Entrenched right-ness in church, Southern Baptist Convention

[♦ Fuego ♦]

Enforcing fundamentalist beliefs (no, not love your neighbor as yourself, or take up your cross daily, or sell all you have and give to the poor) at the Southern Baptist Convention

 

Back in the 80s, there was a resurgence of taking the Bible more literally, believing in demons and angels, and actively doing something called spiritual warfare that sold lots of books and speaking engagements. Any time believers can feel like they are at war, they tend to embrace the faith more strongly. Show them how the culture has embrace the devil, and they will fervently burn books, records, etc. This blurb is the same thing. It's the same fervency that drives Boko Haram and other fanatics globally. Rightness has been spelled out for them and they will embrace it, though only the parts that don't involve caring for others (especially foreigners), dying to selfish desires, and forsaking the pursuit of money. They are almost a caricature at this point, but there are a lot of them that have an unbending smug anger that drives them to control others.  

[Myrkhoos]

There was an ascetical Orthodox book that warned that righteousness is often a cover for vainglory. That was one book that helped in that period. It was called On spiritual deception by Ignatius Briancheaninov, a russian bishop saint from 19th century.