I’ve observed a phenomenon in the erstwhile fundamentalist blogosphere. It’s called the game of pin the tail on the fundamentalist. It’s played this way:
- Everybody plays with their eyes open (the better to seem sincere and disingenuous).
- The root philosophy of fundamentalism is described as having been taught to the player at some point in his training (whether accurately stated or no, it makes no difference).
- An error of some fundamentalist(s) is shown to contradict the root philosophy of fundamentalism, as described.
- Fundamentalists and fundamentalism is branded as being hypocritical and inconsistent.
- A cacophony of ‘Amens’ and ‘Spot Ons’ follow in the blogosphere, the voices of an aggrieved multitude, citing this cause as being responsible for turning off and turning away a cast of thousands.
- A comparison is sometimes made of evangelicals who don’t share that particular error, sung to the sound of the background chorus, ‘O, to be like thee’.
- All thus ‘pinned’ fundamentalists are expected to hang their heads in collective shame, resolving to be henceforward more like the sainted evangelicals whose errors are few and heights of God-centeredness are sublime.
The game is on right now at a blog post near you.
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