Let us begin a new Christian fundamentalism.
a fundamentalism striped down, raw and lean
ready to take to the streets and hearts
With pragmatic compassion over dogma, focused on proscribing a good life
rather than demeaning people through restrictive moral codes
One: There is something bigger than me. Live according to what this implies.
Two: A divinity that cares about me personally, as a parent to a child, does not imply I am an equal to God.
Three: My personal relationship does not trump yours.
Four: God is greater than any individual or organization. The only correct attitude in relationship to this is humility laced with gratitude.
Five: The positive uplifting parts of faith are the best parts to live by, so more compassion and less damning
Six: If you condemn people for failing to meet moral standards, you need to take a hard look at what is wrong with you, and fix it.
Condemnation by equals, brothers and sisters, leads to despair. I do not see any value in exerting my religion in such a way as to alienate a fellow human.
Seven: It is not a contradiction to believe in the death penalty, pro-life politics, and forgiveness. However, if you cannot explain it to someone in such a way that they can understand it, you would better serve your cause by abstaining from the conversation.
eight: Individuals that identify as gay are your brothers and sisters.
nine: Individuals from overseas that are seeking work in your country are brothers and sisters.
ten: If you are following your faith, put aside your political views that dehumanize brothers and sisters.
eleven: If you are not making things better for someone in need, then at least don't make things worse through words, actions, or the cult of politics.
twelve: It is patently wrong to make someone feel like crap to make a theological or political point.
thirteen: Science and religion are two different things. Don't confuse yourself by explaining your faith through science. You weaken your argument and debase the power of faith.
Few people care about your ideology, so do something helpful with your faith instead of espousing it.
fourteen: You cannot convert anyone to the faith. That is arrogant and debases the personal integration between the divine and the mortal experience.
fifteen: Not one word you can say can explain God.
sixteen: All people of faith are under attack. Treat anyone of a positive faith tradition as a fellow pilgrim. There are already enough people to degrade us collectively for having faith in the intangible essence of our existence, don't make things worse through internecine theological wars.
seventeen: It is great to explain to people why you have faith, but stop trying to convert people. God is much better at it than you, and you are making things worse most of the time.
eighteen: Faith is about the daily application of the eternal.
nineteen: Faith supersedes political and social issues, even really important ones.
twenty: If you hate someone because of their politics, religion, sexual orientation, or immigration status, you are belittling your faith.
twenty one: try to find at least one person to share your life struggles with. being disconnected creates an arid spirituality.
twenty two: you do not need to let social whims change your faith tradition. That is not the point here. However, you need to separate the illuminating aspects of your tradition with any dehumanizing aspects of your faith communities behavior.
twenty three: You will know you are practicing your faith in accordance with these principals when people ask you why you always seem to have it all figured out.
