Toward A Fundamental Fundamentalism

ABSTRACT

The term fundamentalism basically refers to the attitude trying oneself to be the same while it denies changing. The important part of it is the unchanging standard that even casts back the origin of the world. That standard is called canon, and it is believed to be the perfect measure of truth. Fundamentalists seek constant separation in the world that changes. They emphasize the things separated from the nature, such as supernatural miracles. When the Christianity explains this, it would be said in this way; it is the act of believing the infallibility of the Bible, the birth of the Christ from the Virgin and its deity, redemption, miracles in the Bible, as if they were such cruel things. Fundamentalists tend to avoid responding to the simple question about how people examine the unchanging truth while they do change, turning their focus on the religion’s precondition instead of approaching the answer intelligently. They are easily afraid to avoid the responsibility of their independent idea, or give the concrete shape to the possibility of new concepts, not being able to come up with legitimacy of independent concept and its reason. S.H.Pfuertner finds psychological anxiety at the core of it. He explains that the psychological anxiety is the factor that causes people to be obsessed with the unchanging truth, separating themselves from the false things, and emphasizing the importance of ascetic life. People conceal the anxiety inside while they express the authority of their creed and refuse to give intelligent cooperation. In the process, they consider the difference as an object they must overcome. It is the way people’s mentality being distorted to aggressive attitude, when it tries to obey the power of the root. Unfortunately, a number of Korean Christians have the behavior mentioned above. From the industrialization process that accepts the fundamentalism, Korean Christianity has found the meaning of fundamentalism as modernism. It is the situation that it failed to differentiate fundamentalism and legitimism, which opposes modernity, and thinking they are the same idea. This is where the greed exists to put oneself upon the central position among others. This leads the person to take out his or her own standard to judge when dealing with others, which is turning fundamentalism into political imperialism. However authentic fundamentalism is not accomplished only by being in confrontation with others; Confrontation rather expands conflicts. Fundamentalism is accomplished when people reflect on their authentic root, not when they simply oppose to things that are different from themselves. Seeking for the love in fundamental relationship is the true fundamentalism rather than focusing on certain dogma, words, scriptures which are not actually fundamental at all. This progress is necessary to accomplish fundamental fundamentalism. Keeping the fundamental fundamentalism is the solution to the anti-others-fundamentalism. Also, this is where we can find the reason to give religious education, which has gotten out of the old fundamentalistic idea.