Bryce

The Second Semester

Chapter 28 - Fanaticism

            On Sunday evening, after returning from the Chuck E Cheese and celebrating Malcolm’s birthday, Bryce and Damon wandered over to the University Center to see whether Mike had made contact with David as he planned.  David’s visit to his family was bound to be unsettling, and they wanted to be available for whatever help they could offer.  When they arrived in the lounge area on the second floor, they found their two friends, who had been joined by Marc Rimbault.  Snagging a couple of cokes, they joined them to find out how David had fared.

            David and Mike were sitting very close to each other on a couch, with Mike’s arm around his boyfriend.  As Bryce and Damon approached, greeted their friends, and settled in, it was pretty obvious that David had not experienced a positive break.

            “So, catch us up, David.  What’s the word?” Bryce enquired.

            David gave a huge sigh.  “I have to be honest.  Most of the break was pretty good.  I spent it with my dad, my sister, and my brother.  There were some tensions, but, on the whole, things went pretty well.”

            “What kind of tensions?” Marc asked.  He had arrived only minutes before Bryce and Damon.

            “Well, I don’t know how much background you know, Marc.  The short form is, I came out to my family back at Christmas time, and this resulted in a big split in the family.  In the long run, most of my family accepted me, even if they were not real happy about it, but my mom just refused to give an inch.  She brought in her minister, a guy called Brother Timothy, and tried to preach me straight, I guess.  When that didn’t work, and my dad supported me, mom left,” David reviewed his family situation.

            “Left?  Just walked out?” Marc asked.

            “Pretty much,” David responded.  “Tensions were so high that I left early and came back to campus.  My younger brother kind of holds me responsible for breaking up the family.  But I exchanged e-mails with him, and talked to my dad on the phone, and I kind of thought things had settled down.  So, I went home for the break.”

            “Not so, huh?” Damon asked with concern.

            “Like I said, things were pretty decent at the beginning.  Greg, my brother, was kind of distant, not close like we used to be, but not exactly hostile, and Dad was supportive.  Of course, my sister Jenny is also a student here at the University, and I see her all the time.  We have no issues.  At first we did things as a family, talked about the University and our plans for the future, just normal stuff.  Then, two days ago Mom appeared on the scene.”

            “Oh, oh,” Damon said.

            “Oh, oh, is right,” Mike commented.

            “She has not changed a bit since Christmas.  As far as I can tell, she is living with a family from her church, and comes by about once a week to preach to my dad and my brother.  Greg is really confused by all this.  He was not very nice to me, but I kind of know where he’s at, you know, caught between Mom and Dad.  Mom is determined that either we all get back in Brother Timothy’s church, or else we’re all going to hell,” David related.

            “Yeah, I can see where your brother is kind of caught in the middle,” Bryce said.  “How old is he?”

            “Sixteen now.  He just turned sixteen last month,” David replied.

            “A rough age to be faced with issues like this, and the break up of the family,” Mike sympathized.  “I’m grateful I never had to face things like that.”  He hugged his boyfriend, who returned the hug.

            “I’m not upset with Greg, but I am with my mom.  She’s become a damned fanatic.  Every week she drops in and preaches at Dad and Greg.  Dad doesn’t want to get violent and actually toss her out, so they just put up with it until she runs down, then kind of push her out.  Dad tried to avoid it by taking Greg out to eat when he thought Mom was coming, but she changed her times, and sometimes she just waits for them to come back,” David recounted.

            “Sounds like a real nut case,” Marc said.

            “I guess fanaticism is a kind of mental disease,” David replied.  “I sure thought about this enough.  I can’t come up with any other explanation.”

            “Religion is a mental disease,” Marc declared, glancing over at Bryce.

            Before Bryce could respond, David replied.  “I don’t think all religion is a problem.  I’ve talked with Mike and Bryce, and they seem pretty reasonable to me.  But, I sure don’t find my mom reasonable.  Her solution to the family problem is that I should be sent to one of these camps where they claim to turn gays into straight guys, and then everyone comes back and joins Brothers Timothy in singing ‘hallelujah.’  That ain’t gonna happen!  Thank God, I’m an adult.  If I were still underage, she might gain custody and then do something like that.”

            “Just what I said,” Marc insisted.  “It’s religious fanaticism that’s responsible for those camps, and for all the other evils in the world.  If there were no religion, there would be no wars or persecutions.”

            “I think that’s an unreasonable assumption, Marc,” Bryce said.  “You have no evidence for that position.”

            “Sure I do.  I’m really not trying to be hostile, but just look at the facts for a change.  All the conflicts and all the persecutions are because of religion.  Look at the Moslem fanatics out there blowing up everyone, including themselves, for the glory of Allah.  Look at the conflicts in Northern Ireland.  It’s all religion.  Religion is essentially intolerant and fanatical,” Marc insisted.

            “I think you’re presenting only one side of the story, Marc,” Mike responded.  “Not everyone who believes in a religion is a fanatic.”

            “No, but every religion has fanaticism built in,” Marc replied.  “It goes all the way back to the Old Testament.  Look at the story of the way the Jews, supposed to be God’s chosen people, treated the original inhabitants of Palestine.  Talk about ethnic cleansing, that was it in spades.  It’s all in the Book of Joshua.”

            “Are you saying no good ever came from religion?” Bryce asked.

            “That’s exactly what I’m saying,” Marc insisted.  “Look at what happened to the Classical culture of Greece and Rome when Christianity triumphed.  The Dark Ages set in, and lasted until the strangle hold of the Church weakened with the Renaissance.”

            “That’s not exactly accurate,” Bryce insisted.  “That’s a thesis put forward by Edward Gibbon in his Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, written in the later eighteenth century.  That’s a period I know something about, but I admit I’m no expert on ancient or medieval history.  Still, my understanding is there is every indication the Roman Empire was in bad shape, and might have collapsed anyway, entirely apart from any influence of Christianity.  And it’s far from accurate to call the whole thousand years of the Middle Ages the Dark Ages just because the culture of the time was strongly influenced by Christianity.  In fact, it’s arguable that the Church is all that preserved what was salvageable from the Classical civilization.”

            “That’s a lot of bull,” Marc exploded.

            “And I suppose you consider that a reasonable response,” Bryce shot back.

            “Let’s not get out of hand,” Mike said.  “What evidence do you have for your position, Marc?”

            “As I understand it, the argument is that the rise of Christianity diverted the talent and resources from practical things into nonsense like theology and monasteries, so the problems of the Empire went unattended.  Also, the emphasis on the pie-in-the-sky next world contributed to not paying attention to real problems which might have been fixed,” Marc said.

            “And what do you say about that?” Mike asked Bryce.

            “First of all, there were huge problems with the Roman world long before Christianity played any role in public affairs, other than being persecuted.  If you want to talk about diverting attention from serious problems, how about the huge amount of energy and resources expended on persecuting Christians?  What does that do to Marc’s argument that wars and persecutions all come from religion?  That was obviously done to Christians, not by them.  There were political and economic and social problems which were tearing up the Classical world long before Christianity became a factor in policy making in the fourth century.  And the theory that all the talent and energy which went into the Church would have been expended on solving those problems is just that, a theory.  There is absolutely no evidence to back it up.  That is like all the people who said all the funds expended on the military would be spent on social issues if it were not for the Cold War.  It didn’t happen.  The pagan world had centuries to deal with those problems, and did nothing.  At least, nothing successful,” Bryce insisted.

            “Not so!” Marc cried.  “The Roman Empire had charitable institutions and laws about freeing slaves, and reforms in the economy, all before Christianity diverted attention to imaginary goals.”

            “You’re wrong,” Bryce shot back.  “Yes, the Romans set up charitable institutions, but only for the elite.  Mostly for poor nobles.  As to freeing slaves, the fact is slavery increased century by century under Roman rule of the Mediterranean.  By the fourth century when Christianity triumphed under Constantine, half the population were slaves in some critical areas, like the grain producing provinces of North Africa.  Not only that, but under Roman law, even members of a family were little better than slaves.  The head of household, the paterfamilias, literally had the power of life or death over members of his household.  That included not only slaves, but wives and children as well.  When a child was born in a Roman household, he or she was taken to the head of the household, and that person decided whether to keep the baby or not.  If he decided against keeping the newborn, the child was exposed, with the idea that maybe some kind person would pick up the child and care for him, but how often do you imagine that took place?  The ancient world was a cruel place.  It was Christianity which humanized it,” Bryce insisted.

            “You’re presenting only part of the picture,” Marc replied.

            “Maybe so.  I said I was no expert on ancient history.  But my partial picture is no more out of focus than your’s.  The fact remains that it was only the Christian Emperor Constantine who made arbitrary killing of a slave into a crime of homicide.  It was only the Christian Emperor Charlemagne during the so-called Dark Ages who prohibited the slave trade.  It was those despised monasteries which picked up abandoned children and created orphanages,” Bryce responded.

            “I think none of us know enough about ancient history to settle that argument,” Mike inserted before Marc could reply, “and I’m not sure that helps at all as far as David’s encounter with fanaticism is concerned.”

            “You’re right.  I’m sorry, David.  I got carried away with the history and forgot why it was brought up in the first place,” Bryce apologized.

            “Yeah, David, I don’t mean to detract at all from your problems.  You have to admit, though, that your problem is caused by religion,” Marc insisted.

            “My mom is a fanatic about her version of religion,” David replied.  “But I don’t see the same problem with the religion I see in Mike or Bryce.”

            “The problem is that fanaticism is built into religion,” Marc argued.  “I admit that not all religious persons are fanatics, but I would also argue that they are decent human beings despite their religion, not because of it.”

            “What about fanatics who are not religious?” Damon asked.  “There are sure racists who are fanatics, and don’t seem to have any religious aspect to their racism.”

            “I think if you look closely you’ll find that their racism is in fact based on their religion,” Marc responded.  “Racial fanatics are generally ignorant people who are always quoting the Bible about some people being subject to others, and the curse of Ham.”

            “I never heard of the curse of Ham,” Damon replied, “but I sure heard enough from racial fanatics, and not all of them were among the poor and ignorant in Chicago.  Some are right here in our institution of higher learning.”

            “Maybe there’s another way of looking at that, too,” Bryce added.  “How much of the use of quotations from the Bible is really religion, and how much is using religion as a weapon in support of a racism which is entirely independent of religion?”

            “How can you say that?  You were asking for supporting evidence before.  Where’s your evidence that fanaticism or racism exist separate from religion?” Marc demanded.

            “Oh, Nazi Germany, Communist Russia,” Bryce essayed.

            “The Nazis were supported by the pope,” Marc threw back.

            “No evidence of that,” Bryce replied.  “All I’ve seen is some people think Pius XII should have spoken out more forcefully against the Nazis, but I’ve seen absolutely no evidence that he supported them.  Sure, some people have said that, but saying it doesn’t make it so.  And Pius might have wanted the Germans to defeat the Russians, or more accurately, to defeat the Communists.  After all, the Communists were actively persecuting the Church wherever they gained power, so you can’t expect much sympathy for them from Rome.”

            “The Communists were attempting to build a just and humane society based on science and reason.  That’s why the reactionary and obscurantist Church opposed them,” Marc insisted.

            “From their own perspective, so were the Nazis, and both were abominable and inhumane,” Bryce replied.

            “What!  How can you say there’s any comparison between Marxism and that nonsense Hitler spread about.  Russia had no Auschwitz or Dachau,” Marc argued.

            “Maybe not, but there was Siberia and the gulags,” Bryce replied.  “And if you look at it from any perspective except hindsight, Nazi racial theories were just as scientific as Marxist social theories.  And you keep insisting that fanaticism and violence are built into religion, but if anywhere, it’s built into Marxism.  Revolutionary violence is part and parcel of the system.  What’s the difference between the gay reorientaion camps we all despise and the reeducation camps the communists set up everywhere they took control?  It’s still a matter of brain washing.”

            “You’re a fine one to talk about brain washing,” Marc attacked.  “Your entire outlook is a product of brain washing in Catholic schools all the way from Kindergarten through high school.  It’s religious based schools which are the sources of fanaticism, whether Moslem or Catholic.”

            “There may be a lot of things wrong with Catholic schools in this country, but brain washing is definitely not one of them.  Ever since Vatican II, there has been so much diversity in Catholic schools that it’s hard to distinguish them from any other private school,” Bryce insisted.  “Besides, poor little brain washed me just happens to be attending this public university where we are all located at the moment, and I don’t see that my background is in any way an impediment to my studies.  If anything, I think I understand some things in the classes we share better than you, Marc.  I understand the role of religion in French literature, even when it’s being reacted against.  And I understand Samuel Johnson and John Wesley, and what motivated them, a lot better than you do, based on our discussions in both study groups.”

            “That’s unfair to bring up the fact that you got better grades than I did on our exams,” Marc complained.

            “Hey, did I mention grades?  Besides, you’re the one who turned this personal, not me,” Bryce replied.

            “I still think all schools should be state supported, and religion should have no role in education,” Marc groused.

            “So, you want the secularist viewpoint supported by the government, and at public expense, while the religious viewpoint is stigmatized as negative,” Bryce summarized.

            “Well, yeah.  Secularism is neutral, the same for everyone.  Religion is just personal opinion.  If it wasn’t pounded into kids, and was restricted to the churches themselves, then it would wither away in a few generations,” Marc predicted.

            “And I suppose secularism is not just personal opinion?” Bryce asked.  “You might consider secularism as something neutral, but I see it as an antagonistic ideology, hostile to the entire Western tradition.  And people have been predicting the demise of religion for a couple of centuries now, and as far as I can tell, religion is alive and well in most of the world today.  Religion survived the Communist persecutions in Russia and Eastern Europe.  Once again, you’re engaging in exactly what you accuse us of doing, living in an unreal dream world, Marc.”

            “You’re impossible!  Every time I make a point, you pick on some small side issue and ignore the point I’m trying to make,” Marc shouted.

            “I don’t think so,” Bryce replied.  “I’ve tried to respond to each point you’ve made, and added pertinent information you refuse to consider.”

            “You are so stubborn, it’s impossible to talk to you,” Marc insisted, and stalked away from the group.

            The others watched Marc go.

            “Well, I don’t think you convinced him,” David commented.

            “No, I’m sure I didn’t,” Bryce replied.  “But seriously, guys, do you think Marc’s right?  Am I not making any sense, and just reflecting my background?”

            “I don’t see it that way,” David said.  “I know when I came asking questions, you seemed to me to be putting forth a position which was reasonable.  I still have a few problems with some of your Catholic teachings, but I don’t see you as brain washed at all.”

            “Thanks, David.  After talking with someone like Marc, who is so certain he’s right, sometimes I have doubts about whether I’m making sense to anyone but me.  I know I don’t always explain myself as well as I might,” Bryce admitted, looking guiltily at Damon.

            “What my boyfriend means is sometimes he gets so involved in his Catholic stuff that he leaves me way behind,” Damon elucidated.

            “I forget sometimes that things like Lent and confession need to be explained,” Bryce admitted.

            “That’s not the same as being unreasonable,” Mike said.  “There’s a difference between not explaining something, and there being no explanation for something.”

            “And he usually does come back and explain after we argue for a while because we’re in different worlds,” Damon grinned.

            “To harp on my personal problems,” David said, “my mom is definitely a fanatic, and it’s causing all kinds of hell in my family.  Jenny and I escape here to the University, but Dad and Greg have to live with her harassment on a regular basis.  Dad and Greg have gone back to the Methodists, but Mom says unless they come back to Brother Timothy’s church they’re damned, and she would go absolutely berserk if she knew I attended a Catholic church with Mike most Sundays.”

            “I don’t think any of us would disagree that your mom is a fanatic, and is way off base in the way she’s acting towards the rest of the family.  My argument with Marc was only when he blamed all fanaticism on religion.  As Damon pointed out, there are racist fanatics, and I think we can find other kinds of fanatics as well, that have nothing to do with religion,” Bryce said.

            “So, you’re not denying that there are religious fanatics,” David asked for clarification.

            “By no means.  And, just to be clear about it, I’m not denying that there are Catholic fanatics, just like there are fundamentalist fanatics, and Moslem fanatics, and secularist fanatics.  I suppose there may be Jewish fanatics, too, and I seem to remember reading about some Hindu fanatics.  But there are also Nazi fanatics, Communist fanatics, nationalist fanatics, atheist fanatics, maybe even gay fanatics.  I don’t think there’s any monopoly on fanaticism with any one system of thought,” Bryce said.  “I suppose some ideologies are more prone to producing fanatics than others, but you can find fanatics in just about any camp you can name.”

            “What do you mean by a secularist fanatic?” Damon said.  “I guess I’m a secularist, since I don’t belong to any church, but I don’t think I’m a fanatic.”

            “I don’t think you are either,” Bryce assured his boyfriend.  “You’re not out insisting that your viewpoint is the only right one, and trying to impose it on everyone else.  In fact, while you may be secular, I’m not at all sure you’re a secularist.  It’s not a cause with you.  It’s not a position you promote.  It’s just the way you developed.  But I think Marc is, or at least could be, a secularist fanatic.  Take for instance his idea that all schools should be run by the government and all religion should be banned from them.  How is that different from those Moslem schools, madrasahs, in some Islamic countries where no opposing viewpoint is permitted?  It’s the same thing as far as I can see.  What he’s asking for is the use of government power to suppress ideas he disagrees with, and spread his own views.  That’s what the Communists tried to do in Russia, and it didn’t work there, either.”

            “If that’s what you mean by a secularist, then I’m not one,” Damon declared.  “I’m just confused most of the time.”

            “You are very patient with me,” Bryce declared, kissing Damon lightly.

            “What I’m getting,” David said, “is that fanaticism is something separate from the ideas about which one is fanatical.  Like Bryce said, you can be fanatical about just about anything.”

            “I agree with that,” Bryce said.

            “I wonder, how did it come about that we ended up with fanatics to begin with?” Mike speculated.

            “Not sure about that.  As Marc observed, we can see traces of fanaticism in the earliest records of humanity.  And I do agree with him that the Book of Joshua reflects a combination of ethnic and religious fanaticism.  It’s another case, like we talked about before, where careful interpretation is needed to see the religious message and separate it from the cocoon in which the human author encased it,” Bryce asserted.

            “You always have some answer based on your religion,” Damon said.  “Do you mean you have nothing to say about where fanaticism comes from?”

            “Well, since you asked,” Bryce grinned, “there is the doctrine of original sin.”

            “What’s that?” Damon incautiously asked.

            “Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, eating the apple, and getting kicked out,” David answered.

            “Well, yes and no,” Bryce said.  “The story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden may or may not be literally true.  Whether it is or not, the point of the story is that human suffering is a result of human sinfulness, not something God does to us.  Humans, in other words, are a flawed species.  We are imperfect.  We keep thinking we know everything and can control everything, and we don’t and we can’t.  We keep screwing up, and as often as not we create more problems than we solve when we go off half cocked, thinking we can do it all by ourselves.  If you really look at that story, the sin of Adam is trying to be like God.  It’s a sin of pride, or arrogance.  When we start thinking we don’t need God, that’s when we make our most serious mistakes.  Oh, and by the way, nowhere in the Bible does it say the forbidden fruit was an apple.”

            “No apple, huh?” Damon mused.

            “I think that comes from the Greek myth of the apple of discord,” Bryce added, “but that’s not my main point.  My point is when we think we’re smarter than God, we blow it.”

            “Come to think of it,” David said, “no utopian scheme which left out God ever succeeded.  The biggest example is the one you mentioned earlier, communism.”

            “Jesus summed up everything in two commandments, love God, love your neighbor.  Every time we lose sight of that, we screw up, even if we screw up in the name of religion.  Maybe especially when we screw up in the name of religion,” Bryce said.