Sydney/Auckland,Doubleday,1995,213 pp.
"My intention has been to look at the threat which the Fundamentalist mentality presents in as wide a range of contexts as possible …"
So writes Peter Cameron in his preface. He then proceeds to isolate the key concerns as being security and power. Fundamentalism deals in absolutes, allowing no room for questioning or any other form of intellectual activity. It seeks to enslave its converts. It needs an enemy to give it unity and identity and its enemy is frequently regarded as an agent of the devil. Its unspoken agenda is condemnation, rather than salvation.
Cameron suggests that fundamentalism is not confined to the religious world; its secular manifestations can be even more sinister because they are not easily recognised. It is evident in mental laziness and lack of moral courage, where people are too apathetic to think for themselves or to question the 'values' of a valueless society. Cameron claims that this attitude can be found in educational institutions, which are themselves influenced by the world of business and politics. Fundamentalism even embraces extreme forms of feminism and those who insist on political correctness. Perhaps at this point it is important to recognise that some of these people have themselves been marginalised and oppressed in the past by insensitive political and religious systems, and maybe they have needed to go to extremes before their voices can be heard.
Freedom, on the other hand, argues Cameron, involves the right to resist authority, "… to explore every avenue and to look for God anywhere, and of course – it must follow – the freedom to be wrong." (p.25) Freedom is not the opposite of fundamentalism; it operates in a different dimension altogether. It is neither license nor anarchy, but creativity and pain. "Christianity properly understood entails a way of life (not to be captured in creed or dogma) which is entirely open, and essentially incommunicable - which can only be lived." (p. 50) Freedom means listening to your inner voice, even when that voice contradicts what the rest of your community is saying.
Cameron continues to develop his theme as he puts the church, the Bible and Christianity under the microscope. He criticises the smugness of churches which base their ideas of success on numbers, friendly atmosphere and levels of giving or activity. He claims that the Church's task is to exist for those outside and that it should "exhaust itself in the giving." (p.87) He recognises elsewhere the need for spiritual growth and nurture through meaningful and creative worship as he discussed the function of prayers and sermons in worship. His background is in the Church of Scotland and the Presbyterian Church (in Australia), and the honesty with which he describes his own experiences and feelings in these areas is refreshingly candid. These experiences also influence his feelings as he looks at the significance of the sacraments of Communion and Infant Baptism. It appears that much of his experience of worship within his church has been less than satisfactory, but his attitude is encouraging as he seeks to find creative solutions both within and outside the Church’s structure. The ordination of women is not seen as a matter of women’s rights, because ministry is about servanthood, rather than privilege. Both men and women are needed in ministry so that a balanced view of God can be presented.
Cameron argues that in order to derive the greatest benefit from the Bible, it is important to recognise the humanity of its writers, and to understand the variety of different responses to the nature of God. It is also necessary to see it as open-ended, and to be prepared to go beyond it as a means of seeking access to God. Cameron criticises ministers who would keep their congregations ignorant of biblical scholarship, and deals with sensitive areas such as the virgin birth, the resurrection and young people’s responses to “biblical” attitudes to premarital sex and homosexuality. I would have found the latter discussions more useful if he had pinpointed some of the relevant biblical references, placing them within their social and historical contexts.
Finally, Cameron looks at faith and Christianity. He rejects the kind of faith which is “a projection of our desire for security or safety or acceptance.” (p.182), and admits that it is easier to say what faith is not, rather than what it is. I found his rhetoric somewhat confusing here, as I did earlier in the book where he attempts to define salvation as “meaning”. I think he is saying that the essence of Christian faith is found in its practice rather than its proclamation.
I enjoyed the challenges presented to me in this book. At times it was liberating and exhilarating; elsewhere I found it confronting and disturbing. Most importantly, however, it has motivated me to consider new ways of understanding faith and relating to God.
Lynne Roberts © 2008
