Notes on Religious Fundamentalism, and its erosion of itself from within:
1. HEAVEN. The Fundamentalist is seeking to control. He chooses the easiest path -- to suppress others. It is easier to stop things than to permit things to grow, and the hardest of all is to contribute to growth. The Fundamentalist does not desire Heaven, but rather is jealous of it. The jealousy of kite-flying, of music, of dance, of the arts, is not because these activities are not righteous, but because they move us closer to heaven, wholesale. The Fundamentalist is buried in Hell. He wants to charge us for Grace, retail.
2. TIME. The Fundamentalist wants to stop the passage of Time. He seeks to stop everything. For example, it seems inconceivable to forbid the playing of music. One can only wonder that anyone would do such a thing. Yet that is one of the first things a Fundamentalist insists upon. To stop the flow of music is exactly like trying to stop the passage of time. The Fundamentalist forsakes the Past, dispenses with NOW, and lives only for his hope of Vengence in the future.
3. BELIEF. The Fundamentalist appears to be strict in his observances. He claims to believe certain things. however, this is an illusion. He is profligate -- throwing even his own better talents and judgments into the bushel basket of suppression. This can only be understood as a great waste. And his nihilism is revealed to the extent that he seeks to prevent others from flowering as they would. There is no Belief which justifies suppression of others. No real Truth requires suppression of error. The suppression of others' reveals the lack of substance or Truth in the Fundamentalists' beliefs.
4. FEAR. The Fundamentalist is all about fear. All attempts to extinguish or annihilate disbelievers are admissions of the insecurity of the Believer. Religion is the mother of fear. Curiously, the Cave Paintings of Lescaux and Chauvet (and 10,000 other preserved sites) are very revealing about true "fundamentals". There is not a single depiction of a King, a Priest, a God, or even a hierarchy. The works created prior to any of the current "religions" seem designed to inspire many things, but they do not inspire FEAR!
5. CONCLUSIONS. We are left with a few hard conclusions. Let's review. We have heaven and hell, here and now. People who leave others alone, enable others to choose and even create their heaven or hell. The Fundamentalist fights for hell. He wants to stop the passage of time, as if there is no difference between our episodes of eternity. The Fundamentalist does not believe in "fundamental" things, except Fear alone. He believes in nothing, but his many fears. He must suppress others, because he has nothing to offer. Fundamentalism is entropic. A dead end.
