The older I get the more grateful I am that I never completely bought into fundamentalist dogma. I have been offered their Kool-Aid more times than I can count over the years. When I was growing up, Christian fundamentalism was really the only game I knew. You either believed it or nothing at all. Nevertheless, I remained unsure, and I never tried to convince myself that I was sure. And I never play-acted at being sure. Pretending not to have doubts never made any sense to me.
I have seen what fundamentalist dogma can do to members of my tribe. Many have twisted and contorted their psyches in a desperate attempt to conform to precepts that were not designed for them. Some didn’t survive the ordeal, and others were seriously wounded. But LGBT people are not the only ones who have been harmed. Many claim that falling in with so-called Bible-believing Christians is the best thing that ever happened to them, but you can tell just by looking into their eyes that part of them is gone. They parrot the authorized clichés, but their words sound hollow and disingenuous. And not only do they close themselves off from their true feelings, but many harden themselves toward those who refuse to go along with the program. Some push friends and family members away. Some cut themselves off from their own children. And for what? The illusion that they have all the answers and the mystery of life has been made plain to them. They want to believe that they are special, that they walk with Jesus, that they are the chosen ones, while all the rest of us need to be saved. Do they even fool themselves?
I have seen what fundamentalist dogma can do to members of my tribe. Many have twisted and contorted their psyches in a desperate attempt to conform to precepts that were not designed for them. Some didn’t survive the ordeal, and others were seriously wounded. But LGBT people are not the only ones who have been harmed. Many claim that falling in with so-called Bible-believing Christians is the best thing that ever happened to them, but you can tell just by looking into their eyes that part of them is gone. They parrot the authorized clichés, but their words sound hollow and disingenuous. And not only do they close themselves off from their true feelings, but many harden themselves toward those who refuse to go along with the program. Some push friends and family members away. Some cut themselves off from their own children. And for what? The illusion that they have all the answers and the mystery of life has been made plain to them. They want to believe that they are special, that they walk with Jesus, that they are the chosen ones, while all the rest of us need to be saved. Do they even fool themselves?
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