Please do not ask me to be tolerant or accept Fundamentalists

[Hugabear]

I've seen a few posts here and there on DU taking exception to people saying bad things about evangelical fundies, saying that we should be tolerant of all religions. Sorry, but I cannot do that. I grew up in a fundamentalist household, and I am very familiar with the damage it can cause people. I have seen people harassed and brought to tears for the sin of 'backsliding'. Fundamentalism is quite different from most religions. It is based on tight control and fear. It demands strict adherence to the Bible, with the threat of Hell constantly held over you like the Sword of Damocles.

Fundamentalism is what demands that creationism be taught in science classes, that mankind coexisted with dinosaurs. There are many fundamentalists who still believe that the Earth is the literal center of the universe. Fundamentalism is what makes it okay for people to discriminate against homosexuals, and look the other way when violence is perpetrated against them. Fundamentalism is what helps keep racism alive in some areas. I still remember being taught that interracial dating was a sin, because the Bible says "be not unequally yoked" - the inference that blacks, Hispanics, Asians, etc are somehow inferior.

Most Christian denominations seem content to live their own lives without interference with society. Not so with fundamentalism. Fundamentalism seeks to enforce its own brand of morality upon everyone else. How often do you hear fundies proclaim that the US was established as a "Judeo-Christian" nation, and that we should base our laws on Judeo-Christian values?

Furthermore, to be a fundamentalist, you have to completely abandon all reason and logic. If you believe that the Earth is only 6000 years old, sorry, but you're an idiot. If you believe that man and dinosaurs lived together, you're an idiot. I've actually heard some pastors teach that dinosaurs never even existed, that God simply planted the fossils into the ground to confuse people. WTF? One the one hand, they want us to believe that God loves everyone and wants us all to be saved, but then God goes and deliberately tries to fuck with people like this?