The preceding vignettes sought to
illustrate self control and self denial as they relate to truth and personal
preference. They might not have set well in the era of my childhood - the
waning years of the old fundamentalist consensus.
That era,
along with its present day representatives, is indicted as the time when not
dancing, not drinking, not playing cards, not going to movies and other such
things comprised the good
Christian’s resume. It is
disparaged as a time of hypocritical (c)hristianity driven by demagogues who built
spiritual empires and held their followers to rigid codes while they themselves
either engaged in sin or turned a blind eye to it among their friends.
As I move
toward the final propositions of this Withered
Grape series on self control
and self denial, I need to make an uncomfortable observation. Demagogues lurk
wherever a movement exists, and freedomists are not exempt. Like the
legalistic movements of old, freedomism has its power brokers jockeying
for position. What makes today’s demagogues indistinguishable from good leaders
is what made their ilk difficult to see among good fundamentalists. And, yes,
there were many good ones.
The
demagogue’s message resonates. They are articulate. It is only later their behind-the-scenes
motivations are discovered and become representative of the movement as a
whole. Freedomists beware, especially if you are moving
deeper into the bowels of your movement and its self-styled liberators. Your
day is coming; and it may be your children and grandchildren who will struggle
with the disillusionment of your era.
What to do?
Apply the same critique to the clichés, proof texts, manners and failures to
leaders of your movement that you apply to the other. Let your expectations weigh
in the same on both sides of the chasm. And,
above all, ask yourself what scriptures you avoid in rigidly embracing your
system of thought.
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and Elliott at The Dead Salamander
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