tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10455024.post2035337561867075164..comments2023-06-23T02:45:39.638-07:00Comments on Bilbo's World: Bilbohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904580918080106725noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10455024.post-1891835752571474552007-04-20T17:40:00.000-07:002007-04-20T17:40:00.000-07:00Hi Julie, I think you would like Moore's book The ...Hi Julie,<BR/><BR/> I think you would like Moore's book The Soul of Religion but I know you are up to your eyeballs in other stuff. Moore's writing style and depth of integration is unique which keeps my coming back to him again over the past couple of years. I have read four or five of his books now and I appreciate his attitude towards religion, psychology, philosophy, etc. If you and anyone else is interested I'll try to post some more blog entries on some his thoughts again in the near future. Good to see you popping in and dittos with Dave regarding when you get time to join us at Pomoxian...Bilbohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12904580918080106725noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10455024.post-50580320621260005212007-04-20T16:24:00.000-07:002007-04-20T16:24:00.000-07:00I'm not sure how my thoughts at the moment about f...I'm not sure how my thoughts at the moment about fundamentalism correspond with the Moore quote you provide here, but I'll post them anyway. As I read through this, I got to thinking about how fundamentalism seems to be an outgrowth of our need to quantify and measure ourselves with some precision about whether or not we fit in, meet criteria, conform to expectations, pass muster or in some other way minimize our risk of failure within a given power or control system.<BR/><BR/>Whether that's adopting the specific tenets of an authoritarian religious or political movement, or more idiosyncratically reshaping our lives to fulfill the expectations of God that we believe God has placed on us individually, fundamentalism seems to be a predictable response to such an outlook on life. Of the two options I mention here, I suppose that "movement" fundamentalism is the more objectionable in that the individual is subsumed into a cultural pattern that often does not work in the best interests of either that person or the larger society as a whole. The problem with fundamentalism is its insistence on pushing the diversity of human existence into a limited set of narrowly defined roles and expectations, irregardless of the misery suffered by the misfits who ultimately fail to fit the patterns set out for them.<BR/><BR/>So I wonder about the connection between today's highly commodified and regulated society, with its emphasis on commerce, materialism and mobilized blocs of population under various degrees of political control, and the phenomena of mass fundamentalist movements that typically exist as idealistic alternatives to the otherwise-inescapable grid that most of us live within. It's like we need an equally strong, unyielding and highly controlling counter-power, whether that's "in the heavens" from the religious side, or "in history/evolution" from the political, that diminishes the apparently all-encompassing grip of the current worldly status quo, whatever our role or place in it.<BR/><BR/>Fundamentalisms of various sorts then, become useful resources to those worldly power-brokers in our societies who accomplish the trick of aligning themselves with the ideals, dreams and visions of the fundamentalist followers while primarily focusing on the advantages that their allegiance creates for them in the here-and-now.<BR/><BR/>Anyway, that may be a lot more of me just thinking than a bona fide response to Thomas Moore. But thanks for posting it here and getting my wheels turning a bit!David Blakesleehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12167200509158903679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10455024.post-17225970082293232602007-04-20T16:23:00.000-07:002007-04-20T16:23:00.000-07:00Julie, we've discussed it a bit over at the pomoxi...Julie, we've discussed it a bit over at the pomoxian list... which I know is not where your attn. is focused these days... but we are eager for the day when you are able to come back and join us there! :o)<BR/><BR/>I will post my reply to Bill in a separate comment box.David Blakesleehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12167200509158903679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10455024.post-6249998885372191622007-04-20T11:00:00.000-07:002007-04-20T11:00:00.000-07:00So fabulous! I think I would love Moore much more ...So fabulous! I think I would love Moore much more now that I've nearly finished grad school. I remember when I first read him, my brain could not modulate out of the fundamentalistic thinking no matter how hard I tried. it's taken four years of concerted effort to read with new eyes and to receive complexity as a given (not as a problem to solve) before I could think differently.<BR/><BR/>Moore's comment about reducing mystery or mythology to defined beliefs as a betrayal of soul rings especially true for me.<BR/><BR/>Thanks for continuing to bring Moore to the blogging table. I hope more people will interact with this entry.<BR/><BR/>JulieAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00088119765077193302noreply@blogger.com