The bitter Religous Studies Prof Type

I'm not a fan of ideal types, however I do think that there is something like an ideal type that emerges within similar traditions. We can begin to outline this type by using analogy to build a list of similar tendencies of these characters. The type I'm interested in is the angst ridden post-Christian religious studies prof. This is how you can tell them. They are invariably using methods that are thematic rather then tradition based. Most of their methods are univocal, especially when they speak about Christians. That is they read all Christians of a certain type the same: evangelicals, fundamentalists, liberals. So here is a typical comment: All evangelicals are a bunch of material consuming, 'attached' world destroyers, who harbour hate towards minorities be they ethnic/racial, sexual or religious (and religious-ethinic); while they proclaim belief in spirit they are so attached to world that they make all of their doctrine look ridiculous. [notice the total misreading or erasure of the incarnation, trinitarian dynamic]

I ran into a prof spouting this type of univocal, stereotypical type crap this week. The interesting thing about this "type" is that they usually rant about Christians when the topic is actually focused on something else. Last year I was critiquing a presentation on walmart's staff rituals, saying that walmart attempts to create community in the store - smile, laugh, buy - while it erodes community outside the store. In this way walmart manufactures a symptom - lack of community, and then treats it. My prof immediately looked at me and said "Well isn't that what evangelists do with sin?" And he looked at me in such a way that his connection seemed obvious. The thing is, the debate was about walmart, not evangelists - however much they may share sales tactics, the two traditions are very different, though they do have a base southern culture in common. His comment was a Freudian slip that betrayed a stewing hate for evangelicals. Likewise the prof this week exposed his own hate for Christians by claiming that most capitalism is propelled by Christians, while responding to a lecture on non-attachment in a 8th century buddhist monk's writing. The fact is that most capitalism is propelled by seculars who may be able to trace Christian roots in their families. This is a given: Bush does encourage consumerism and southern Christians are certainly disciplined to mix faith and consumer fix together - witness: Jerry Jenkins and Tim Lehaye; Rick Warren and his Purpose Driven bs; packaged fast food Christianity. The thing is that scholars need to be able to get a grip on their object of critique - and they certainly don't do this through stereotype. [I say this while I'm critiquing a type. The thing is I could list out genealogies of individuals here, traditions, and prove analogical similarities.] This broad based bashing of Christians just mystifies the whole thing. The truth is that many Christians are fed up with consumerism. Many Christians, like my next door neighbour have adopted lifestyles that evade overconsumption. My neighbour has two families living in his house. Friends who got together after Uni and said: hey lets live together, save some overhead, and some energy, have a good time, prove community can work. Lets also help the downtrodden, the shit on, and the shitting, to get back into community in a healthy way, where they might avoid turning other people into shitters (by which I mean pedophiles). These people are Mennonite, close faith relatives to Baptists. You know, some Christians don't run over people with tanks or drive SUV's until the next ice age. In fact those that perpetuate this later model usually have developed alternative ideologies and traditions that are incompatible with Christianity and they live in a certain place in the world. We might say their very Christianity is nominal. However, we might add that this certain country actually only has a about a 25-30% Church attending population.

Which means this: Secularity is the problem, not necessarily bad Christians, but a government ruled by the desire for profit and progress(rather then Christ), a desire that many Christians are caught up in.

So here is my comment to the type of RS prof that I've run into: Quit projecting the wrath you feel toward whoever it was in your lifetime that turned you off of Christianity on to me. Quit writing about stereotypes. Quit promoting some naive type of liberalism that leads to the thinnest subject position around: consumer.