There runs through the fundamentalist belief system a deep dread of ambiguity, disorder and chaos. … It fosters a world of binary opposites: God and man, saved and unsaved, the church and the world, Christianity and secular humanism, male and female. These tidy pairings keep life from slipping back into a complicated nightmare. Reality, thus defined, is made predictable and understandable, something deeply comforting to believers who have had trouble coping with the messiness of human existence.. ~ Chris Hedges, American Fascists, p. 83

Black & white thinking ~ to me, this is the core definition of Fundamentalism.

Everything was either/or ~ which, as Hedges points out in his chapter titled “The Cult of Masculinity,” really does simplify the decision-making process and made our otherwise-overwhelming-world neat and tidy and easily comprehensible.

This is part 2 of a review of the chapter titled, “The Cult of Masculinity” from Chris Hedges’ book, American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America. Click here for part 1. by Vyckie “The hypermasculinity of radical Christian conservativism, which crushes the independence and self-expression of women, is a way for men in the movement to compensate for the curtailing of their own independence, their abject obedience to church authorities and the calls for sexual restraint.” Chris Hedges hit the nail on the head in this chapter when he explains the paradox of Full post …

by Vyckie Several years ago when I first began corresponding with my uncle, Ron, he referred me to an article on Alternet about Christian Dominionism ~ this was my first introduction to Chris Hedges, author of American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America. I was amazed ~ and as a devoted Christian, more than a little perturbed ~ at Hedges insight into what motivates radical fundamentalist Christians ~ namely, fear, self-loathing, and the culture of despair. I identified with the pro-life women whom Hedges interviewed, and was quite dismayed to find that I Full post …