Fundamentalists v. Moderates

[Tobiahsgirl]

Yes, perhaps someone should define "moderates." I definitely agree that mainstream Christians have been incredibly spineless when it comes to criticizing American fundamentalism, but they're generally spineless about anything that might cause them to veer for a second off a well-trod path of conformity.However, liberal or progressive Christians have been quite vocal in their criticism of fundamentalism; they just happen to be a minority that the media conveniently ignores. Every asinine idiocy that is vomited out by Pat Robertson gets media play, but I see that John Shelby Spong, Bruce Bawer, etc., etc., aren't even listed in Sam Harris's index. A criticism of the media by Bawer makes the point that journalists all across the spectrum in the U.S. tend to know nothing about religion, so they have allowed the right wing to define it, and often play the right-wing views without asking critical questions or including other points of view (see the reference in Stealing Jesus to Mike Wallace's interview with Gordon Hinckley, at that time head of the Mormon church).And I'm not sure I agree about the nonlethality of American fundamentalists, but that's probably not for this thread.