Fundamentalists Often Manifest A Mentality Under Siege Essay

Register to read the introduction… Fundamentalists often manifest a mentality under siege. They see the world as filled with chaos and evil. Believing themselves to be the chosen ones being prepared for heaven, they see it as an enemy that constantly attacks them. How they defend themselves? The essence of their response is: “You build a fortress of protection. You live inside of this fortress with your brothers and sisters who have that same experience of being born again, while the world around you is collapsing.” The siege mentality is revealed in their preference for military images like: “Put on the armor of truth; Onward Christian soldiers; we are embarked on a holy war; and the battle of Armaggedon is coming.”

Some fundamentalists believe that the enemies of our world are socialism and communism. Having identified them, they will take care of protecting people against these evils. Such an attitude is highly appreciated by the rightist power brokers. The more people stay out of politics and social issues, the easier it becomes for rightist politicians to impose their conservative capitalist agenda on the whole society. …show more content…
Many fundamentalists are sectarian. They believe that “we are right and everyone else is wrong.” They think in the form of an anti-thesis. Statements are either true or false. One is either saved or condemned. We either opt for God or for the devil. We must either be for creation or for evolution. Such an antithetic thinking has an underlying approach to knowing. It is a form of rationalism, which teaches that all knowing must be certain and clear, and expressed in doubtless proportions. It views truth as literal truth. It means that if something is true, it must be true historically or