In our travels in, through, and out of fundyland almost all of us have encountered at least one or two people there who make us wish that more fundamentalists were like them.
Today’s challenge is to recall a fundy or two who encouraged, helped, or showed kindness to you even in the midst of an otherwise terrible time.
Ron Hamilton is one of the strange examples of someone who has managed to flit between fundy camps without having most folks take shots at him. He’s married to the daughter of the BJU Godfather of music…but still manages to be revered at PCC, show up to the Hyles Pastor’s School, and here is being lauded at West Coast Baptist. That’s a minor miracle.
The best part about this video is some of the comments on Youtube, including the following:
This is not a Christ centered ministry. It is making a mockery of the faith. Pirates have nothing to do with the Christian faith. What is wrong with you people?! Four Americans who were delivering Bibles to Africa were murdered by pirates not to long ago.
There’s just no pleasing some people!
For the fundamentalist the Christian life is not a process but rather a series of specific moments of decision. This view of the spiritual as a constant stream of “right now” decisions creates a strange state where every emotion, trauma, or tragedy must be dealt with immediately rather than given time and space to work itself out.
If someone has burned down your house, shot your dog, and stolen your best camel you must immediately forgive, forget, and put it behind you. Stick a smile on your face, claim you’re letting go and letting God and move on with your life. Stages of grief are just a myth concocted by atheist psychologists who want your money.
After all it’s biblical! Let not the sun go down upon your wrath. Cast your burden on the Lord. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks. There’s no Scripture that says anything about “working through stuff,” right? To delay is to disobey.
Well, except for that pesky Job fellow who even though he was a righteous man still sat for a straight week without talking just to try to process the loss of his children. And David who spent a whole lot of time writing dark poetry and fiddling with his harp while running for his life. Not to mention Elijah who got so depressed he went out and lived in a cave for a while and asked God to just kill him and get it over with. For some strange reason none of them thought to just decide to smile and keep on keeping on.
The only possible answer is that those guys were just not as spiritual as the average fundamentalist. Divorce, Rape, Unjust Accusations, Death, Dismemberment, Financial Problems, Illness, Depression, Dysfunction…just make the decision to not let them matter. Move on. Just “give it to God,” “Lean on the everlasting arms,” “Smile a while and give your face a rest.” Do it right here in this instant and then you can quit bugging me about it.
Action is the key, do it immediately.
Wherever there is a fundamentalist institution that has managed to land itself in legal hot water, one can be assured that somewhere in the shadows will be support from the legal minds of the Christian Law Association.
As self-proclaimed “legal missionaries” the CLA are given donations by countless churches to defend those who are “facing difficulties for the Biblical faith.” In other words, they are The Fixers for fundamentalism.
For years, the front man for this organization has been Dr. David Gibbs Jr. (and more recently David Gibbs III) who showed up at least yearly at my Fundy U to preach and tell the good news of how our religious liberties were being defended in the highest courts in the land. As a student, I always looked forward to his sermons because even though they tended to be strong on legalism (stories of reading the Bible through every month spring to mind) they were as cogent as they were hilarious. A bit light on exegesis, perhaps, but still very entertaining.
It was only after I left those hallowed halls that I began to consider exactly what role the CLA plays in fundamentalism. As has been demonstrated over and over again, fundamentalists have more than their share of skeletons in the closet and those skeletons often involve some type of legal action. The links between Hyles and the CLA, for example, go back as far as the 1970s and can be documented right up to the present day with David Gibbs III being selected to hand out an award during the 2010 Pastors School at FBC Hammond. Dave Gibbs Jr. also routinely fills the pulpit next to men like Clarence Sexton and Scott Caudill. These are fundamentalists of the fundamentalists.
Consider, would anybody be more likely to know about the dirty secrets of churches, colleges, and schools than their legal counsel? Yet, knowing first hand exactly the caliber of people with whom they are dealing, the CLA not only continues to laud these institutions as righteous but they also take money from churches by characterizing this defense of fundyland as “missions.”
You can count on two things: 1) Fundamentalist churches and colleges will act stupidly and end up in court 2)More often than not the CLA will be somehow involved in cleaning up the mess.