The meaning of fundamentalism

The barbaric slaughter of the innocent Amish girls is hardly explainable. I could go on about the appropriate justice for the chicken-hearted perpetrator, just another in series of selfish bastards who can dish it out but refuse to take it. Perhaps the only meaningful takeaway is to examine the reaction to this tragedy.

The Amish are often the butt of jokes and ridicule in our modern society and it's not hard to see why. They've set themselves for that by playing pick and choose with the man-made conveniences and technology they consider sinful. For example, a buggy is not a modern convenience, but it used to be. And how does driving a car or using a cell phone bring one closer to el diablo (for those on the left that's not Bush). It's just as silly as abstaining from a specific food, something Christ himself spoke of in the Bible.

Still, the few Amish interviewed after this crime expressed the very essence of Christianity in a way most traditional Christians have trouble doing. In a nutshell they reminded us that evil exists everywhere and that choices must be made daily, yet above all else 'forgiveness is divine'.

The secular left tends to believe that George Bush and his band of religious conservatives are America's Taliban. More likely it's the Fred Phelps circus. The Amish/Menonite might not have a direct comparison in the Muslim world, however like the Taliban they literally interpret the word and live by it daily with no sidetracks. They, too, are fundamentalists, and this tragedy has allowed a broad daylight comparison between all.

For example, when faced with an assault by an "apostate" (or infidel, take your pick) the Talibanis sharpen their swords. The Phelps bunch sharpen their tongues. The Amish pray for the victims, the perp's family and even the perp. The first two reactions produce a never ending cycle of violence, the latter healing.

Personally I can't get around their silly fear of technology or passivity when it comes to fighting defensive wars such as against Nazis or Islamofascists. But there's a lesson in their spirit of forgiveness, one which Fred Phelps and Mullah Omar would be wise to take a close study of. All of us, for that matter.