Temple Beth El will spend three evenings this season examining religious fundamentalisms.
“We thought the topic was very current and interesting,” said Jonathan Freirich, associate rabbi of Temple Beth El. “Religion didn’t start out as fundamentalism." [Yeah, it did] "It’s a response to the modern world.” [Not exactly; it was a response to doctrinal apostasy of lost people like you]
Fundamentalism refers to strict, literal interpretation of Biblical scripture or other religious tenets. . .
On Nov. 18, Freirich will lead a discussion on Christian and Jewish fundamentalists in the 21st century with the Rev. Nancy Ellett Allison, senior pastor of Holy Covenant United Church of Christ [oh, that should be good] . . .
Jonathan Berkey, a professor of history at Davidson College, will discuss Muslim fundamentalism past and present on Dec. 2. Berkey’s teaching at Davidson covers Middle Eastern history since the rise of Islam. [and if I were interested enough to go and find out, I'd bet my next paycheck that Muslim fundamentalism will NOT be classed with Christian or Jewish fund'ism]
Freirich said he hopes the series will help people see that studying the intricacies and complexities of beliefs is worthwhile.
“Often, we look at other people and we tend to categorize them one way or another,” he said. [No, not 'often.' Everyone does it, one way or the other] “Fundamentalism itself is complicated [here's the money quote:] and we often identify people who are extremists of one type or another as ‘not us.’"
