Have Fundamentalists Forgotten What Fundamentalism Is?

[redleghunter]

What exactly is Fundamentalism? Is it the main stream media caricature of snake handling Westburo Baptist rubes American Taliban?

Well that seems to be what the secular Left would love to paint Fundamentalists.

So where did this characterization or label come from. The actual history should be made clear.

Fundamentalism folks is a very good thing indeed. The history is steeped in orthodox (little "o") Christianity. In the mid to late 19th Century Liberal Christian theological centers pumped out error after error denying the Virgin Birth, the Deity of Christ and frankly presented a socialist philosophical Jesus Who was not seated at the Right Hand of the Father.

The reaction to this assault on Biblical and historic Christianity was the Fundamentals of the Christian Faith:

Fundamentalism is built on five tenets of the Christian faith, although there is much more to the movement than adherence to these tenets:

1) The Bible is literally true. Associated with this tenet is the belief that the Bible is inerrant, that is, without error and free from all contradictions.

2) The virgin birth and deity of Christ. Fundamentalists believe that Jesus was born of the virgin Mary and conceived by the Holy Spirit and that He was and is the Son of God, fully human and fully divine.

3) The substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ on the cross. Fundamentalism teaches that salvation is obtained only through God’s grace and human faith in Christ’s crucifixion for the sins of mankind.

4) The bodily resurrection of Jesus. On the third day after His crucifixion, Jesus rose from the grave and now sits at the right hand of God the Father.

5) The authenticity of Jesus’ miracles as recorded in Scripture and the literal, pre-millennial second coming of Christ to earth.

What is Fundamentalism?

Leading theologians such as RA Torrey and others published books and pamphlets teaching the fundamentals of the Christian faith:

The Untold Story of The Fundamentals « Biola Magazine

Text Commentaries by R. A. Torrey

 

[EmmaCat]

Amen and thank you!

All good things
Emmy

 

[EmmaCat]

What is Fundamentalism?

What was said is true. I would like to clear up the snake-handling thing. We live in a rural area and when a snake gets into the church or fellowship hall, we call a brother who specializes in snake-handling. He trots in and opens fire with his 12-gauge shotgun on the snake if it's poisonous like a rattlesnake or copperhead. If it's just a blacksnake he just picks it up and shoves it into his fishing net and takes it outside. That's how we handle snakes. Sometimes it's messy but it works.

I'm so grateful we have real answers here. We do not influence any political issues. We pray. We aren't told how to vote and never influence others how to vote. That is up to your heart and mind; we do not judge. We aren't you.

When we might sometimes witness to others of our salvation and coming to Christ, that's all we can do. We cannot choose your religion for you. That is a ridiculous idea. We might open a door but it's your choice to choose your religion. You have to choose your path and you have to work on your walk with God. We can't and won't do it for you. We will pray for you and help if we can but we're not recruiters.

Anyone who tries to "convert" anyone to "Fundamentalism" and tells you some weird and odd kind of "fundamentalist" religion is the only way is horribly wrong. Get away from them immediately and don't listen to that garbage. They aren't real Fundies. They have an agenda of their own and you don't want that in your walk with God. Instead, pray and do what you can to find where you belong.

Remember, we all have choices. There are many paths open. Real Fundies never witness until they are asked, and I'm sorry, but no one hired me as a recruiter and I'm not in charge of your walk with God. I just pray you find your own church and you will be saved.

With all good things

Emmy

 

[DeaconDean]

For anybody who calls themselves a "Fundamentalist", they should own a copy of:

"The Fundamentals; A Testimony to the Truth".

I have mine!

God Bless

Till all are one.

 

[DeaconDean]

This is from the Wikipedia:

"Torrey's 4 volume set (downloadable PDFs) at Northwestern Theological Seminary. Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3, Volume 4"

Source

God Bless

Till all are one.

 

[stuart lawrence]

What exactly is Fundamentalism? Is it the main stream media caricature of snake handling Westburo Baptist rubes American Taliban?

Well that seems to be what the secular Left would love to paint Fundamentalists.

So where did this characterization or label come from. The actual history should be made clear.

Fundamentalism folks is a very good thing indeed. The history is steeped in orthodox (little "o") Christianity. In the mid to late 19th Century Liberal Christian theological centers pumped out error after error denying the Virgin Birth, the Deity of Christ and frankly presented a socialist philosophical Jesus Who was not seated at the Right Hand of the Father.

The reaction to this assault on Biblical and historic Christianity was the Fundamentals of the Christian Faith:

Fundamentalism is built on five tenets of the Christian faith, although there is much more to the movement than adherence to these tenets:

1) The Bible is literally true. Associated with this tenet is the belief that the Bible is inerrant, that is, without error and free from all contradictions.

2) The virgin birth and deity of Christ. Fundamentalists believe that Jesus was born of the virgin Mary and conceived by the Holy Spirit and that He was and is the Son of God, fully human and fully divine.

3) The substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ on the cross. Fundamentalism teaches that salvation is obtained only through God’s grace and human faith in Christ’s crucifixion for the sins of mankind.

4) The bodily resurrection of Jesus. On the third day after His crucifixion, Jesus rose from the grave and now sits at the right hand of God the Father.

5) The authenticity of Jesus’ miracles as recorded in Scripture and the literal, pre-millennial second coming of Christ to earth.

What is Fundamentalism?

Leading theologians such as RA Torrey and others published books and pamphlets teaching the fundamentals of the Christian faith:

The Untold Story of The Fundamentals « Biola Magazine

Text Commentaries by R. A. Torrey

I was raised in a Church termed fundamentalist. Every church has its official creed of belief. I will just give my views of what I have seen in fundamentalist churches.

The belief most have that I noted, is jesus died to wipe the slate clean at the point of conversion. After this, the emphasis is on a very high degree of holy living or you risk losing your salvation.
The bible is inerrant and the full truth of it must be preached. You are sorry if you offend anyone, but no one should be in the pulpit unless they plainly state the truth of scripture.
However.
I never once heard it stated in any fundamentalist church I went to: Christ is God himself and you must believe it to be saved.
Though a very high standard of moral living was required, it was not preached: Christ is the end if the law unto righteousness etc. Most fundamentalists I know believe they will attain heaven if they obey the TC etc. That is their bottom line.
Most fundamentalists I knew came from the more affluent, and academically gifted half of society.
Sorry if this sounds a bit harsh. But you see, the fundamentalist churches I knew all inferred no one stood on the bible as they did. Some considered this arrogance.
To sum up. I haven't found fundamentalists to be true fundamentalists. They basically trust in a righteousness of their own to attain heaven. Despite what the official doctrine may state

 

[Greg J.]

What exactly is Fundamentalism? Is it the main stream media caricature of snake handling Westburo Baptist rubes American Taliban?

Well that seems to be what the secular Left would love to paint Fundamentalists.

So where did this characterization or label come from. The actual history should be made clear.

The history doesn't mean anything when preachers continue to preach obeying rules and condemning those that don't, instead of the love of God and salvation.

For anybody who calls themselves a "Fundamentalist", they should own a copy of:

"The Fundamentals; A Testimony to the Truth".

I have mine!

God Bless

Till all are one.

All one needs is a copy of the Bible—and a heart to live to please God.

 

[redleghunter]

The history doesn't mean anything when preachers continue to preach obeying rules and condemning those that don't, instead of the love of God and salvation.

All one needs is a copy of the Bible—and a heart to live to please God.

Indeed. So what I'm hearing from you and others the original Fundamentalist movement based on the 5 Fundamentals of Christian faith is not the "new" brand. Meaning other people call what you describe as fundamentalist but it has little to do with the historic fundamentalist movement of the early 20th century.

So what fundamentals do these post modern fundamentalists follow?

 

[DeaconDean]

The history doesn't mean anything when preachers continue to preach obeying rules and condemning those that don't, instead of the love of God and salvation.

All one needs is a copy of the Bible—and a heart to live to please God.

I would agree to a certain extent, but there are times where the bible isn't enough.

A prime example would be for a pastor to preach on predestination. I have seen so many attempt to do this and fail miserably because they failed to study.

But hey, what do I know?

God Bless

Till all are one.

 

[redleghunter]

I haven't found fundamentalists to be true fundamentalists. They basically trust in a righteousness of their own to attain heaven. Despite what the official doctrine may state

Indeed. Thank you for the observations. It was my intent (after viewing some of the threads here) to cite the history of the fundamentals as espoused by theologian-preachers such as RA Torrey. You describe such assemblies which Torrey would rebuke and not break bread with.

 

[Willie T]

Sounds like a lot of people get "Traditionalist" mixed up with "Fundamentalist."

 

[WannaWitness]

The following link, in my opinion, explains the issue of fundamentalism, as well as how it differs from true legalism and how the two are often confused.

Fundamentalism and separatism

Another link, from the same writer, covers "secondary issues" - not the things the Bible clearly says is sin, but the "doubtful things" (Romans 14:1) on which Christians sometimes disagree.

Fundamentals and secondary issues

I'm aware that I have posted these links before, but as with any other forum/online community, people come and go, so there is always someone who may not have had a chance to see them. I may find more info as I'm able.

God bless!

 

[mnorian]

Mod hat on
This thread has been

of off-topic & SOP violation posts.
Please do not post in this forum unless you are
a Fundamentalist. Others may only post in fellowship; not debate.
From the SOP of the forum:
All posts within this faith community must adhere to the site wide rules. In addition, if you are not a member of this faith group, you may not debate issues or teach against its theology. You may post in fellowship. Active promotion of views contrary to the established teachings of this group will be considered off topic.

Carry on.​

 

[radhead]

To me it seems to be a weird set of doctrine without any of the love and social justice that I see so heavily throughout the Bible.
What is it's purpose?
I don't understand it. I don't think the historical Jesus would like anything about it.

 

[DeaconDean]

All one needs is a copy of the Bible—and a heart to live to please God.

All except what Fundamentalists said they (and I) believe about baptism and what the scriptures seem to say, are very different.

God Bless

Till all are one.

 

[Champollion]

What exactly is Fundamentalism? Is it the main stream media caricature of snake handling Westburo Baptist rubes American Taliban?

Well that seems to be what the secular Left would love to paint Fundamentalists.

So where did this characterization or label come from. The actual history should be made clear.

Fundamentalism folks is a very good thing indeed. The history is steeped in orthodox (little "o") Christianity. In the mid to late 19th Century Liberal Christian theological centers pumped out error after error denying the Virgin Birth, the Deity of Christ and frankly presented a socialist philosophical Jesus Who was not seated at the Right Hand of the Father.

The reaction to this assault on Biblical and historic Christianity was the Fundamentals of the Christian Faith:

Fundamentalism is built on five tenets of the Christian faith, although there is much more to the movement than adherence to these tenets:

1) The Bible is literally true. Associated with this tenet is the belief that the Bible is inerrant, that is, without error and free from all contradictions.

2) The virgin birth and deity of Christ. Fundamentalists believe that Jesus was born of the virgin Mary and conceived by the Holy Spirit and that He was and is the Son of God, fully human and fully divine.

3) The substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ on the cross. Fundamentalism teaches that salvation is obtained only through God’s grace and human faith in Christ’s crucifixion for the sins of mankind.

4) The bodily resurrection of Jesus. On the third day after His crucifixion, Jesus rose from the grave and now sits at the right hand of God the Father.

5) The authenticity of Jesus’ miracles as recorded in Scripture and the literal, pre-millennial second coming of Christ to earth.

What is Fundamentalism?

Leading theologians such as RA Torrey and others published books and pamphlets teaching the fundamentals of the Christian faith:

The Untold Story of The Fundamentals « Biola Magazine

Text Commentaries by R. A. Torrey

May I ask about the Bible's literal truth?

For example, Genesis 2:7 ... And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground,

This may be true as a first approximation, but it has a sort of Bronze Age ring to it. A modern author might say, "And the Lord God formed man of the gases (namely carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and water) of the atmosphere.

 

[redleghunter]

May I ask about the Bible's literal truth?

For example, Genesis 2:7 ... And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground,

This may be true as a first approximation, but it has a sort of Bronze Age ring to it. A modern author might say, "And the Lord God formed man of the gases (namely carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and water) of the atmosphere.

Or really according to 21st century "education" would say God created man "out of stuff."

But the connection is quite simple. We came from dust and our mortal bodies will return to such a state.

 

[Champollion]

Or really according to 21st century "education" would say God created man "out of stuff."

But the connection is quite simple. We came from dust and our mortal bodies will return to such a state.

In two decades working in public education, I don't recall any discussion of how God created man or from what God created man. The most common mention of God comes in American history classes when they lecture about how the six hundred or so Biblical commandments have affected American law.

Organisms are not made of dust. They are mostly made of carbon dioxide and water. Plants make sugar from carbon dioxide and water. Plants use the sugar to make the other chemicals. Animals use the plant's chemicals to build the animals' bodies. When an organism dies, most of the body becomes carbon dioxide and water.

 

[Ron Gurley]

What is a fundamentalist Christian?

In recent times, the term "fundamentalist" has become commonly used by the news media to refer to any religious group whom they consider to hold radical views. We may recall frequent references to the mid-east Islamic fundamentalists who have been viewed as fanatics, and often responsible for acts of terrorism.


Similarly, liberal society uses the term fundamentalist to identify any Christian whom they consider to be an extremist. Generally, they classify a Christian as a radical fundamentalist if they merely believe in the literal interpretation of the Bible, if they hold views against sexual permissiveness, homosexuality, abortion on demand, or any views which are politically incorrect.

From the Christian perspective, fundamentalist has traditionally referred to any follower of Christ who believes that
1. the Bible is the inspired Word of God and
2. who believes in its literal interpretation and fundamental teachings.
3. The fundamental Christian believes in the experience of the "new birth"
4. which occurs when faith is placed in Christ as Savior and Lord.
To the world this may be viewed as radical, but is very basic to the Christian faith.

The idea of Christian Fundamentalism first emerged as a movement in the 19th century within various Protestant bodies, who reacted against the rising tide of evolutionary theories and modernist Biblical criticism. From a Bible conference of Conservative Protestants meeting in Niagara in 1895, a statement was issued containing what came to be known as the five points of fundamentalism:
1. The verbal inerrancy of Scripture,
2. the divinity of Jesus Christ,
3. the virgin birth,
4. a substitutionary theory of the atonement, and
5.the physical resurrection and bodily return of Christ.


In the first half of the 20th century, most Protestant churches in the U.S. were divided into either Fundamentalist or Modernist groups. The term has generally been applied to all those who adhere to strict, conservative (Protestant) orthodoxy in the matter of Biblical inspiration.

In the broad sense, fundamentalism may be used to describe Christians who are uncompromising, conservative and who take their beliefs to the maximum — exactly how every believer should live. But because of recent, increased activism by those identified as fundamentalists, who have promoted unethical actions such as bringing violence against abortion clinics, doctors etc., some academic circles believe that fundamentalism has been redefined by our society. They believe that the philosophy of fundamentalism (at least in the world's eyes) has evolved into a legitimate form of extremism, with views too radical for the balanced, evangelical Christian. For this reason, fundamentalism may no longer be a term which accurately conveys what orthodox Christians really believe.

REF:
What is a fundamentalist Christian?

 

[redleghunter]

What is a fundamentalist Christian?

In recent times, the term "fundamentalist" has become commonly used by the news media to refer to any religious group whom they consider to hold radical views. We may recall frequent references to the mid-east Islamic fundamentalists who have been viewed as fanatics, and often responsible for acts of terrorism.


Similarly, liberal society uses the term fundamentalist to identify any Christian whom they consider to be an extremist. Generally, they classify a Christian as a radical fundamentalist if they merely believe in the literal interpretation of the Bible, if they hold views against sexual permissiveness, homosexuality, abortion on demand, or any views which are politically incorrect.

From the Christian perspective, fundamentalist has traditionally referred to any follower of Christ who believes that
1. the Bible is the inspired Word of God and
2. who believes in its literal interpretation and fundamental teachings.
3. The fundamental Christian believes in the experience of the "new birth"
4. which occurs when faith is placed in Christ as Savior and Lord.
To the world this may be viewed as radical, but is very basic to the Christian faith.

The idea of Christian Fundamentalism first emerged as a movement in the 19th century within various Protestant bodies, who reacted against the rising tide of evolutionary theories and modernist Biblical criticism. From a Bible conference of Conservative Protestants meeting in Niagara in 1895, a statement was issued containing what came to be known as the five points of fundamentalism:
1. The verbal inerrancy of Scripture,
2. the divinity of Jesus Christ,
3. the virgin birth,
4. a substitutionary theory of the atonement, and
5.the physical resurrection and bodily return of Christ.


In the first half of the 20th century, most Protestant churches in the U.S. were divided into either Fundamentalist or Modernist groups. The term has generally been applied to all those who adhere to strict, conservative (Protestant) orthodoxy in the matter of Biblical inspiration.

In the broad sense, fundamentalism may be used to describe Christians who are uncompromising, conservative and who take their beliefs to the maximum — exactly how every believer should live. But because of recent, increased activism by those identified as fundamentalists, who have promoted unethical actions such as bringing violence against abortion clinics, doctors etc., some academic circles believe that fundamentalism has been redefined by our society. They believe that the philosophy of fundamentalism (at least in the world's eyes) has evolved into a legitimate form of extremism, with views too radical for the balanced, evangelical Christian. For this reason, fundamentalism may no longer be a term which accurately conveys what orthodox Christians really believe.

REF:
What is a fundamentalist Christian?

Thanks. Good piece. The last paragraph goes by the Alinsky rules for radicals. Define your opponent before they can define themselves or fail to defend themselves.