faith business they keep talking about.
