"Fanatics can justify practically any atrocity to themselves. The more untenable their position becomes, the harder they hold to it, and the worse the things they are willing to do to support it.”
― Mercedes Lackey, Changes
One of those things that people forget is that The Bible itself is against fanaticism. Although zeal is okay, in that the person should be on fire for God, this is different from blind fanaticism. Fanatics bring down the entire group, and force it to deal with the fanatic before they can deal with anything else. Worse, should they become the public face of the organization, they can embarrass that organization. As such, all organizations should be on the lookout for fanatics and deal with them appropriately.
It should be noted that there is a difference between "zeal" and "fanaticism". "Zeal" is fine; being on fire for whatever the person does is almost a requirement in some cases; if you don't have a certain love for what you do you may as well be doing something else. However, fanaticism is something that can obstruct you; it is more than just being gung ho, but being willing to do anything in support of the idea he support. That is not always a behavior that should be encouraged, and should actually be discouraged.
A true fanatic is blind to all but his narrow interpretation of the religion. To him anyone that does not follow that limited interpretation is an infidel and cheapens the religion; that person is actually setting the religion back and should be stopped. In more extreme cases he is willing to sacrifice his life to the cause, regardless of whether or not it furthers the cause. His belief is that you go all the way or not at all, and he is unwilling to debate deviating from the course. That obstinance makes him a threat to the cause, as it makes him a juggernaut that cannot be stopped.
Ironically this makes him a follower of a religion of his belief rather than of the beliefs of the religion. In its own way this is idolatry, as the person follows a religion that is different from the religion he is supposed to follow. He is in many ways betraying the tenets of his religion by creating his own, whether or no he realizes it, and is likely compounding the problem by being proud of his beliefs, creating an even worse problem as the person can justify the non-standard beliefs and actually look down on any that follow the actual tenets of the religion. That stance gets even worse for non-believers.
Keep in mind that does not apply merely to believers. It can apply just as much to pagans and atheists as it does the staunchest Muslim. Anyone with a specific belief system can fall prey to fanaticism. ANYONE. And if you associate with a crowd of like-minded people, it gets even worse. This means that you need to associate with people you don't necessarily agree with every so often and actually discuss philosophy.You should not take the position that you are opposed to the person's beliefs, but that you have something in common and try to seek the common ground even as you explore the differences.
If you find yourself looking down on someone else's beliefs, you need to take a step back and decide which one of you is the fanatic. It's sometimes okay to recognize that you are the fanatic, as it helps you actually explore your own beliefs. On the other hand, if the other person is the fanatic, you may just have to avoid that person. And Heaven help you two if you are both fanatics; you may want to discuss working on finding some common ground. It might surprise you to learn just how much common ground there is when it comes down to it, and taking the edge of your fanaticism can be worth it.
― Mercedes Lackey, Changes
One of those things that people forget is that The Bible itself is against fanaticism. Although zeal is okay, in that the person should be on fire for God, this is different from blind fanaticism. Fanatics bring down the entire group, and force it to deal with the fanatic before they can deal with anything else. Worse, should they become the public face of the organization, they can embarrass that organization. As such, all organizations should be on the lookout for fanatics and deal with them appropriately.
It should be noted that there is a difference between "zeal" and "fanaticism". "Zeal" is fine; being on fire for whatever the person does is almost a requirement in some cases; if you don't have a certain love for what you do you may as well be doing something else. However, fanaticism is something that can obstruct you; it is more than just being gung ho, but being willing to do anything in support of the idea he support. That is not always a behavior that should be encouraged, and should actually be discouraged.
A true fanatic is blind to all but his narrow interpretation of the religion. To him anyone that does not follow that limited interpretation is an infidel and cheapens the religion; that person is actually setting the religion back and should be stopped. In more extreme cases he is willing to sacrifice his life to the cause, regardless of whether or not it furthers the cause. His belief is that you go all the way or not at all, and he is unwilling to debate deviating from the course. That obstinance makes him a threat to the cause, as it makes him a juggernaut that cannot be stopped.
Ironically this makes him a follower of a religion of his belief rather than of the beliefs of the religion. In its own way this is idolatry, as the person follows a religion that is different from the religion he is supposed to follow. He is in many ways betraying the tenets of his religion by creating his own, whether or no he realizes it, and is likely compounding the problem by being proud of his beliefs, creating an even worse problem as the person can justify the non-standard beliefs and actually look down on any that follow the actual tenets of the religion. That stance gets even worse for non-believers.
Keep in mind that does not apply merely to believers. It can apply just as much to pagans and atheists as it does the staunchest Muslim. Anyone with a specific belief system can fall prey to fanaticism. ANYONE. And if you associate with a crowd of like-minded people, it gets even worse. This means that you need to associate with people you don't necessarily agree with every so often and actually discuss philosophy.You should not take the position that you are opposed to the person's beliefs, but that you have something in common and try to seek the common ground even as you explore the differences.
If you find yourself looking down on someone else's beliefs, you need to take a step back and decide which one of you is the fanatic. It's sometimes okay to recognize that you are the fanatic, as it helps you actually explore your own beliefs. On the other hand, if the other person is the fanatic, you may just have to avoid that person. And Heaven help you two if you are both fanatics; you may want to discuss working on finding some common ground. It might surprise you to learn just how much common ground there is when it comes down to it, and taking the edge of your fanaticism can be worth it.
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