Baptist fundamentalists are traditionally opposed to those who believe that the kingdom of God is now come upon us. In their view, this present world is ruled by Satan and things are waxing worse and worse and the days are getting darker and darker in preparation for the Rapture of the church (mostly for Baptists), the terribly seven year tribulation (mostly for everybody else), and then Jesus coming back to kill everybody who is left. Well, everybody except Israel that is. They get a pass.

While that viewpoint of the end times is well within the realm of orthodoxy and not at all restricted to Baptist fundamentalists, many in the fundy crowd have taken it in typical fashion and turned it into a license to focus all their energies on only one thing: soulwinning. For if the end of the world is nigh and people could only be a second from slipping into an eternal hell, then the only possible concern we should have is getting as many people to pray The Prayer as possible before Jesus shows up. Nothing else matters.

This explains why in fundyland most social concerns like feeding the poor and treating the sick are far secondary to this work of “getting people saved.” Unless you’re using food or medicine as bait for a gospel trap, there’s no good reason to bother with them. And anything having to do with environmental concerns is right out. Why spend time trying to save the planet when it’s all going to burn?

This reasoning also explains why a common accusation against those who are talking about scandals and evil being perpetrated in fundyland are often accused of “KEEPING PEOPLE FROM GETTING SAVED.” After all, what’s a little temporary abuse and anguish and torment? Exposing the truth will keep people away from our church and we’re the only ones around getting people to The Prayer. If you keep them from coming to our church then their blood will be required at your hand.

He that giveth to the poor…should probably be making better use of his time and money in these last days.