Jeff, you are correct that I refer to Christian fundamentalists and not all of Christiandom.

Indeed, the argument suggested by the title “Christian Fundamentalists Have Hijacked Moral Values” has been most passionately and astutely articulated by Christians themselves.

See Richard Glover's editorial “Those things we were liable to read into the Bible: it ain’t necessarily so,” in the Sydney Morning Herald 6 Nov. 2004:
http://www.smh.com.au/news/Richard-Glover/Those-things-we-were-liable-to-read-into-the-Bible--it-aint-necessarily-so/2004/11/05/1099547384111.html
See also the (American) National Council of Churches' general secretary
Rev. Robert Edgar's statements at
http://www.startribune.com/stories/587/5085533.html
See the Village Gate blogs at http://therightchristians.org/
And see Whyme?'s comments above

I would echo the sentiment expressed by these Christians, many of them American, that the “moral values” central in U.S. politics are only one interpretation of Christ’s teachings. This interpretation is arguably just as ridiculous, short-sighted and coercive as the behaviours I grew up with.

Debate on what many see as a morally questionable practice of 1) interpreting the Bible in many of the ways “moral values” voters did and/OR 2) limiting “moral values” to gay marriage, etc and prioritising these ABOVE the social and environmental problems plaguing America, Christian principles of inclusion and respect for life (war casualties and aging adults) etc., I believe is beyond the scope of my article, whether set in a secular or Christian framework.

I intended to draw a cynical analogy between the immovable, questionably constructed but influential aspects of fundamentalism and the illogic of adolescent politics, because that is largely how I (and some adults I knew) experienced it. Those two sentences are meant as a nod to very worthy contributors to what is already a vibrant, well-treated argument.

Point taken, that the debate you mentioned was beyond the scope of the article these comments were about. However, just in case you plan to pursue this topic in future articles, you may want to consider:

It is easy to dismiss what is being said against abortion, gay marriage, and foetal stem cell research, on the basis of a stereotype, i.e., "the American Christian Fundamentalist".

On the other hand, it would be worth considering what basis other groups have for saying the same things. Those include theologians, scientists and medical practicioners, including embryologists, and philosophers, all of whom go beyond the Bible. Scientists and embryologists are the best people to ask about when human life begins. Catholic and Orthodox sources are the most consistent for over 2,000 years against abortion.

I would also suggest digging deeper into Christian viewpoints as there are a number of them, varying in consistency and (claims or basis of) authority. Whyme?'s post is one interpretation of what belongs to Caesar, but the Catholic Church certainly disagrees. Those URLs you cited have articles that don't quite represent the norm of Christianity. As this is about a specific issue, you might as well look at the arguments given by the Catholic and Orthodox Churches: they've been arguing against abortion since the first century, before the Bible's New Testament was completely written and compiled in the 4th century.

Emunah, I'm sorry to hear you didn't fit in as an adolescent. That's one of the harder things to deal with at that age.

But spare a thought for all the other teenagers who didn't fit in for other reasons in other social contexts. Imagine Christian children growing up in an athiest, hedonistic school. For example spare a thought for the girls who were labelled "frigid" because they wouldn't "give out" on the first date at the age of 13. Or the "nerds" who didn't try marijuana or cocaine.

Also consider the kids scorned as "christian fundamentalists" for publicly opposing abortion and admitting they go to church, who then have pentagrams and pro-choice slogans graffited on their school bag and books.

I hope that eventually you will be able to objectively consider the claims of Christianity and Judaeism rather than allowing these bitter memories to fester away and make you just another Christian-hater.

I am a ex Christian, but now an agnostic. I could never come to terms with the cherrypicking of "Christian values" and the hypocrisy of those who claimed to have them. How about " a tree shall be known by its fruit." .... "turn the other cheek"? ..... "its harder for a rich man to go to heaven than a camel to through the eye of a needle" ....... "Render unto Caesar that which is Caesars" ? I believe these are all out of the gospels by memory. I could go on and on quoting the bible and giving examples if neccessary. I met many good individual Christians, but my exprience of the the church left me with impression it was a safe haven for the low level pyschotics of this world, with the inability to gain power in the secular world.

Dirtylie, it is unfortunate that your experience has been as you say. In my own experience, keeping in mind that no one is perfect, the Christians I know seem to try reasonably hard to live as Christians. They're not in-your-face preaching Christians either. Just.. ordinary Christians.

Some would be confused about certain issues, others get confused in gray situations, and they all fail to measure up from time to time. To me they still seem to be decent folks. I know that some Christians have been taught that they can never do wrong, and this attitude can be cloying, but this is misinformation. My own Catholic faith tells me instead that we most certainly remain sinners for as long as we live, and it is the challege of a lifetime to carry our daily cross, following Christ, picking ourselves up whenever we fall.

As for gaining power of any sort, perhaps you are right, lots of Christians can't even see the need to gain power. That certainly squares with my own attitude about power in the secular world: what for? :-)

Wow, Ruby! Your comments about Emunah actually made me laugh out loud. You're serious?

"I hope that eventually you will be able to objectively consider the claims of Christianity and Judaeism rather than allowing these bitter memories to fester away and make you just another Christian-hater"

Isn't there an in-between here? Can't people have an opinion, a perspective other than the majority? Is this your response to anyone who doesn't share your point of view?

It's a big world and we've all have enormous differences in our upbringing, our personal experiences, our faith. Shouldn't we embrace everyone, disagreements aside?

I think it was Gothe who said:

"No two people see the world exactly alike, and different temperaments will apply in different ways a principle that they both acknowledge. The same person will, indeed, often see and judge the same things differently on different occasions: early convictions must give way to more mature ones. Nevertheless, may not the opinions that a person holds and expresses withstand all trials, if only one remains true to oneself and others?"

Maybe it's time we played a little music together.