What makes a Christian a fundamentalist?

[Butterfly99]

Just trying to understand the different terms used on sections here.

 

[1watchman]

Generally it is like unto the political world ---Conservatives and Liberals; however, it is more, for we are talking about holding to the Bible or reasoning about religious ways. Fundamentalists usually means valuing the Bible, yet some of them also are so strict they add the Old Testament religion to Christianity and demand perfection in humans. Liberals want everyone to feel good so tend to accommodate many ideas and innovations. This seems about the thought of it.

 

[brinny]

i dunno......

does it mean taking the Bible at its Word?

 

[Butterfly99]

i dunno......

does it mean taking the Bible at its Word?

Are you trying to imply that people who aren't Fundamentalists don't take the Bible at its word?

 

[brinny]

Are you trying to imply that people who aren't Fundamentalists don't take the Bible at its word?

LOL! No, i was just askin'

sorta' thinkin' out loud...

what does Fundamentalist mean to you, if you don't mind me asking?

 

[Butterfly99]

LOL! No, i was just askin'

sorta' thinkin' out loud...

what does Fundamentalist mean to you, if you don't mind me asking?

Oh, OK. Well good!!! Cause you had me worried there for a bit. Tbh I don't know that much about Fundamentalism. That's why I'm asking. I'm 16 & still learning about this stuff. I just know we're not Fundamentalists. We're Methodist.

 

[brinny]

Oh, OK. Well good!!! Cause you had me worried there for a bit. Tbh I don't know that much about Fundamentalism. That's why I'm asking. I'm 16 & still learning about this stuff. I just know we're not Fundamentalists. We're Methodist.

Ok, now here's something to ponder then....

can one be a "fundamentalist" AND a Methodist?

 

[Wgw]

Ok, now here's something to ponder then....

can one be a "fundamentalist" AND a Methodist?

As a former Methodist who still has a high regard for John Wesley I would be interested to know if fundamentalists regard him as potentially a fundamentalist.

 

[brinny]

As a former Methodist who still has a high refard for John Wesley I would be interested to know if fundamentalists regard him as potentially a fundamentalist.

ok, pardon my lack of knowledge on this...

but, he wasn't a fundamentalist?

 

[Wgw]

ok, pardon my lack of knowledge on this...

but, he wasn't a fundamentalist?

He was a curate in the Church of England until his death.

 

[brinny]

He was a curate in the Church of England until his death.

what is that, exactly, if you don't mind me asking?

 

[Wgw]

what is that, exactly, if you don't mind me asking?

An Anglican priest who is neither a rector (the recipient of a benefice for the cure of souls, or more fucntionally, the tenured priest of a parish), or a vicar (a priest who has a semi-permanent appointment as the representative of a rector).

Wesley, due to his Methodism and other factors. was a bit unpopular among Anglican clerics, and thus did not receive a benefice; he facilitated the independence of the Methodists in the US from what became the Episcopal Church; he however never resigned from the Church of England and was never excommunicated; the British Methodists separated from the C of E a few years after his death.

 

[brinny]

An Anglican priest who is neither a rector (the recipient of a benefice for the cure of souls, or more fucntionally, the tenured priest of a parish), or a vicar (a priest who has a semi-permanent appointment as the representative of a rector).

Wesley, due to his Methodism and other factors. was a bit unpopular among Anglican clerics, and thus did not receive a benefice; he facilitated the independence of the Methodists in the US from what became the Episcopal Church; he however never resigned from the Church of England and was never excommunicated; the British Methodists separated from the C of E a few years after his death.

thank you. I didn't know that.

 

[com7fy8]

There are a number of different kinds of fundamentalists, according to my experience. And what each group has in common is they claim that God's word means what it says and they do not "add" to what God's word says. And each group fundamentalist can feel that other sorts of fundamentalists are not real fundamentalists. For example, there are independent Baptists who do not agree with Pentecostals who also claim to be only by the Bible. Also, there are a number of non-Trinitarian groups who claim to be by the Bible. And there are nondenominational and evangelical people and outreach ministries which claim to be by what the Bible says, without adding to it.

The fundamentalist groups which I find to be more for real are ones who believe in the Trinity and the fact that all humans have been born in sin and need to trust in Jesus and all He did for us on the cross, in order to be forgiven and saved; the person starts fresh and becomes "a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new." (in 2 Corinthians 5:17) And one needs to stop doing one's own thing and do God's will. And ones believe that Jesus will come back to "rapture" His church; to me, it seems the more publicly known fundamentalist groups say the rapture will be "pre-trib".

But what I seem to keep finding is how anyone who matures in Jesus and how to relate in love becomes more and more humble and not only pushing certain fundamentalist or denominational beliefs. And people like this have power to effect me with the Holy Spirit of God's own love making me more and more real with God and sharing as family with other Christians while having compassion and hope for any and all people. The person is more an example of God's word, versus talking ideas. It becomes more and more personal, how they relate God's word.

My personal understanding of "fundamentalist" is that each scripture says what God means. Each scripture of God comes from God's own heart, therefore with His love meaning. And as we grow in God's own love "in our hearts" (Romans 5:5) we discover more and more of His love meaning which is more and better than words can tell And His word says,

"'So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
. It shall not return to Me void,
. But it shall accomplish what I please,
. And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.'"
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(Isaiah 55:11)

So, no matter how people can make it seem like no one can get straightened out and agree about what the Bible means . . . God is accomplishing, right now, in His love . . . all He means by His word. Also, God is quite able to have you understand Him, no matter how others might try to make it look like you are mistaken. And God can have you discover others who understand His word, and are learning and growing. Like I offer, the main meaning is not only in words and ideas, but how in us the Holy Spirit is correcting and curing us to become like Jesus > Galatians 4:19, 1 John 4:17, 1 Peter 3:4; and with this transformation of our inner person we discover how we are sharing in family love intimately with our Father and our Groom Jesus and one another > Ephesians 4:31 - 5:2.

And the Bible says we are all "called in one body" to obey how our Father rules us in His very own peace in our hearts > Colossians 3:15 < we discover the meaning of this only by submitting to God in His peace

So, I am offering that true fundamentalism does not have God seeming to be only or mainly theoretical while we depend on ourselves to get ourselves to understand and do His word. But our Father is personal with each of us His children, having us doing all He means by His word.

 

[Aelred of Rievaulx]

The theologian in me tends to see fundamentalism as a particular form of blindspot wherein one does not recognise ones hermeneutic. The historian in me considers fundamentalism as a particular contextual reaction to modernism in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries along with the remnant of this movement today.

 

[1watchman]

Generally it is like unto the political world ---Conservatives and Liberals; however, it is more, for we are talking about holding to the Bible or reasoning about religious ways. Fundamentalists usually means valuing the Bible, yet some of them also are so strict they add the Old Testament religion to Christianity and demand perfection in humans. Liberals want everyone to feel good so tend to accommodate many ideas and innovations. This seems about the thought of it.

As I noted already, fundamentalism can be viewed as a particular value attached to religion (note the dictionary). One can be liberal in some things and fundamental in other things, but ALL need to take the Bible fully as the only authority for the Christian faith ---not adding to it or taking from it. Conservatism appears somewhere between.

Brinny asked if it means "taking the Bible at its Word", and that is generally what God intends, providing one is "rightly dividing the Word of Truth", as He enjoins us; and not according to our reasonings.

 

[ToBeLoved]

Generally it is like unto the political world ---Conservatives and Liberals; however, it is more, for we are talking about holding to the Bible or reasoning about religious ways. Fundamentalists usually means valuing the Bible, yet some of them also are so strict they add the Old Testament religion to Christianity and demand perfection in humans. Liberals want everyone to feel good so tend to accommodate many ideas and innovations. This seems about the thought of it.

In my opinion, and this is just my opinion and not that you are wrong but I see the 'valuing the Bible' as being more what Conservative Christians do. But the Conservative Christians usually have a clear deliniation between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant.

I think Fundamentalist's have issues in putting the Word of God in context and treat the entire Bible like it is the same or on the same level, but it is clearly not because the Old Testament is under the Old Covenant and the New Testament is under the New Covenant.

That is how I see the difference between 'Fundamentalist' and 'Conservative' Christians being different with the main thing being how they deliniate between the Covenants and therefore understand that we are under the New Covenant now with the blood of Jesus Christ, whereas the Old Covenant the levitical priests made temporary atonement for sins with the blood of animals.

The Old Covenant was to serve until God became man in the person (who is fully God and fully man) of Jesus Christ who once and for all conquered sin through His keeping all of the Law perfectly, dying for the sins of all the world and being ressurected by the Father and once again being placed at the Father's right hand on the throne.

So the Covenant issue is a major tenant of understanding why Jesus had to come and die.

 

[ToBeLoved]

There are a number of different kinds of fundamentalists, according to my experience. And what each group has in common is they claim that God's word means what it says and they do not "add" to what God's word says. And each group fundamentalist can feel that other sorts of fundamentalists are not real fundamentalists. For example, there are independent Baptists who do not agree with Pentecostals who also claim to be only by the Bible. Also, there are a number of non-Trinitarian groups who claim to be by the Bible. And there are nondenominational and evangelical people and outreach ministries which claim to be by what the Bible says, without adding to it.

The fundamentalist groups which I find to be more for real are ones who believe in the Trinity and the fact that all humans have been born in sin and need to trust in Jesus and all He did for us on the cross, in order to be forgiven and saved; the person starts fresh and becomes "a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new." (in 2 Corinthians 5:17) And one needs to stop doing one's own thing and do God's will. And ones believe that Jesus will come back to "rapture" His church; to me, it seems the more publicly known fundamentalist groups say the rapture will be "pre-trib".

But what I seem to keep finding is how anyone who matures in Jesus and how to relate in love becomes more and more humble and not only pushing certain fundamentalist or denominational beliefs. And people like this have power to effect me with the Holy Spirit of God's own love making me more and more real with God and sharing as family with other Christians while having compassion and hope for any and all people. The person is more an example of God's word, versus talking ideas. It becomes more and more personal, how they relate God's word.

My personal understanding of "fundamentalist" is that each scripture says what God means. Each scripture of God comes from God's own heart, therefore with His love meaning. And as we grow in God's own love "in our hearts" (Romans 5:5) we discover more and more of His love meaning which is more and better than words can tell And His word says,

"'So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
. It shall not return to Me void,
. But it shall accomplish what I please,
. And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.'"
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(Isaiah 55:11)

So, no matter how people can make it seem like no one can get straightened out and agree about what the Bible means . . . God is accomplishing, right now, in His love . . . all He means by His word. Also, God is quite able to have you understand Him, no matter how others might try to make it look like you are mistaken. And God can have you discover others who understand His word, and are learning and growing. Like I offer, the main meaning is not only in words and ideas, but how in us the Holy Spirit is correcting and curing us to become like Jesus > Galatians 4:19, 1 John 4:17, 1 Peter 3:4; and with this transformation of our inner person we discover how we are sharing in family love intimately with our Father and our Groom Jesus and one another > Ephesians 4:31 - 5:2.

And the Bible says we are all "called in one body" to obey how our Father rules us in His very own peace in our hearts > Colossians 3:15 < we discover the meaning of this only by submitting to God in His peace

So, I am offering that true fundamentalism does not have God seeming to be only or mainly theoretical while we depend on ourselves to get ourselves to understand and do His word. But our Father is personal with each of us His children, having us doing all He means by His word.

Just to share a little on independant Baptists, the Duggars are independent Baptists and we can see they take the Old Testament as being a huge authority under the Law of Moses.

However, Jesus fulfilled the Law.

I am only using the Duggars as examples because their beliefs are fairly well known now with the scandals.

I would also add that the Duggars believe that we (God's people) need to bring about a scenario where all the world is under the Law of Moses for Jesus Christ to come back. That believers must create the conditions in the world, through leaders who also believe like them (ie. Sarah Palin, Huckabee, ect) in order for Jesus to return. But Jesus never said that He wanted us to return to levitical Law (Law of Moses). Christ died to fulfill the Law, not to bring it back.

 

[com7fy8]

Christ died to fulfill the Law, not to bring it back.

I agree, and it looks as though they dug up some stuff which is not what the Bible means.

So, how is it that people can become called "fundamentalists" when what they believe is not even a Bible fundamental??

One Bible basic that I think of is how God wants us to submit to how He personally rules us with His own peace >

"And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful." (Colossians 3:15)

To me, this shows how our basic calling as Christians includes that we are expected to obey how our Heavenly Father rules us "in your hearts" with His very own peace. If God is ruling each of us in our "hearts" . . . I think this is very "close" and personal, in every one of us who is a child of God. So, this shows how God is not distant just watching us and maybe taking care of our circumstances.

But it seems certain "fundamentalist" groups are very about God being at a distance and keeping a record on us, while we are supposed to get our own selves to do things which they dictate He wants. But I find how, in true Bible basics, we see various scriptures showing how it is basic Christianity to be personal with God, right in our hearts > sharing with Him in His very own love (Romans 5:5), and benefitting from how He personally and "continually" (Isaiah 58:11) rules us in His very own peace.

 

[ToBeLoved]

I agree, and it looks as though they dug up some stuff which is not what the Bible means.

So, how is it that people can become called "fundamentalists" when what they believe is not even a Bible fundamental??

One Bible basic that I think of is how God wants us to submit to how He personally rules us with His own peace >

"And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful." (Colossians 3:15)

To me, this shows how our basic calling as Christians includes that we are expected to obey how our Heavenly Father rules us "in your hearts" with His very own peace. If God is ruling each of us in our "hearts" . . . I think this is very "close" and personal, in every one of us who is a child of God. So, this shows how God is not distant just watching us and maybe taking care of our circumstances.

But it seems certain "fundamentalist" groups are very about God being at a distance and keeping a record on us, while we are supposed to get our own selves to do things which they dictate He wants. But I find how, in true Bible basics, we see various scriptures showing how it is basic Christianity to be personal with God, right in our hearts > sharing with Him in His very own love (Romans 5:5), and benefitting from how He personally and "continually" (Isaiah 58:11) rules us in His very own peace.

I completely agree.

I see myself as Conservative and not a Fundamentalist (as far as these two are concerned) because clearly the New Covenant is what we are under in Christ.

With Jesus Christ we also have the indwelling Holy Spirit. That was given to us through Christ's death and ressurection. That we are once again reconciled back to God.