fundamental-list mindset*

The Same-Sex Marriage issue.


I started out by wanting to research and explore the same-sex marriage (SSM) issue#, but ended up with a kind of rant against fundamentalism...

I've started to realise that what concerns me most of all in the whole debate is people's adoption of the fundamentalist mindset* as one of the foundational strategies for living their lives. I reject this attitude when it is found within me, within Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, etc. And I reject it no less in the Gay & Lesbian community. This mindset doesn't engender real movement towards truth, knowledge, understanding, or reality, but at the same time it appears to be the major weapon now being employed in the Australian forum, against people (possibly learned from many of "their opponents") who disagree with the LGBTIQ agenda. That is I wonder if the mindset has been a mimicking of what they saw done to them by a  fundamentalist Christianity - in regards to this issue specifically.

A mind, set on some goal or "way of thought"
can be a helpful tool to get things done.
We all know this from exploits, or in sport,
- our mind is the main organ of our fun.

Arriving at a "destination" needs
some thinking focused on necessities.
That's done by us (or someone else) who "feeds"
the plans to help provide for needs & dreams.

When doing this a lot of times, we find
the helpfulness of "lists" is apparent;
but if we let them overtake, they bind
us up till we've the mind of a _______(!)

- which speaks a lot, & almost understands.
It doesn't follow well much that it hears,
but memorizes "lines" to meet demands,
& bites, & flaps away when it has fears!

This mind-set works to keep all things controlled
& timely, so that things are working well.
It's fouled - by all the "expectations" doled
out by those other people "sent from Hell",

or - by some folk who don't lift a finger
within one's own "camp", they just seem to "chill".
Unspoken jealousies often linger
for fundamental lists can even spill

on further, into farther differences:
One's "self" is caught up in one's tiny list
of hopes, & dreams, and all our preferences.
The greater parent - Good Creator's missed!


* the fundamentalist mindset is hard to define, but I presently see it - at its core - as defining oneself as the primary instigator of one's own choices, beliefs, ideas & skills, & simultaneously by the kudos received from significant others for such initiatives. A corollary to this is that someone with a fundamentalist mindset doesn't give time to listening to others' view-points, for that would be to tacitly give credence to the others' ideologies. If someone with a fundamentalist mindset does listen to a person with an alternative view-point, it is likely to be in order to gain data for their ideological battle, or to steal any innovative ideas or approaches, to bolster their own mindset. In the world of someone with the fundamentalist mindset "self" & "ideology" are fused, thus "people" (- especially those who hold alternatives to one's own ideology) shrink to be simply vessels that contain ideologies. This leads people with a fundamentalist mindset to a predominantly "combative" way of talking with, & thinking about people who arrive at different conclusions to them. They often act as if any discussion about their choices, beliefs, ideas and skills, is a discussion about their own identity; if any of these are questioned, the basis for their identity is rocked, and they act as though they feel affronted that they even have to discuss this as an open question, perhaps because they feel that, then, one possible conclusion is that their own identity will be "diss-ed". For a person with a fundamentalist mindset, a primary way of asserting their identity and gaining kudos often involves making fun of those with different beliefs/practices.

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epilogue for curious Christian people: 

Have a look at the bible. There are heaps of lists there of what is really needed (the core fundamentals - as far as God is concerned). There is an order or priority with God's commands. If you're going to miss any, don't miss the BIG ones. In the words of:

Micah: "He has showed you, oh human, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God." Mic 6:8

Jesus (pulling together quotes from his bible and says "there is no other commandment more important than these two" and backs up another teacher's thinking on that too): Firstly "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength", and secondly "Love your neighbour as yourself."(Mark 12:28-34; Luke 10:25-37)

Dr. Luke (narrating an interchange Jesus had with two sisters who shared the same house): "As Jesus and his disciples went on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha welcomed him in her home. ³⁹ She had a sister named Mary, who sat down at the feet of the Lord and listened to his teaching. ⁴⁰ Martha was upset over all the work she had to do, so she came and said, “Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her to come and help me!”
⁴¹ The Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha! You are worried and troubled over so many things, ⁴² but just one is needed. Mary has chosen the right thing, and it will not be taken away from her.” " (Luke 10:38-42)

Paul (speaking to his off-sider against this "fundamentalist mindset" that had already ensconced  itself into the embryonic assembly of Jesus' people): " Don’t let them waste their time in endless discussion of myths and spiritual pedigrees. These things only lead to meaningless speculations,^[a] which don’t help people live a life of faith in God.^[b]
5 The purpose of my instruction is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith. ⁶ But some people have missed this whole point. They have turned away from these things and spend their time in meaningless discussions. ⁷ They want to be known as teachers of the law of Moses, but they don’t know what they are talking about, even though they speak so confidently." (I added the italics above) (1Tim 1:1-7)

John (speaking to a colleague against theologizing & power-wielding similar to the "fundamentalist mindset" that was already ensconcing itself into the embryonic assembly of Jesus' people): ^"Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son."  ....  "I wrote a short letter to the church; but Diotrephes, who likes to be their leader, will not pay any attention to what I say. ¹⁰ When I come, then, I will bring up everything he has done: the terrible things he says about us and the lies he tells! But that is not enough for him; he will not receive the Christians when they come, and even stops those who want to receive them and tries to drive them out of the church! ¹¹ My dear friend, do not imitate what is bad, but imitate what is good. Whoever does good belongs to God; whoever does what is bad has not seen God. ¹² Everyone speaks well of Demetrius; truth itself speaks well of him. And we add our testimony, and you know that what we say is true."(2 John 1:9; 3John 9-12)

epilogue for curious LGBTIQ people

Where do you find a non-fundamentalist mindset of humility in your world right now? One surprising and interesting story that springs to my mind is that of Oscar Wilde while he was in prison. If you're interested, checkout his book De Profundis.

# A record of some helpful data in searching so far through this issue, exists for those family & friends who are interested, and who are set on learning to be lovers of the truth in all its complexity and paradox, NOT living by the fundamentalist mindset*.