IS FANATICISM A SIN

I was asked this question nearly one year ago and I have been thinking about it somewhat because I have it in the right margin of my computer calendar.  In case you might be wondering how come I know exactly where it is, I'll tell you that it is one of those things that I know I want to do, but...  Well, you know!

I have run up against the same difficulty now that I I have decided to actually do something about it.  I can't find the definition of fanaticism that I want.  I know what it means, I really do, but the more I think of it and the more I "Wiki" it, the more disappointed I get.  It keeps coming back to religious intolerance...to religious narrow-mindedness...ah, religion, religion, religion!  The reason I don't like this definition and these explanations is that most religious people I know who are worth their salt, are really zealous people who are deeply dedicated and narrowly focused.  They would never succeed at their calling if they weren't.  I happen to be one of them.  I can honestly tell you that I am quite capable at what I do.  I can also honestly say that I cannot qualify as a fanatic.  I know because my psychiatrist friend told me so. 

So, now, I can tell you that I know that fanaticism is a sin, but only after a certain degree of it has been surpassed.  But, you say, "where is that?"  To which I answer, "No one knows."  So, essentially, that's why I am frustrated at the lack of clarity in the definitions that I have found.  I say lack of clarity because I am convinced that all fanaticism is not religiously based.  So why can't at least one dictionary say that "warmongering fanaticism is a sin" and get it over with? No, not a one.  So, all I can do is to repeat the answer I gave to my #1 son after thinking about it for only about 30 seconds.  I tell you that so that you can see that procrastination never contributes to clarifying your intellectual acumen.

Fanatisicm is a sin because it is an extreme commitment to one idea and one only without leaving any space for another point of view concerning that one idea.  The reason why that constitutes sinful behavior is because it is the opposite of virtue, therefore vice.  It is vice because vice is extreme behavior, whether right or left, while virtue is to be found dead center between to extremes.

There, that is what I told my son.  He never complained about it and the person who had talked him into asking me didn't fight it either.  So, I have carried this around for so long, and here I am happily coming back to the top of the arc, despite a long series of disappointments about the results of my research.  Therefore, rejoice with me and be comforted that we have found that fanaticism can be defined without dragging religion into the picture.  

Given that conclusion, you have to be sure that I do not expect you to Cry at my Funeral.