Christian Witness in the Context of
Religious Fundamentalism
31st October 2004

Introduction
If you criticize some religion or told him the truth about their religion or your religion, you may be also hanged by neck till death. This is religious fundamentalism at its extreme. No matter where we live today in the world we are affected and are concerned with the activities of the fundamentalists. People are shocked when they read about the crimes of such people. They are trained and brainwashed in such a way that it is very easy for them to kill. They are not afraid of being killed either. In order to create terror and fear among people, they freely make use of violence. They go to any extremes.
Indian experience with fundamentalism has been bloody and traumatic. Mahatma Gandhi, before he could fully take the fresh air of independent India, fell victim to a Hindu fundamentalist's bullets. Today is the 20th Anniversay of Indira Gandhi’s death. She was gunned down by her own Sikh bodyguard in the aftermath of the Sikh fundamentalist movement that swept through the vibrant state of Punjab in the early 1980s. And a female suicide bomber of the Tamil fundamentalist group from Sri Lanka blew up Indira's son Rajiv Gandhi, who had succeeded her as Prime Minister.
Three decades ago, the Encyclopedia Britannica described them as "a motley group of theologically conservative communities which emphasize total and even literal inspiration from the Holy Scriptures and their absolute authority in matters of faith and works." The term eventually came to be used for all religious movements that seek to return to "fundamentals" and to any movement seeking political power for the purpose of governing according to religious values.
What is Fundamentalism?
The term fundamentalist is used in secular literature these days to describe virtually anyone who has a religious objection to anything. Religious literature seems to associate the word fundamentalist with the label ultraconservative. The thing that gets lost in all this labeling and name-calling is the argument that is at the core of the disagreement.
Christian Religious Fundamentalism?
In the Christian religious sphere, the problem with fundamentalism is that it depends upon humans. Not everyone agrees on the matters of faith, we have literally hundreds of divisions among those who claim to be religious fundamentalists in their following of Jesus Christ. In one way religious fundamentalism has done an incredible amount of damage. Human creeds, doctrines, and belief systems have biased people's understandings of the Bible.
We find in the Gospel of Saint Luke (chapter 9) a typical and interesting case of a concrete fundamentalist attitude. We read: “They (Jesus and the disciples) went to a Samaritan village to make preparations for him, but the people would not receive him because he was going for Jerusalem. Seeing this, the disciples James and John said: ‘Lord do you want us to call down fire from heaven to burn them up?’ But he turned and rebuked them, and they went on to another village” (Lk 9:51-55).
The two disciples seem to show in this incident a concrete fundamentalist attitude: a Samaritan village did not receive Jesus, so James and John who did not yet understand the spirit of Jesus, wanted simply to burn up the village with a fire coming from heaven. This is one among many aspects of Fundamentalism: the condemnation of those who are different in their belief. It is the incapacity to accept and respect who is different.
In the context of the Catholic Church during the II Vatican Council, the term "fundamentalist" started to be used to refer to Catholics who rejected the changes, and wished to retain traditional beliefs and practices. Thus it became a commonly used word to describe the most conservative groups within Christianity: both for the Protestants and for the Catholics.
Main Characteristic of the Religious Fundamentalists:
1. Total rejection of rationality; therefore, the fundamentalists try to popularize their beliefs after mobilizing the emotions of people.
2. Not believing in human reason, they rely on the divine power to lead humanity on the right path.
3. They are not ready to have any compromise about their beliefs.
4. As they regard themselves true, rightly guided followers of religion, they treat all others as their enemy.
5. They are ready to sacrifice their lives for the sake of their beliefs. Similarly they are also ready to kill their religious opponents as misguided people.
6. Once they monopolize the truthfulness and declare all others as sinners they loose all respect for the democratic institutions, human rights, and human values and fanatically make attempts to thrust their religious views on others even by adopting violent methods.
Unhealthy Characteristics of Religious Fundamentalism
One Father Arnold has identified five unhealthy characteristics of religious fundamentalism in general.
1) It is marked by fear and self-righteousness. There is always some terrible enemy out there that has to be fought and ultimately destroyed.
2) It is marked by fear and anger directed not only against the enemy outside but even more intensely against the enemy within, including religious authority.
3) Fundamentalists are captivated by the "myth of the Golden Age."
4) For the fundamentalist all truth is to be found in a single source. For the Muslim, it is the Koran. For the Jew, the Torah. For Protestants, the Bible. And for Catholics, the Bible and the pronouncements of the Pope and the Roman Curia.
5) The fundamentalists tend to link themselves with right-wing political regimes and movements in the hope of advancing their own theocratic policies.
Christian Witness in the Context of Religious Fundamentalism
Reacting to religious fundamentalism may cause the life. The general public is afraid to react because if some one talks or acts against them, the punishment from the religious terrorists comes fast and it is terrible. Sometimes the whole family is brutally slaughtered. It creates terror. Even we priests and religious are scared and prefer to close our eyes hoping that the horror will pass away.
The fundamentalists want that they should return to the glorious past. And very often, the call of the fundamentalist’s call is responded very positively. This leads to a significant religious activism. Different groups make claims for their truthfulness and it results in battle lines. Lot of energy is spent on these domestic duels.
In the world today, the church will be as relevant and vibrant as the response we give to this basic issue of religious fundamentalism and violence. Sorry to say that sometimes we clergy and other church leaders, leave the wounded and dying to their own lot, and proceed to fulfill our "religious" duties as the priest and the Levite in the episode of the good Samaritan.
GET INVOLVED
Each one of us has this obligation. Each Christian, be he a simple layman or a high-ranking official, is told by Lord Jesus not to by pass a wounded (physically, morally, psychologically, socially or financially) person. Get involved even if it may be dangerous. How often has Lord Jesus told us not to be afraid. Cowards, according to the Sacred Scriptures shall not enter the Kingdom of Heaven (Rev. 21: 8).
To any fundamentalist we have to give the answer, "I may be very weak, but united in the name of our Lord Jesus, we are very strong". "We live in the flesh, of course, but the muscles that we fight with are not flesh. Our war is not fought with weapons of flesh, yet they are strong enough, in God's cause, to demolish fortresses" (2 Cor 10: 3,4).
GET ORGANISED
Our answer to violence must be inter-denominational and Inter-religious. We would never dream of holding a rally or organizing a protest without the official and full participation of the other Christian denominations. The representatives of all the denominations plan together, decide together and act together. It was wonderful to read what a Protestant pastor said to a Catholic Bishop after his arrest warrant was issued, "Bishop if you are in prison, part of us will be in prison too, because all of us together form the body of Christ".

There are many from other non-Christian religions who are convinced that each human being must contribute personally towards combating and eradicating violence and terrorism. These are individuals like lawyers, professors, doctors and some journalists. We must welcome them with full confidence. Then there are human rights groups. We must approach them and work in close co-operation with them. This is one of the secrets of the success that we have had in our struggle so far.
We must not forget any section of the society: The local leaders called the head-men, the women and the youth. Before starting a major action against an injustice, we consult, not only the church leaders, but also the lay people with full seriousness.
OUR RESPONSE MUST BE ABSOLUTELY NON-VIOLENT:
If even one stone is thrown from our procession against a window, we are not Christians and we lose every right to demonstrate against violence. Abuses are publicly thrown at us in the public get-togethers of the fundamentalists. We calm ourselves considering these abuses that we get while working for peace and basic human rights are like gold medals for us. Jesus said, "blessed are you, if you are reviled for my name's sake". Under no circumstances do we permit retaliation or revenge.
Against Religious Fundamentalism, we have to pray and conduct Bible services. We all should promise to Lord Jesus Christ that we ourselves will remain peaceful and keep others also peaceful. This promise in the Church is important for the youth, who have a tendency to retaliate. This tendency must be entirely subdued through motivation, long training and Christian commitment.
COORDINATION AND COOPERATION WITH DIFFERENT NGOs:
The NGOs can be very helpful to our apostolate for peace, especially those which work for the rights of children, women, bonded labourers, workers for the landlords etc. Also the groups, which are working against police torture, custodial death and imprisoning without any charge or process.
Christianity Resists Fundamentalism
A basic true religious vision should be there: an Explanation of Genesis 1: 26. God created man in God’s image and likeness. God is the Creator of all the persons. The dignity of each person is God-given. We are all equal in this dignity. From this we have the equality of persons in their rights and duties as well as the necessity for each of us to recognize and respect the rights of others and not to hinder the fulfillment of their duties nor the demand for their rights. Every person and every people have the right and the duty to defend their rights when violated and to enjoy complete freedom in exercising their duties and in defending their rights. Every person and every people must be aided in this pursuit of justice, because justice guarantees peace for all. Without justice, that is, whenever rights are being violated, the way of peace remains closed.
Another principle in our basic vision is: only the ways of peace can lead to peace. Through violence a war or a battle may be won. A state can be created by force. But peace will only be the fruit of peace.
Religion penetrates and influences all actions both private and public. Everything is placed under the name of God. Everything begins and ends in the name of God. War begins in the name of God, and peace agreements as well. That is why the voice and directives of religious leaders can have a decisive influence on the faithful of one side as well as the other. They can incite the people to war and to violence, or invite them to peace.
Dialogue in all the levels:
It is a two-way conversation by which both the parties understand each other, mutually giving and taking the ideas. The result of it is a better or a deeper understanding of the other. Generally the fundamentalist do not go for a discussion or dialogue. But it should be done between the rationals of the same religion.
Tolerance
It is not just a let go mentality. But a sincere attitude of respecting and loving the other as he is without hindering his ways and believes.

CONCLUSION:
I quote the strong and encouraging words of the Holy Father, John Paul 11. I used to admire at the courage of the Roman Pontiff with which he announces the doctrine of the Church and the real message of Jesus Christ, our Saviour. He is not afraid what the third world nations will think about the social teachings of the Catholic Church. The dictators of this world are scared of this man of peace and equality. In his 1985 message of peace, addressed to the youth but equally valid for each one of us, the Holy Father writes:

The appeal I want to address to you, young men and women of today, is this: "Do not be afraid! When I look at you, I feel great gratitude and hope... The future of peace lies in your hands. To construct history, as you can and must, you must free history from the false paths it is pursuing. To do this, you must be people with a deep trust in man and a deep trust in the grandeur of the human vocation - a vocation to be pursued with respect for truth and for dignity and inviolable rights of the human person... In this situation, some of you may be tempted to take flight from responsibility. (Message for the Day of Peace, 1 January 1985).