Christian Fundamentalism
In the book "The Power and the Glory" authors Marty and Appleby state several theoretical precepts that all fundamentalist no matter what religion follow. These precepts are used to find the underlining message different people in Christian fundamentalism have for the actions or statements they make. Actions taken towards abortion, thoughts that women should be submissive and should fight against the evils of humanity are some statements made by some fundamentalist that have underlining themes. Can be used to find its underlining message in these three precepts. One, seek guidance through selected portions of scripture or sacred texts, which are seen to have absolute authority. Two, perceive their cultural, religious, or political struggles as battles to "reclaim" a lost territory. Third, actively resist the influence of certain ideas springing from modernity, while nevertheless embracing other selected aspects of modernity (mass media, concepts of individualism, etc) to do so. As a result, fundamentalists demonstrate an uncanny ability to critique the cultural world around them. Mrs. Bob Jones states that. "God's word says that the man is to be the head of the house and frankly as a woman I delight in that, because I
Randall Terry is a fundamentalist that speaks and acts out against abortion. He goes on TV preaches against the action by saying "The people that perform abortion when it is illegal should be punished as well as the people who have done it when it was legal." He and his followers also go to abortion clinics and block the entryway so no one can come in. Using the precept given by Appleby and Marty the views of Mr. Terry and are common actions taken by fundamentalist. The commandments state that Thou shall no kill, which in the eyes of Mr. Terry abortion is the killing of a baby. The commandments are the words of God so it should be taken literally and is non negotiable, this is why he speaks out against abortion because of how it is against God's word. Secondly, this is a struggle religiously and politically to reclaim the lost souls. Terry fights for his religion stating its is a sin to kill a defenseless person because the mother doesn't want to handle the burden. Also it is a political struggle to try and convince people in the government that abortion is wrong and should be made illegal. Terry uses the last precept of resisting certain ideas of modernity while embracing others. He accomplishes this by using television has a medium to spread his views on abortion. He goes on a Christian Fundamentalist station preaching the sins people are committing by having abortions. His underlying message is that while abortion is strictly against God's words, we need official that are moral who will save this government from its downward spiral. At Bob Jones University students
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Approximate Word count = 1078
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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