Fundamentalism in The Books Store

Fundamentalism has emerged as one of the most powerful forces at work in the world. However, it remains incomprehensible to large numbers of people. In The Battle for God, Karen Armstrong brilliantly and sympathetically shows us how and why fundamentalist groups came into existence and what they yearn to accomplish.

Focusing on Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim fundamentalism, she examines the ways in which these movements, while not monolithic, have each sprung from a dread of modernity -- and often in response to assault, sometimes unwitting, sometimes intentional, by the mainstream society.

Armstrong sees the fundamentalist groups as complex, innovative, and modern -- rather than throwbacks to the past -- but contends that they have failed in religious terms. Maintaining that fundamentalism often exists in symbiotic relationship with an aggressive modernity, each urging the other on to greater excess, she suggests compassion as a way to defuse what is now an intensifying conflict.

"Halsell exposes Falwell's Christian tours as having only one purpose: to raise money for Falwell and Israel, under the guise of preparing the pilgrims for the approaching Armageddon. An excellent book."

Book Description

In her startling new book, Forcing God's Hand: Why Millions Pray for a Quick Rapture and the Destruction of Planet Earth, Grace Halsell explores the danger of a new religious doctrine sweeping America. Adherents to this doctrine are said to constitute the fastest growing movement in Christianity today. Its leaders proclaim that God wants--even demands--that Planet Earth be destroyed in our generation.

Cult members do not look like the so-called "crazies"--those such as Jim Jones or leaders of the "Branch Davidians" or "Heaven's Gate," who led followers to death declaring the end is near. Yet, Halsell writes, "They accept the same theology: we can do nothing about the environment, it's useless to work for peace, rather we must build more weapons for Armageddon."

Those proclaiming that we must wage Armageddon do not, however, expect to suffer. As the book points out, Pat Robertson, Hal Lindsey, Tim LaHaye and almost 100,000 other U.S. Fundamentalists broadcasting on 2,000 Christian radio and TV stations assure adherents that while the world will be destroyed, they will be given a free Rapture ticket. They need not suffer a moment of agony. As Jerry Falwell puts it, "I'm not worried. You know why? I ain't gonna be here."

Cult leaders assure followers, now said to include one out of ten Americans, that they will be wafted up to heaven for a special grandstand seat where, in comfort, they will watch the final holocaust, the agony and death of billions of men, women and children.

Forcing God's Hand explains the popularity of this End Time doctrine. A Tennessean, Cyrus Scofield, popularized the idea of a Free Rapture, a theology originally imported from England less than 200 years ago. The theology holds that Christians must look to the biblical land of the Jews for their salvation; that the land itself is more important to Christians than the message of Christ. Scofield taught that Christ was held hostage until Jews carried out a preordained plan: they were to leave their native lands, including Russia, Europe, Africa and America, and settle in Palestine. They were to eradicate, with the help of Christians, the most sacred Islamic shrine in Jerusalem, a mosque holy to a billion Muslims around the world; and once Christ returned, the Jews must convert to Christianity. His doctrine, called dispensationalism, was encoded into the Scofield Reference Bible.

His dispensationalist Reference Bible is used by virtually all TV and radio preachers. Their certitude in Armageddon, along with their offer of an escape hatch, makes converts of a growing number of mainstream, middle to upper-middle class Americans. Dispensationalists attend a variety of Protestant churches, including those known as charismatic. They represent 15 to 20 percent of the 16-million member Southern Baptist Convention. They also are members of so-called Bible churches and megachurches, such as those attended by Special Prosecutor Kenneth Starr in McLean, Virginia, and U.S. Congressman Tom DeLay in Sugar Land, a suburb of Houston.

What separates constructive religious impulses from destructive ones? How does someone who begins by contemplating his relationship with God end by committing an act of murder? Some argue that religiously motivated evil always represents a corruption of true religion. Others are quick to suggest that religion itself all religion is the root of extremist violence.

This is the first book to journey to the heart of religious militancy. Dr. Neil J. Kressel, who has spent decades researching genocide, terrorism, and anti-Semitism, brings to bear the insights of psychology and social science on this significant and critical problem. For those tired of simplistic bromides and obfuscating talk about the causes of religious terrorism, Kressel offers a clear and enlightening analysis of when and how religions become capable of inspiring evil. Specifically, he addresses the following key issues:

· Are some religions, religious doctrines, and religious practices more apt to inspire hatred and extremism than others?

· Are people who commit evil acts in the name of their faith always corrupting the true message of religion and, if so, what is that message?

· Do other members of the same faith bear any responsibility for misdeeds carried out in the name of their religion?

· Which sorts of people are most prone to extremism?

· Which types of societies are most likely to become breeding grounds for extremists?

· Can (or should) anything be done to combat the various forms of religious extremism? What limits, if any, can (or should) be placed on religious practice in America and elsewhere?

We don't like to admit it, but anyone who honestly evaluates the church's life and outlook will understand that these are not good days for evangelicalism. We've achieved success, but in a worldly sort of way--big numbers, big budgets, and big outreaches. Yet church attendance is actually down and alleged "born again" believers do not differ significantly in their worldview from their neighbors. Why? We have forgotten our theology and, consciously or not, have pursued the wisdom of the world, accepted its "doctrines," and utilized its methods.

Pastor James Montgomery Boice believed that our ignorance of God and neglect of the gospel of grace is the root of the problem. Here he identifies what's happening within the church and explains how the five doctrinal truths that transformed the world during the Reformation not only offer the solution but can shape a renewal today.

By offering people what they desperately lack--the Word of God and salvation through Christ--rather than giving them an imitation of what they already have, we will see Christianity thrive once again. And in holding fervently to the foundational truths of the gospel, we will know the power of spiritual renewal in our churches.

"Without these five confessional statements--Scripture alone, Christ alone, grace alone, faith alone, and glory to God alone--we do not have a true church, and certainly not one that will survive for very long. For how can any church be a true and faithful church if it does not stand for Scripture alone, is not committed to a biblical gospel, and does not exist for God's glory? A church without these convictions has ceased to be a true church, whatever else it may be." --James Montgomery Boice