Bunker Mulligan "Let us endeavor so to live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry." ~Mark Twain

Christian Fundamentalism is being “blamed” for Kerry’s defeat in the polls. There are quite a few Democrats convinced that Karl Rove spun his magic on the Evangelicals in this country to cause them to rise up in opposition to Roe v. Wade and gay marriage.

The link above will take you to a site which attempts to explain what Fundamentalism is. And I doubt seriously whether the group identified in DNC talking points really exists as a unified force.

First, I need to let you know I was raised in what this site considers to be a Fundamentalist Church–Southern Baptist. I have to tell you that unless things have changed dramatically, Southern Baptists are not Fundamentalists as defined by:

• Biblical inerrancy
• The divinity of Jesus
• The Virgin Birth
• The belief that Jesus died to redeem humankind
• An expectation of the Second Coming, or physical return, of Jesus Christ to initiate his thousand-year rule of the Earth, which came to be known as the Millennium.

The second, third, and fourth were basic tenets, and the fifth was regarded as true to some extent. But the first was never, in my young mind, viewed as fact. Actually, what separated all Protestant Churches from the Roman Catholic religion was the belief that the Bible contained truths to be discerned by each person individually. Whereas the Catholic Church used priests to explain the Bible to their congregation, Protestant churches encouraged members to read and analyze it themselves. I do not know a single Christian who believes that every word in the Bible carries the hand of God. Unlike the Quran, which Muslims believe was dictated to Muhammed, and the Book of Morman, which members of the Church of Latter Day Saints believe was dictated to Joseph Smith, Protestants view the Bible as a guide to life, with lessons which can help in resolving moral issues. The Bible is the Word of God, but not in the same literal sense as the Quran and Book of Morman. And Christians tend to buy and read other books to help in resolving conflicts in the stories.

Having said all that, I need to point out what the heretics have to say:

American pollsters believe that 15-18% of US voters belong to churches or movements which subscribe to these teachings.

Okay. I’ll take the Guardian’s statistics as valid. Understanding the Guardian’s perspective, I would guess these numbers are a bit inflated, but I’ll accept them. I just read elswhere that about 30% of the members of those churches are Evangelical, and subscribe completely to the tenets of fundamentalism. Given that, approximately 5% of the voting population are these evil Fundamentalists. Remember, my Southern Baptist upbringing wasn’t quite as fundamental as these numbers would have us believe.

To put that into perspective, I would guess that at least 5% of the voting population are environmental fundamentalists, 5% are gay marriage fundamentalists, and another 5% are pro-abortion fundamentalists.

What may have actually happened on November 2 was that those of us who feel religious in the sense of moral values got fed up with being tagged as Fundamentalists. Does everyone who attends church regularly fit the mold? How about anyone who knows a few verses of scripture? Late in the campaign, John Kerry decided he needed to say he followed his faith. Is he a fundamentalist? George Bush follows his, and he is accused of being one.

The Fundamentalists believe God has a plan for our lives, and we are powerless to do anything about it. I don’t feel powerless. Do you?

If so, perhaps you are a Fundamentalist and didn’t realize it.