About all those fundamentalisms

I think deep concern about Islamic fundamentalism is as important these days as deep concern about nuclear proliferation. But it is terribly sad to see so many Christians sweating bb's over the Muslim fundamentalist in Iraq or Pakistan while not paying an ounce of attention to the Christian fundamentalist next door.

How in a supposedly educated country like ours can we there be so many evolution deniers? How can millions of believers read a Bible written over a period of some 900 years as if it were a history and science text book? How can there be so many adherents of Rapture "theology" and the merciless "divine" violence that is supposed to come with it? How can so many who go by the name Christian wring their hands over the Koran (that they have not read) and not even blink when they pray the psalms in their own Bible and come across "Happy shall they be who pay you back what you have done to us! Happy shall they be who take your little ones and dash them against the rock!" (Those are the final words of Psalm 137; for another example, take a look at the whole of Psalm 109.)

For an excellent piece on religious fundamentalisms (yes, plural for sure), read Andrew Sullivan's article in the current TIME (print and online). It entitled "When Not Seeing Is Believing."