Fundamentally Wrong

In a recent interview in GQ magazine, former President Jimmy Carter described Christian fundamentalists thusly:

I define fundamentalism as a group of invariably male leaders who consider themselves superior to other believers. The fundamentalists believe they have a special relationship with God. Therefore their beliefs are inherently correct, being those of God, and anyone who disagrees with them are first of all wrong, and second inferior, and in extreme cases even subhuman. Also, fundamentalists don't relish any challenge to their positions ... It makes a great exhibition of rigidity and superiority and exclusion.

Isn't it nifty how having once served as President of the United States automatically graces one with the right of newly defining words that have been around for ages? "Invariably male leaders?" Who's this guy kidding? I think large numbers of evangelical women believe otherwise.

The hubris he projects onto his political and ideological opponents is one in which he is well-steeped, given the brazen arrogance of his remarks. The notion that fundamentalists assume those who disagree with them are inferior on a personal level, or subhuman, is patently absurd. Further, the point about bristling when challenged is inane, since human beings of any creed or religion generally don't bask in having their intellectual positions challenged. This is in no way exclusively characteristic of fundamentalists.

I consider myself a Christian fundamentalist. What's the real definition? Someone who believes the Bible is the Holy and inerrant Word of God, and who takes its teachings seriously. I've been around people I'd describe as fundamentalists all of my life; and not once have I ever met one who even remotely exemplifies Carter's characterization. I know the former president enjoys writing fiction, but it seems he's failed in distinguishing it from the real world.

No, his is a typical leftist description of fundamentalists--an observation usually touted by people who know less than nothing about those of whom they speak. I've heard the same gibberish regurgitated at Vox's blog, with regularity. Carter--and others of his ilk--paint with a mile-wide brush in describing fundamentalism--as if there's no discernible difference between Bible-believing Christians and ecstatic jihadis all gussied up in their best Allah-go-to-meetin' bombvests. It sickens me, not just because it's a filthy lie and creates hatred and distrust where none should exist; but it's an easily disproven lie.

I'm not sure if Carter is willfully ignorant, or engaging in conscious falsehoods. But those who embrace his revisionism do so at the expense of truth.