Horsemen of the election year

Well, this looks like fun.

The Guardian is running an article under the headline, "Their beliefs are bonkers, but they are at the heart of power: US Christian fundamentalists are driving Bush's Middle East policy."

We can laugh at these people, but we should not dismiss them. That their beliefs are bonkers does not mean they are marginal. American pollsters believe that 15-18% of US voters belong to churches or movements which subscribe to these teachings. . . . And among them are some of the most powerful men in America. John Ashcroft, the attorney general, is a true believer, so are several prominent senators and the House majority leader, Tom DeLay. Mr DeLay . . . travelled to Israel last year to tell the Knesset that "there is no middle ground, no moderate position worth taking".

So here we have a major political constituency - representing much of the current president's core vote - in the most powerful nation on Earth, which is actively seeking to provoke a new world war.

I can understand why persons like this author would find Christian fundamentalist eschatology frightening. I can also see why they would perceive fundy beliefs at work in US foreign policy. I can also understand why they would not view this as a good thing. As a long-time constituent of conservative churches, I have noticed a definite tendency toward interesting foreign policy ideas among fundamentalists.

The author of the article does not entirely know what he's talking about, however. He does not understand the mindset; he is merely noting the quirks of rhetoric and policy that usually accompany it, and is thus trying to reverse-engineer the worldview. He is treating as monolithic a movement that can be rather fractious. Furthermore, he is underestimating the influence of secular ideas on the political theory of the fundamentalists; a heavy dose of farm-boy-goes-off-to-save-the-world-by-killing-the-enemies-of-his-country imagery from World War II permeates it, providing far more guidance than any visions of the Battle of Armageddon. Nevertheless, there can be no doubt that Christian fundamentalist attitudes toward Israel are a significant factor in America's policy in the Middle East. Evangelicals should know that other countries have noticed this.

| Posted by Wilson at 2:17 Central | TrackBack
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