Robin Skinner & John Cleese “LIFE …and how to survive it” – (Methuen; London:1993)

p. 270 – 271

John: So a religious idea will be interpreted by a person in a way that fits in best with their existing psychology?

Robin: Yes, and it can therefore support them in functioning at the best level they’re capable of, given their limitations. … Well, take people functioning at the least healthy level first. They’ll understand religion as a collection of rules, of rewards and punishments, of threats and promises, all enfoced by a powerful and frightening God.

John: The extreme black-and-white thinking found in young children?

Robin: That’s exactly what it is. The thinking of such people has got stuck at that level, and though it’s normal in a very young child, it’s obviously unhealthy in an adult. …
John: And how is God experienced?

Robin: He’s seen as a terrifying, domineering, bad-temprered dictator, who wants everyone to spend heir time admiring him and telling him how marvellous he is. … So naturally people holding this view feel they have to do lots of things to keep Him sweet, so that He won’t get into a bad mood and blast them with thunderbolts, or boils, or rivers of blood.

p. 287

John: Well, everything that you’ve been saying implies that [Fundamentalism] is a manifestation of a fairly low level of mental health, doesn’t it? For a start, Fundamentalists call for a literal interpretation of scripture, and as we saw when we were discussing secular values, focusing in on the letter of the law is a characteristic of the less healthy. In addition, wise people tend not to exhibit literal mindedness, so it seems singularly inappropriate to assume that this is the vein in which great spiritual teahers are speaking. Then again, whether we’re talking about Christianity, Islam, Judaism or Hinduism, the values of Fundamentalists seem aimed at making themselves feel better by placing all negative and destructive emotions in people with different beliefs, and enjoying the golden glow of self-justification that results. … You know that simile: ‘As rare as a Fundamentalist who loves his enemy.’ … the Inquisition did largely miss the point of ‘Love Thy Neighbour’, didn’t they? Wasn’t burning heretics ‘worse’ than being tolerant towards them? …