441 CHRONICLESnRobison, the skillful Baptist preachernwho currently is bringing his We MustnStop Judging One Another message tonSpirit-filled Pentecostals, along withnthe irrepressible reminder that he hasn”never spoken in tongues in [his] life”n(talk about your gherkins and dills).nThere are Oral Roberts, faithhealingnand Seed Faith pioneer, Okienhandsome in his finely tailored suits,nrefreshing in his lack of malice (henreally does seem able to love his enemies),nand Richard, Oral’s over-eager,nover-earnest, equally well-tailored sonnand successor. There is KennethnCopeland, loose, slick, and effective,nthe one-note leader of the claim-yourmiraclenPositive Confession movement.nIn the same category, if not innthe same league, is Robert “Success-nN-Life” Tilton, proud owner of a designernhaircut, a frighteningly animatednface, and endless Scripturalnevidence that God’s just itching tonmake you rich. Aside from a commonntheological starting point and readilynavailable cassette-taped “interpretations”nof everything in the Bible, whatnthese men appear to have most inncommon is a compulsion to presentnPat Boone repeatedly as a guest onntheir programs.nFinally, with his televised crusadesnand his daily program, “A Study in thenWord,” is the blue-ribbon winner, thenrepository of all secret ingredients ofnGod’s Word, Jimmy Swaggart. Remembernthat name.nIn the past, worldly observers lookednupon the forerunners of these men (innsome cases, the men themselves, e.g.,nOral Roberts) with amusement or disgust.nAided in their reactions to somenextent—but not totally — by thenpreachers themselves, skeptics saw annaberrant collection of (usually Southern)nreligious crackpots and culturalnmisfits. Smug and comfortable withnthis stereotype, figuring they knew allnthere would ever be to know, thesen(usually liberal) religious and culturalnsophisticates dozed off. By the timenthey woke up, television evangelistsnhad got smart and their ministries hadngot rich.nThe accomplishments of somenevangelists are enough to have rousednanyone. Among other things, thesenmen have created successful televisionnnetworks, built enormous tourist attractions,nand founded accredited uni­nversities. In the process, they havenadapted skillfully to the medium ofntelevision, learned the latest marketingnand direct mail techniques, acquirednstate-of-the-art computer technology,ngained devoted followings, raked innmassive amounts of money, and discoverednthat all of the above just mightnbe used not only to win souls but tonaffect national political and social policynas well. The rejoicing you hear isnfrom Fundamentalists celebrating theirndiscovery. The howl is from liberalsnawakening to their nightmare.nTo fight the new Fundamentalistnbogeyman, liberals are using the onlynmeans they know: circular thinking.n(Circular thinking happens to be a traitnliberals and Fundamentalists share.nPropelling themselves by similarnmethods of thought while moving inncompletely different orbits, they managento drive each other crazy withoutnever getting near one another.) It hasnbeen decided that if television evangelistsndon’t believe what they’re preachingn(a presumption nearly perfect in itsncynicism), they’re dangerous; and ifnthey do believe that stuff they preachn(an attitude nearly perfect in its arrogance),nthey’re still dangerous.nWhether frauds or fanatics—the onlynchoices allowed—they victimize theirnaudiences by turning them into givers,nor believers, or both. Too righteouslynindignant to understand that victimsnexist only when they are se/f-declared,nthese critics are naturally too predisposednto get much past the presentation,nthe look, of Fundamentalist theology.nAgainst the pageantry and scholarlyntraditions and ageless rituals of somenother religions. Fundamentalism sitsnin the hinterlands like an unfinishednlean-to inhabited by squatters. Easy tonmiss is the fact that the place is perfectlyndesigned—it makes its own kind ofnperfect religious sense—once you stepninside. Inside are the Fundamentals,nthe givens, from Original Sin, tonatonement at Calvary, to the promisednSecond Coming (and several more innbetween)—all of which rest withinnand are verified by the unquestionednliteral tiuth of the Bible, the Word ofnthe Living God. Instead of gettingnclose enough to take a look at what’s sonsimple and self-contained—no one’snforcing them to live there—the intellectuallynpristine and the politicallynnnwary spend their energy issuing pompousnand empty demands that thenwhole place either be condemned ornbrought up to code.nIn avoiding exploration of the commonnground shared by all Fundamentalists,ntheir critics are left ignorant ofnthe differences in doctrine and practicenthat divide Fundamentalism’s variousndenominations. How long have youngot? For at this point, one man’s Truthnbecomes another man’s heresy. At thisnpoint, things become complicated andndisputatious — and revealing. AndnFundamentalism’s present and futurenstatus as a cultural and political forcencan be evaluated accurately onlynthrough what is revealed in its divisionsnand conflicts. This fact escapesnopponents of the Fundamentalistnmovement, who have chosen, even inntheir fury (because of their fury?), tonstick with the tidy assumption that ifnyou’ve heard one Bible-thumper,nyou’ve heard them all.nThe first and major bylaw of Fundamentalistsnis I know that I know that Inknow. The second is In the world butnnot of it. The thing is, what Fundamentalistsnknow that they know thatnthey know has always varied dramaticallynfrom denomination to denominationn(even within denominations),nand their recent political activities innthe world have betrayed suspiciousnsigns of these divisions. Sensing inntheir newfound collective political influencena remedy for their longstandingnstatus as cultural rejects,nsome ambitious Fundamentalists arenengaged in a mighty effort to forgetntheir contentious history, the historynthat dooms the very attempts at unitynit makes desirable. In short, a groupnthat is defined as much by its differencesnas by its similarities is trying to unitenaround a common agenda by puttingnaside a common past. As easy to teachnclose-order drill to a swarm of hornets.nFor in this crowd it is guaranteed thatnthere will always be at least one guy,ntail up and stinger out, knowing whatnhe knows, no matter what.nWhich brings us back to JimmynSwaggart.nA born preacher and a down-homenPentecostal, Swaggart’s as good as theyncome and as tough as they get. Whennhe interrupts himself to declare “Man,nthat’s good preaching,” he merelynspeaks the truth. And when he hun-n