Religious extremist!!!
Those words send a chill down my spine. The ‘extremist’ label can end my career, destroy my credibility, and ostracize me from society. Extremists are bad news when they’re the ‘religious’ kind because our society is chock full of ‘non-religious’ extremists who wouldn’t recognize hypocrisy if it was an octopus in their toilet.
Everybody is an extremist from time to time. That includes you. There’s no sense denying it and there’s no reason to be offended. Extremism is not always a bad thing.
You want your surgeon to be an extremist. You don’t want a guy who takes a ‘middle of the road’ view of gall bladder operations. “I’ll just cut a hole in your abdomen and scoop out all the organs in the region. That’ll probably get the job done.”
Driving on public roads only works when everyone is an extremist. The moderate drivers are texting and fiddling with the radio; which forces the extremists to be even MORE zealous about following the rules. The drunk driver coming at me on the wrong side of the road makes me extremely defensive.
Extremists are the only people who can do math. Accurate calculations require an obsession with precision.
Gun safety extremists are the only people I trust with firearms.
Jesus called for extremism from his disciples. He said, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” That’s Luke 14:26. No matter how you spin it, that’s some pretty radical stuff.
Christianity is only for radicals. There is no room for moderate disciples. When you remember that Jesus taught his disciples to love God and treat their neighbors as themselves, it makes sense that He wanted a bunch of extremists. Sin happens when Christianity is not practiced to the extreme.
So before you criticize me for being a religious extremist, tell me, what kind of extremist are you?
One Response
“Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. And moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.” —
Barry Goldwater
As Goldwater no doubt learned to our sorrow, once that extremist label sticks, it is difficult to shake off. Hence your post is a much-needed reminder that we need to think a bit before we decide whose extremism is least tolerable.