Why does fundamentalism have such a broad appeal? ?

Question

And is the greatest philosophical problem of fundamentalism is that it denies the power of God?

Answer 1

Fundamentalism is simply a belief in the literal interpretation of the Bible.  I sure don't know where you're coming from with this.

Answer 2

It's easier to let someone else think for you than to have to do it yourself.  Plus, people like feeling "right", and fundamentalism teaches people that they and only they are "right".  It's an ego trip.

Answer 3

It totally wipes out logic and reason and eliminates accountability while giving the individuals a blank slate to do or say anything they want, no matter how crazy, in the name of their god

Answer 4

Lowest common denominator appeal, like sitcoms and football.

Answer 5

You would probably consider me a fundamentalist (although I am quite sure a fundamentalist would not).  Fundamentalists do not have broad appeal.  By definition fundamentalists are committed to the central fundamentals of the Bible.  

I know I exalt in the absolute sovereign power of God, so am not sure what philosophical problem you are thinking of.

Answer 6

It does not have much appeal. If one believes that the Bible

is literal and without error, one would be in a distinct and small minority.

Answer 7

It has such broad appeal because people are searching for something real, and many other branches of Christianity have deviated from what the Bible teaches.  People aren't necessarily looking to feel comfortable, but rather to be challenged by something that is uncompromising in nature.

Answer 8

1.  To complex questions there are usually attractive and apparently simple answers which are wrong.

2.  Most people can follow an argument through two or three "if - thens".  Go more than that and you lose them.

3.  Half the population of any nation are below average intelligence.

4.  Many people forget much of what they learned in school six weeks after they walk out the door for the final time.  Much of it was poorly taught in the first place, if at all.

5.  There are organisations whose mission it is to propagate and exploit low intelligence, poor education, bad arguments and attractive and apparently simple answers.  Some of these are businesses that sell dubious products.  Some are cults.  Some are political parties.  Some are the Discovery Institute.  

Answer 9

It has broad appeal because it makes people feel safe and secure and it takes away some of their personal responsibility and risk. If things don't work out it's God's will.

It's a big box of feel good chocolate basically.

Answer 10

Besides the appeal to vanity ('join us and you can be one of God's chosen'), and its appeal to fear ('you can't be saved without us'), its broad appeal is because it offers an easy way -- a fundamentalist need not think deeply about doctrine or be highly educated in it.

If you surrender your right to think for yourself and just do as the leader asks, the fundamentalist promises you a sure ticket into heaven. What could be easier?

Does it deny the power of God?

I say a resounding YES.

Gott Mit Uns (God is with us) proclaimed the belt buckles of the n**i SS storm troopers. Of course, every religious fundamentalist makes the same claim. The way that the fundamentalist justifies the exercise of his influence and power in society is that God is on his side, and needs his efforts to see that God's work is done.

To make the claim that God needs one's efforts is a flat-out denial of the power of God.

Why, then, must God require the services of the fundamentalist to ensure that His will happens in the Universe?

If the homosexual were as abhorrent to God as most fundamentalists imply, the homosexual wouldn't last a millisecond. Otherwise, God cannot be omnipotent. Why would an omnipotent God need someone else to persecute the homosexual for Him?

The reason that fundamentalism makes the claim that God needs his services is that it flatters the fundamentalist. He gets a self-stroke out of the deal. Makes him feel good about himself and what he's doing.

But it doesn't stop there. When you figure God is on your side, you can justify almost anything.

Another appeal, equally damaging, is the notion that you're one of "God's chosen." Such an idea is an outright appeal to vanity and ego. Here the unspoken implication is that if you're one of God's chosen, the other fellow isn't, and that you're somehow therefore better.

This appeal to vanity can set the fundamentalist apart in his own mind from his peers. It can justify a certain arrogance in thinking he is superior.

Another belief common to fundamentalists is that they are somehow less vulnerable to the vicissitudes of life. God will somehow protect him, because he is chosen to do God's will. Of course if that were actually true, it would be reflected in statistical analysis. Science has studied this problem extensively and has never been able to show a correlation between fundamentalist belief and any measure of well-being. To the fundamentalist who holds this view, however, it just means science is wrong.

Fundamentalism often justifies hatred in the minds of its adherents. This is undoubtedly the most dangerous aspect of fundamentalism. The idea that God hates the same people you do is particularly gratifying in that it makes the indulgence in hatred not only acceptable, but somehow approved and even encouraged by God.

Sincere people who come to religion often come as a result of guilt and shame. Such a motivator often leads the seeker to a fundamentalist religion which tries to assure the follower that he need not concern himself with his guilt and shame because of some doctrine which exempts him from responsibility for the situations that cause that guilt and shame.

That sense of exemption relieves the guilt and shame, and thereby makes the follower feel good. That good feeling is then often associated with the notion that the follower has been 'saved.' Often the price the religion extracts for that 'salvation' is a requirement to contribute to the church or to proselytization its behalf, or at bare minimum, conformity to the doctrine and the advice of the leadership. Hence, the follower is made loyal to the religion which has relieved him of that guilt and shame, and a true-believer and often zealous advocate is born.

The fundamentalist believes that he is right. Period.

The purpose of religion is to teach love, both for self and for others. When one has self-love and self-respect, one respects others, because one sees reflected in others the empathy, compassion and love one sees in oneself. It is this insight that the founding prophets of all major religions have tried to convey to their followers. It is arriving at the point of living this ideal that has been, from the beginning of time, the goal of the sincere seeker and the true, undefiled religion.

Achieving this self-love, however, can be difficult. It requires self-examination, which at times can be intensely painful. Not everyone is up to that kind of self-discipline.

If making the worshipper feel good is all you're after, and you don't care how you do it, the easiest way to do it is to assure him his prejudices are approved by God. Make him feel that he doesn't have to change because he's already arrived at salvation, or, as in the case of the Christian doctrine of redemption, someone else has agreed to pay for his mistakes, or you or God can make the changes for him, and you have a loyal church member. It's, oh, so much easier than telling him he has t