Why won't fundies read material that seriouly undermines their faith?

Answer 1

Because they do what their religious peers tell them. Why do you think they are called their "flock"?

Their peers tell them to ignore adversity and disregard anything that disputes their beliefs as it is surely the work of the devil.

Answer 2

I haven't run across that yet.
I read a lot of that stuff when I was a non-believer and now that I believe I think "crimenantly... how did I get suckered into that?"
I do not know the term for the type of question you have asked, but here is my problem with what you ask.

It assumes that there is material which could undermine faith which seriously misjudges faith.

My faith is based on a relationship with Jesus Christ.
You don't believe that.... I can't make you.

Answer 3

I am Catholic. I read National Geographics, TIME, Science Now, and Today's World. I have Darwin's book on evolution, I have a set of books on evolution, dinosaurs, fossils from TIME LIFE books (I think it's a 13 volume set), I visit many websites about science. I'm reading things with my son from his school about our solar system. So please don't say that people of faith don't read material of science. You're being judgment, and if you were a believer, you'd know that's a sin.

I have not read anything yet that has disproven God. Actually it all strengthens my faith. God created it all! Wow! Who's to say that he Didn't create the process of evolution? Huh? The 6 days of creation were 24-hour days like we have today. There is no time to God. Maybe that "big bang' was God's breath, He spoke and 'bang', it happened. Huh? Many He created the earth, the land, water, molten lava, crust, plates. Then He let the lava erupt and volcanos form and the plates moves and clouds formed and so on and so on. "It was good". Huh? Maybe Adam and Eve were the first cave people? After being cast out of Eden, they had to live in the wild on their own and they would have had to find shelter so they lived in caves, Adam hunted animals. We have no idea what the Adam and Eve looked like.

I'm a well educated Catholic. God created the people that became scientists that are coming up with this information. And I read it. If it goes against the Bible, I don't believe the scientists. I will always believe God. If it agrees with the Bible, then I will believe what the scientists said.

Answer 4

I read it all the time. Then I go check out the information and check it against other material. So far I've been able to find evidence that proves what I believe. The biggest problem with this material is that it believes all cultures over time are the same and assumes people understand all the science we know now. They also base their conclusions on theories based upon assumptions that require theories to support them.

Answer 5

For many you could have stopped at "Why won't fundies read?"

An elder of my fundie church, someone with an engineering degree whom you'd expect to have an empiricist's view of life, upon seeing what was my very extensive pastor's library in my home (since donated to the town library) , asked to borrow my resources on Isaiah, a topic on which he was to preach his first sermon while the senior pastor and myself were both out of town.
I pulled a half dozen academic and expository commentaries off the shelf and said, "I think these will be the most helpful. These three are for preaching. These three are academic, but they'll will give you a broad view of the scholarship on Isaiah." and he happily trotted off to prepare his sermon.
He came back the next day with the three academic commentaries, saying, "Have you read these things?"
I responded, "Cover to cover."
Obviously aghast, he exclaimed, "Pastor, I can't believe you have this trash in your home! These things should be burned with fire and the ashes scattered!"
Taken aback, I inquired, "Why in the world would you say that?"
To which he responded, "They deny Jesus is the Messiah."
Knowing they said no such thing, I asked, "What are you talking about?"
He had marked the sections covering Isaiah 7:14 "“Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold a young woman [LXX: virgin] shall conceive, and bear a son, and his name shall be called Immanuel.” And said, "They say this is not about Mary and Jesus! They're denying Jesus is the Messiah and denying the virgin birth! These guys are heretics!!!"
To which I responded, "These guys are scholars, not evangelists, as I told you, and the scholarly consensus of the moment is that "virgin" is a mistranslation from the Hebrew to the Greek. But nowhere do they deny the virgin birth or Messiahship of Christ."
He remained a steadfast enemy, plotting against me and lying about me throughout my time in the church. He believed I had fallen under Satanic influence or I wouldn't have such heterodox material in my house. I think he would have reacted better to finding pornography and drugs in my home, because those wouldn't have threatened his certitude of belief in any way, as did any Biblical view that was not in line with the most extreme and dogmatic inerrancy which he held to.

As you might imagine he was not much of an engineer either. The last time I saw him he'd lost his job, his house, his wife and kids, and he was in line at the DMV to get licensed to drive a school bus part time. He was a victim of his own rigidity and need to have the final and immovable answer, something flowing from a very deeply rooted insecurity and inferiority complex. I think the insecurity and need for certitude is true of many fundies, but with many the inferiority they feel is real, though self-imposed, and not imagined. Their rigidity about their faith carries over into the rest of their lives and also keeps them from learning, adapting and growing in other ways. It's unfortunate, but then again, someone has to drive school buses part time.

Answer 6

Fundies are bombarded everyday with material the undermines their faith. Just like everyone else is. And I think you have that completely wrong because most fundies have extensive knowledge of all other religions. And of the world in general.

Answer 7

Because nothing can ever undermine the Word of God

The truth will always be the truth whether anyone believes it or not.

Answer 8

there isn't any reading material that would undermine my faith, but you don't understand faith

Answer 9

It creates conflict within their soul. They don't want to give anything the oppurtunity to rattle the beliefs that their faith is built upon.

Answer 10

Because educating themselves on the reality of evolution would go against family tradition.