JUSTIN de Freitas’ vivid retelling of the escapades of “evangelist” Mrs. Singh had me chuckling, which I’m sure was the effect he was aiming for. (Are these two Singhs related? – GC June 17th)

In a Guyanese manner of speaking, “running somebody up de road” is understood as the height of indignant outrage. Imagining Mrs. Singh holding onto to her hat and lifting up her skirt to acquire enough running speed to escape the young man she offended is classic cartoon imagery.

The story also has an important message; that of the irrationality of fundamentalist religious belief and its potential to sow disharmony among people of various beliefs such as we have in our communities.

Fundamentalists hold to the delusion that they alone posses the ultimate religious truth which gives rise to an arrogance that treats other faiths with contempt or disregard.

As Justin’s story demonstrates, Mrs. Singh’s fundamentalist “faith” (which scientists like professor Richard Dawkins refer to as a mind virus) caused her to disregard the Hindu practices of the funeral home, made her disrespect the bereaved relatives and the wider community, and made her commit sacrilege.

But Mrs. Singh’s mind, warped by a primitive misunderstanding of religious belief, would see her attempt at raising a dead woman back to life as the ultimate expression of her faith. The absurdity of fundamentalism would not allow her to examine the failure of her attempted resurrection, nor would it question why her God permitted her to be chased “up de road” under the threat of a very sound beating.

Some time ago, the newspapers carried a story about a young man who was found lying on top of the dead body of a teenage girl who had recently been buried. Apparently, a Christian of the evangelical sort, the young man asked those who apprehended him to assist in taking the body from the cemetery to a nearby church. It appears that like Mrs. Singh, this fundamentalist believer also wanted to physically raise the dead.

No wonder some people see religious fundamentalism as an infection of the brain.

Trying to communicate with a dead body is a form of necrophilia which is against the law and could result in significant jail time, so fundamentalists should be wary of their futile attempts at raising dead bodies.

Biblical literalists say they were told by Jesus in Matthew 10:8 that they would have the power to “raise the dead”. It never occurs to these people that Jesus was saying that his message of hope should be used to raise the morale of those who feel spiritually dead. Of course, this is an enlightened interpretation of Matt 10:8 and as we know, fundamentalists don’t do interpretation. In the end this makes them a growing danger and an everyday menace to a modern civilized world.

Ominously, a fundamentalist trend is growing in Guyana and this not something our fragile communities can withstand.
LUTCHMAN GOSSAI.