How was Jerry instrumental in motivating fundamental to re-engage with mainstream culture?
America is known to have over fifty million Christians who claim to be born again, yet their culture is secular. Occasionally some editors and journalist have portrayed the Christians as outside people who are a threat to the public life. However, the question of modernity whether America is pre-modern or modern is based on the Christians religious beliefs. Susan Harding’s book focuses on the intense language use among born again Christians that caused changes in American politics in the 1980s (Kenneth, 179). Farwell’s words as employed in the book comprises of scriptural narratives that have an influence on people’s way of life. Farwell applies the use of sermons, speeches and audio telecast to communicate his beliefs. He is also assisted by his fellow pastors and colleagues.
Susan focused on listening to the message that her fellow Christians heard from Jerry in fundamental Baptists. According to Jerry, some stories mattered most to the born again Christians that related to the new Christian rights. The political power earned by Christians was as a result of the engaging narratives that that were compelling to the modern America. The differentiation of the scholarly terms ‘fundamentalism’ and ‘Fundamentalism’ is a first opening remark that captures the audience. Fundamentalism with the upper case ‘F’ refers to the global Bible believers who mainly rely on religious and spiritual concepts while fundamentalism with the lower case ‘f’ referred to the group of Christians or a social movement that was formed by Jerry and that had set their goal on the critics of the modern society. The campaign firmly believed in Christianity and still wanted a political arena to air their views.
Rhetorically powerful symbols
Communication is an essential part of the process of culture formation. A language is a powerful tool that can be used to mobilize or inform people. The terms employed by Jerry to influence fundamentalism involved the narration of stories as well as communication of personal convictions and ideas that were presented rhetorically but in a way that was convincing. Jerry applied the use of conviction by the Holy Spirit to elaborate the rhetoric of conversion of the fundamental Baptists. The process of transformation begins when a person listens to a witness or witnesses of the gospel. The language of God can only be understood when one shows interest and commitment in listening to the gospel. During her research activities, Harding’s though passively listening to Reverend Cantrell (one of the pastors Jerry was working with) she realized how stupid his speech was, and it contained little sense to her ears. Despite the initial reaction to the speech, the author realized that it was a matter of faith rather than logic as it is applied in anthropological studies. The language of convicting people to convert was more explicit than the act of getting saved.
The representation of the language used is symbolic and influential that it exerts pressure on individuals into believing what is being said. The representation may be fictitious and may include creativity that contains deeper meaning than what is being said. For Christians to participate in political activities, the symbolism was applied in Jerry’s teachings and preaching. The fundamentalist approach used allowed Christians to take part in politics unlike in the post-modern Christianity where the religious and spiritual activities are only encouraged (Perelman, 79).
Response to a fellow citizen
In her book, Harding has clearly illustrated how the use of Biblical language has been resourceful in providing information on culture and cultural diversity. People who believe in the Bible have come to understand themselves or know who they are based on scriptural illustrations that they read or hear from preachers. These beliefs resulted in a growth of a culture or tradition that is inseparable from the current American culture. Initially for example in 1984, Falwell’s announcement to resolve the crisis created a rift between him and some of his followers. However, in doing so, he created the relationship between biological studies and Christianity a move that was not so warmly welcomed. Various presidents have been noted to associate with Christianity and therefore the development of interaction between politics and Christianity (Stout, 27). The book of Jerry Falwell elaborates and expands a person's understanding of the cultural and behavioral differences that are present between Christianity and the modern world.
The association of politics and Christianity is evidence of the confusion that exists within the Christian identities. This is because the purposes of political powers are contradictory to Christian beliefs of purpose. There is the need for believers to come up with a new rhetoric that should focus on gestures and logistics to allow it to be politically involved. Unlike fundamentalism that mainly concentrated on the language and its power of persuasion, the new rhetoric should primarily focus on dialogue that is aimed at identifying respective values or ideas. A clear line of separation should be drawn between secularism and Christianity; this means that the old idea of Christianity has no place in the modern political arena.
Works Cited
Burke, Kenneth. Identification. In On Symbols and Society edited by Joseph R. Gusfield, 179-
91. Chicago: University Press. 1989
Chaim Perelman. Rhetoric and Politics. Philosophy and Rhetoric, Vol. 17, No. 3.The
Pennsylvania State University Press, University Park and London. 1984
Harry S. Stout. Review Essay: Religion, War, and the Meaning of America. Religion and
American Culture: A Journal of Interpretation, Vol. 19, Issue 2, pp. 27. 2009
