| The Press, Fundamentalists and Evangelicals |
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| Noticed News |
| Monday, 09 February 2009 12:12 |
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"The Evolution of Fundamentalism," that the press is missing the differences between many evangelicals and fundamentalists. He points to ways that fundamentalists have nuanced their image since 9/11 to appear less extreme. "The question of verbal or plenary inspiration hardly drives the national debate, but fundamentalism's evolution from anti-modernity into a more broadly accepted evangelicalism masks serious differences - theological, social and political. Part of it is due to an effort by "fundamentalist" leaders to nuance their beliefs. These are not stupid people. They understand 9/11 changed the world; that any word tied to fundamentalism and Muslim fanaticism carries societal scorn and rejection." There is a tremendous amount of diversity among Christians in America, yet it does appear that the fundamentalists get the microphone more often than not. Is that the fault of the press? Are fundamentalists more media savvy? Are moderated Christian voices really less visible? What do you think?
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Comments (1)
  written by droslovinia, February 10, 2009
I'm sorry. I thought this was an article about the first three horsemen of the Apocalypse. It's a scary thing to see those words together at the beginning of the day. Is it the press's fault? Absolutely, but then, the radical right and the conservative corporations that own the press drive the bus here, and there has been an unholy alliance between them and conservative fundamnmenalists, with each using the other to get what it wants while denying everything. Are they more media savvy? Probably, but they're definitely more pragmatic about communications, and that goes a long way. Are moderated voices less visible? Absolutely, and it has a lot to do with our "sound bite" culture, which prefers to cultivate extremes rather than spend time on nuanced positions. Thoughts? Basically, I am concerned that moderate voices do not get to frame the debate, which has led a large number of people in our culture to paint Christians with some very unflattering colors and portray Christ in a particularly disturbing light. Let's not also forget that fundamnmentelism cuts both ways, and there are a (much much much much much much smaller) number of liberal fundamnmentalists out there who would evidently do the same things as their conservative brothers if they had half a chance. Each may need the other to survive, while we're caught in the middle.
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