Fundamentalism

[debka_notion]

I think back in high school I wrote something about the perils of fundamentalism. I really don't remember what I wrote, but it's probably still online on my geocities website. It's funny to think about- that (asI think I mentioned recently) my mom looks at my religious outlook, and pretty much sees something fairly fundamentalist. And in some ways, I suppose that she's right, from a secular viewpoint. I can't see it myself though: I can't see someone who is gender-egalitarian as a fundamentalist in Judaism, especially not someone who is more than willing to compromise about Torah MiSinai (the belief that the Torah was given complete from G-d to Moses on Mount Sinai, and that hte entire Oral Law was also given at that time), even if the latter idea is one that has Plenty of backing in traditional sources. Maybe that says something about the current state of Jewish theology as much, or more so than it does about my own beliefs and behaviors, but I always did see fundamentalism as something based on belief, not behavior. But perhaps that is because it's a term I first learned as associated with Christianity, which deals far more strictly and detailedly(as far as I can tell) with theology in comparison to practice than observant forms of Judaism do. I do wonder if, by that definition, one could call someone who is completely non-practicing, but believes in Torah MiSinai a fundamentalist. Yet that seems to miss some part of the package as well.

Comments

[gelishan.livejournal.com]

I've never encountered anyone who called themselves a fundamentalist. I don't know where the term came from, but I've never heard anyone use it positively, which is something I find interesting: is it just the set of people I spend time around, or is it a universal connotation of the term?

[debka-notion.livejournal.com]

I have one friend who jokingly called himself a fundamentalist- but only in doing so in describing himself as someone else would see him. But well- I imagine that it could be taken reasonably positively by someone who really believes in that set of ideals. More than this, I know not.

[doctor-nine.livejournal.com]

When the term "fundamentalist" was coined, by reform Protestant movements such as the Methodists, it was meant as a positive. They were trying to distinguish themselves from groups that were less focused on belief in the literal truth of the Bible.

[belu.livejournal.com]

Hm. I've generally seen in 'fundamentalist' a desire to force others to also hold their religious views, or at least to hold the values coming from such views, that being, of course, a bad thing. Certainly in this country, this is predominantly a Christian trait. These fundamentalists may or may not actually themselves act in accordance with what the religion mandates, which is how I see being observant.

There might be a more correct word for what I call fundamentalist ('evangelical', perhaps), but 'fundamentalist' has a negative connotation which alternatives seem to lack.

[debka-notion.livejournal.com]

Hmm- fundamentalist I've learned to mean 'taking one's primary texts at face value without lots of interpretation or selection of what you're going ot believe', while evangelical means being interested/involved in persuading others to convert to your belief system.

[shirei-shibolim.livejournal.com]

Technically, to evangelize is to describe your religious experience(s) in a public forum for the edification of your co-religionists. Not to be confused with proselytism, though it usually is.

[debka-notion.livejournal.com]

Ooh- thanks. Never heard that, somehow.

[shirei-shibolim.livejournal.com]

There are actually traditional sources that say the oral law was derived logically from the written law. You just don't hear about them much these days.

Besides, being a fundamentalist Conservative Jew means you have to believe that Moshe Rabbeinu wrote the driving teshuvah. :)

[debka-notion.livejournal.com]

Oh, I know. There are perfectly traditional (well, I *think* it's kabbalistic, so as traditional as kabbalah can be considered, which depends on your view point, I suppose) sources that suggest that the only thing given on Mt. Sinai was an aleph. But you don't hear much about those these days either, darn it.

I like that one...

More to the point . . .

[shirei-shibolim.livejournal.com]

I don't think that "fundamentalism," as it is used in modern American English, can be applied to any Jewish group other than Karaites. The general tone behind the word is that the personality being described accepts the entire foundational text of his religion as literally true, and rabbinic Judaism doesn't do that.

Re: More to the point . . .

[debka-notion.livejournal.com]

Speaking of Karaites- I found the neatest book of Karaite liturgy/ritual/texts at the library at work. I only looked through a little bit of it during a quick break, but it was really neat stuff. The wedding ceremony I looked at seemed like a very neat cross between stuff that seems familiar to us, and an Indian wedding (in the sense that the wedding seems to involve a lot of travelling, with Psalms and songs being sung the whole time). I think I need to start spending my lunch breaks in the library there...