I am eager to dive into this text and discuss not only Armstrong's perspective, but also look at fundamentalism with some objectivity. I like the idea that we will not only look at Christian fundamentalism, but Muslim and Jewish as well. There are too many world events - and local activity if we are honest - that arise out of a result to fundamentalism.
I want to hightlight a snippet of Eddie's perspective,
"The book on fundamentalism we're reading ties into this because the opposite of critcal inquiry is dogmatism - ignorance - which is injurious to all of us and has afflicted all societies and religions from time immemorial."
I hold the impression that "dogmatism" is not only ignorance, but a belief held by a person or group which is not open to any criticism. A dogmatic person may see a different perspective and may see it's logic, but the belief is held in spite with such vigor and passion. Hence, no discourse exists and if it does, then it becomes a battle for power and influence. Scripture evens tells us that passion wins over logic in some instances.
Now, where is that balance?
Thoughts?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Reading - Armstrong: Preface and Introduction
ReplyDeleteI am excited that this book will be so insightful. With some luck and good fortune, I like how everything we have been reading, viewing and listening to with Jim has had some common threads - 1. quest for religious meaning (books of bible and the tension of supremacy) 2. historical timelines (especially the Bible Buried Secrets 700 to 200 BCE, Jim's Amos study and Armstrong's Axial Age) and authenic, honest quest for truth and the implications.
If your time for reading is limited, please note that I will begin the class looking at page "xiv" in the second paragraph where Armstong is making a case where the delimna we are faced today with the clash of modernity and religion, she relates with a similar time between 700 to 200 BCE. If you did not review the Bible Buried Secrets series, look at the middle to end clips where they speak of this time preriod. Israel and Judah are about to be exiled by the Babylonians and the Assyrians. Additionally, remember the comments from Jim - Amos was probably first written in 730ish BCE. I adhere to the line of thought that Amos's value as rediscovered in the Assyrian exile and "touched up" for relevance. But as Jim lays out, the tradition of the prophets has started - a shift takes place in religious culture towards a piety not associated with a cultish "blood sacrifice" as historically practiced.
On page "xiv", Armstrong speaks about this shift. I think it will be a great segway to start discussion Sunday.
From there, let's move to Armstrong's definition of "fundamentalism" and how this definition is not monlithic, but it's common threads with Chirstians, Muslims and Jews (page xiii) are similar. Additionally, and a third topic of discussion, let's look at page xvii and discuss MYTHOS and LOGOS.
Where the discussion takes us from there.... who knows. :-)
Has anyone done any research into the Axial Age? Do you think what we are experiencing in today's modern world is similar to the dynamic Amos was tackling?
Jim corrected me. Amos was written around 770 BCE and not 730 BCE. For some reason I was thinking of Assyria conquering Israel.
ReplyDelete