words

Here's what I think is interesting. I've been thinking about hot-button words. Ugly words that no one wants to claim.

Fundamentalist means hyper-judgemental. Or overbearing. It has become a word about character or personality or manner. But that's not really what fundamentalist means. Fundamentalism is about the belief itself. Not necessarily the manner in which those beliefs are lived. Wikipedia says:

Fundamentalism, in religion refers to a belief in the infallibility, and literal interpretation, of a doctrine or holy book.

I never thought I was a fundamentalist. I wasn't legalistic in the way I lived out my faith. I never thought Pat Roberston, or John McArthur or John Piper spoke for me. But I would have told you the bible was divine, infallible and (until pretty recently) meant to be taken literally. So I think I kind of was. It doesn't mean I was a judgmental ass or anything (well, perhaps I was/am, but not for that specific reason anyway), it just means I believed certain things.

I think when people say sometimes "I'm not a fundamentalist" they mean to say really "I'm not a judgemental ass" which is all well and good. Probably that is true. But it doesn't mean that their beliefs are not fundamentalist by nature.

Indoctrinate is another loaded word. We tend to associate it with a kind of aggressive, ram-down-your-throat manner of teaching. It's not. We can indoctrinate people with kind, gentle words and in the most loving manner. And I think, more often than not, we do.

But indoctrinate is more about the goal of instruction (Webster says to "imbue with a usually partisan or sectarian opinion, point of view, or principle") not the manner with which we instruct.

No one thinks they are a fundamentalist (okay, maybe a few people do). No one wants to believe they are indoctrinating their children. For me, those are never words I would have claimed. But for a long time, in the sense of what my beliefs were and how I raised my kids, they really were accurate descriptions.

What's my point? I don't know exactly. It's just something that has struck me lately.

Note: To some extent I can't imagine how you can raise your kids without indoctrinating them. I feel strongly about raising my kids to be critical thinkers. However, that doesn't mean (either on purpose or unwittingly) that my kids aren't indoctrinated. Parenting by nature means imposing some of our thoughts and opinions on our kids. I have to laugh when I hear people say that they were not indoctrinated by their parents as children. Yes they were. Of course they were. (Even if the beliefs didn't stick.)