Are you a fundie?

[desmalia]

Hello all,

It occurs to me that there are quite a few new posters in this subforum as of late. So, I would like to ask this question. Keep your answer as simple or detailed as you like. I'd just really like to know more about all of our new friends.

So, are you a Fundamentalist?

(and for those of you who don't know me yet, yes, I am ).

EDIT:
Here is the definition of a fundamentalist I am referring to, just to avoid confusion:


Statement of Faith:

We adopt the Definition by the World Congress of Fundamentalists in 1976, to wit:


A born-again believer in the Lord Jesus Christ who

1. Maintains an immovable allegiance to the inerrant, infallible, and verbally Inspired Bible;
   
   
2. Believes whatever the Bible says is so;
   
   
3. Judges all things by the Bible, and is judged only by the Bible, aka - "Sola Scriptura";
   
   
4. Affirms the foundational truths of the historic Christian Faith:
   • The doctrine of the Trinity
   • The incarnation, virgin birth, substitutionary atonement, bodily resurrection, ascension into Heaven, and Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ
   • The new birth through regeneration of the Holy Spirit
   • The resurrection of saints to life eternal
   • The resurrection of the ungodly to final judgment and eternal death
   • The fellowship of the saints, who are the body of Christ;
     
     
5. Practices fidelity to that faith, and endeavors to preach it to every creature;
   
   
6. Exposes and separates from all ecclesiastical denial of that Faith, compromise with error, and apostasy from the Truth; and
   
   
7. Earnestly contends for the Faith once delivered.

Therefore, Fundamentalism is a militant orthodoxy with a soulwinning zeal. While Fundamentalists may differ on certain interpretations of Scripture, we join in unity of heart and common purpose for the defense of the Faith and the preaching of the Gospel, without compromise or division.

Thus a Fundamentalist can be from quite a few Protestant denominations, even nondenominational. Those that defer to a view that sacred tradition is equal to scripture (not sola scriptura) would not.

 

[DeaconDean]

Hello all,

It occurs to me that there are quite a few new posters in this subforum as of late. So, I would like to ask this question. Keep your answer as simple or detailed as you like. I'd just really like to know more about all of our new friends.

So, are you a Fundamentalist?

(and for those of you who don't know me yet, yes, I am ).

Do I really have to answer that?!?

If you don't know by now, you will know shortly.

God Bless

Till all are one.

 

[desmalia]

Do I really have to answer that?!?

If you don't know by now, you will know shortly.

God Bless

Till all are one.

Hehe well not for me, Dean. But there are quite a few new members around here lately who might not know it.

 

[DeaconDean]

Hehe well not for me, Dean. But there are quite a few new members around here lately who might not know it.

Quite funny because in the staff areas, we got into a discussion and one member said that he had heard about me. Said I had a reputation as being a staunch "Fundamentalsit."

Evidently, I'm pretty well known.

Forewarned is to be forearmed.

God Bless

Till all are one.

 

[-~Truth_N_Trust~-]

Hi Des! Yes, I'm a fundie!

 

[NorrinRadd]

I think some of my hermeneutics depart from those of "stereotypical" fundies, but I do fit the FSGs.

Yes, it is fun to be mental.

 

[Izdaari Eristikon]

I think some of my hermeneutics depart from those of "stereotypical" fundies, but I do fit the FSGs.

Yes, it is fun to be mental.

Hermeneutics seems to be one area where you and I are mostly in agreement.


By the original definition, the Five Fundamentals adopted in 1910, I am a fundamentalist. But by this forum's FSGs, I am not, and so I'm content to stay a guest here.

If I have to pick one of those all-encompassing labels, I'll go with "moderate conservative".

A little more detail: I'm Wesleyan, Pentecostal (Assemblies of God), and "emerging church" but on the conservative side of it. On some points of theology, I'm very sympathetic to Catholic/Orthodox views. I tend to be moderate on social issues and libertarian in politics.

 

[spinningtutu]

Hmm... that's actually a really good question (for me). There certainly are people in my life and on the net who are pretty sure that I am (a fundy). There are people on CF who think I am. I can almost agree to the Fundy FSGs, but that almost seems to be the key word.

I certainly was a fundy for most of my life, that is true - which is one of the reasons I want to fellowship with people here. Everything in the FSGS... plus Chick tracts, plus high school evangelism, pro-Life marches, Kmart boycots, etc... all of that was me for about 19 years.
Then, and the details make for a very long story, I pretty much just went evil. Maybe I'll be able to go into detail(s) about it at some point, but please just take my word for it that when I say evil I mean evil.
Then, one day I kinda pulled my head out of the sand and realized that I really wasn't even "me". I used to have Someone and something to believe in, used to be able to wake up in the morning and know my purpose in my life, used to have other people to fellowship with... but the truth was I had become someone who was lonely and suicidal all the time, having a mental breakdown on a weekly basis. On the one hand, I really missed Christianity - on the other hand, I wasn't very sure that Christians would (or should) welcome me as one of their own, ya know, the whole me-being-evil thing.
So I found Christians who would accept me, and spent several years in the land of Liberal Christianity. And I was noticeabley "better", physically and mentally and emotionally. That is true, and I really needed the friendship and fellowship.

But, as it turns out, this too has led to a real crisis of faith for me. See, there is a difference between "liberals becoming Christians" and a "liberal version of Christian faith". Let me explain. See, anyone can become Christian. One of the things I love about the Bible is that it isn't afraid to be wild and unconventional, and one of the things you see going on is all sorts of wild and sinful and evil people finding God. Or, more precisely, God finding them. In any case, one of the things I've noticed/experienced is that when Satan finds you, Satan wants to immediately control every aspect of who you are, your personality, your entire being... God isn't so forceful, and when God finds you, who you are doesn't evaporate. You are still the same person, God just begins the process of saving those aspects of you which are sinful and damnworthy. So yes, I would say that liberals can become Christians, if, by becoming Christian, one means what becoming Christian has always meant as opposed to...
A liberal definition of Christian is something altogether different... specifically, "Christian Liberalism" is a product of the Enlightenment, which is qualified specifically by having a non-mythological or de-supernaturalized understanding of the Bible and every Christian doctrine. So, it is one thing to say that someone who is a lower-case liberal can have an awakening and realize that Christianity really is true... and it is a very different thing to re-define Christianity itself according to "Liberal" philosophy. But Christianity can only mean what it has always meant, which means that regardless of who or what kind of person becomes a Christian, by doing so, it necessarily entails accepting certain... um... "fundamentals". So, in that sense, a non-fundamentalist Christianity can't actually be Christianity at all. So, I guess that is a long-winded answer to the original question... I'm really sure that I agree, in principle, that there are "fundamentals" and that if you believe in Christianity at all, you have to accept those fundamentals... but I honestly don't know if I'm a Fundamentalist in the sense that others may be.

So, just to finish the story...
Well, over the past year or so, I've been coming to realize that I've been paying a horrible price for my affiliation with so-called Christian Liberalism: having to live in the closet of hiding what I truly believe about certain things & not being able to fellowship with like-minded people about my beliefs... if that makes sense? See, here's the thing I get to keep from my whole being evil phase - proof of the supernatural. I'm not getting tricked on that one again. I know all about Satan and the daimons and evil... personally, intimately, stuff you never want to hear about.
And I've also witnessed some pretty crazy stuff first hand. So, at a very fundamental level, I can't read the Bible the way a "Liberal" would...

So, for me, the Bible is God's inerrant, infallible and inspired word. Genesis teaches that God made everything in 6 days, and what part about "evening" and "morning" is unclear or vague? There really was a flood, there really was a tower of Babel, the OT is an account of the real lives - and real faiths - of real people. When it reports that a snake talked to Eve or that Balaam's ass spoke, it means these things happened. And then there's Jesus. And yes, I believe Jesus was/is divine, born of the virgin Mary, sinless and that was raised in-the-body and will return. I say yes to the belief that Jesus died for our sin. And I believe all of it has to be taken literally and supernaturally. I believe Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit to lead us and guide us. I'm a trinitarian in the strictest sense. And heck, while I'm at it, I even believe, not only in the parousia of Jesus, but also in the rapture and the end of the world.

Now some people would read that and conclude I'm a complete fundy. Others may not. What do you think? I'd love to know...

~Paxi

 

[desmalia]

Paxi, thank you so much for sharing your thoughts so openly and eloquently. That was beautiful.

I would like to share some comments. I don't know your story in detail, so please correct me if I am wrong in anything I say here.

From what you have said, it sounds like God has shone His truth in your mind for a long time. Initially you simply followed the path without questioning (which causes us all to fall sooner or later!). Then you followed your own path for a time and it took you places that you know were not of Him. He has patiently (and with many tears) waited for you as you pursued that course, and still he shines His truth on you. After all you've done and all you've been through, you know now, maybe more than ever, that He is your creator, He is just, He is holy, He is merciful, He is love, He is truly God. Amen!

The question is now, what is the response of your heart when faced with this overwhelming understanding? I don't ask that in order to define whether you are a fundamentalist or any other label. It just occurs to me that you are very aware of who Christ is and what He has done for you. That is truly a wonderful gift. What is your response to it? Have the years you spent in darkness hardened your heart, or is the door open for Him to fill your soul and free you to glorify Him?

 

[Logus]

Yuppers.

 

[Nadiine]

HI Des =)

I'm definitely fundamental - altho I don't go as far as some fundamentalists in certain things; namely liberties and freedoms we have in Christ. I may be more moderate in that area and give more room there where others probably don't.

To Paxi, nice post, I wanted to reply to this:

So, it is one thing to say that someone who is a lower-case liberal can have an awakening and realize that Christianity really is true... and it is a very different thing to re-define Christianity itself according to "Liberal" philosophy. But Christianity can only mean what it has always meant, which means that regardless of who or what kind of person becomes a Christian, by doing so, it necessarily entails accepting certain... um... "fundamentals". So, in that sense, a non-fundamentalist Christianity can't actually be Christianity at all.

Yes, I've said the same for years. It's a redefinition of Christianity that goes on in most of them.

One other thing I'd note, those types of liberals proclaiming Christianity welcome, love & embrace nonChristians yet can't embrace Christians that take the Bible and God seriously (ie. fundamentals of scripture teaching, commands & principles).
So that tells me alot. They'll welcome the lost but can't seem to stand Christians much.

 

[champuru]

no i'm not... *quickly changes subject* sooooo nice weather lately

 

[ElijahFalling]

I'm new to this partuicular subforum...

"Fundie" can mean different things, and there are different flavors of "fundies", but I believe I am pretty fundamentalist about most aspects of Christianity:

- I believe in a literal heaven/hell, a literal satan, literal angels, fallen angels, demons, I believe these are all very real
- I believe in a literal end times, and that it is nearly upon us (this is what I am probably most passionate and most fundamentalist about)
- I am relatively conservative in my lifestyle and political beliefs (though more libertarian in my political beliefs)
- I believe we should always stand for the truth even when the world stands against us, and if the world is not standing against us then we must not be standing for the truth

Some things that might cause me to be labeled otherwise are that I don't agree with what is and isn't in the Canon, and I don't believe mainstream christianity (or what people currently call "christianity") is a true representation of the religion Jesus taught, and I like to use the word Churchianity to distinguish the difference.

 

[desmalia]

What do you believe is and isn't in the canon?

 

[desmalia]

I suppose just the word fundie on it's own could cause some confusion. So I'll add a copy of our FSG's so everyone can see what I'm referring to when I ask the question. I will also add it to my OP for clarification.

Statement of Faith:

We adopt the Definition by the World Congress of Fundamentalists in 1976, to wit:


A born-again believer in the Lord Jesus Christ who

1. Maintains an immovable allegiance to the inerrant, infallible, and verbally Inspired Bible;
   
   
2. Believes whatever the Bible says is so;
   
   
3. Judges all things by the Bible, and is judged only by the Bible, aka - "Sola Scriptura";
   
   
4. Affirms the foundational truths of the historic Christian Faith:
   • The doctrine of the Trinity
   • The incarnation, virgin birth, substitutionary atonement, bodily resurrection, ascension into Heaven, and Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ
   • The new birth through regeneration of the Holy Spirit
   • The resurrection of saints to life eternal
   • The resurrection of the ungodly to final judgment and eternal death
   • The fellowship of the saints, who are the body of Christ;
     
     
5. Practices fidelity to that faith, and endeavors to preach it to every creature;
   
   
6. Exposes and separates from all ecclesiastical denial of that Faith, compromise with error, and apostasy from the Truth; and
   
   
7. Earnestly contends for the Faith once delivered.

Therefore, Fundamentalism is a militant orthodoxy with a soulwinning zeal. While Fundamentalists may differ on certain interpretations of Scripture, we join in unity of heart and common purpose for the defense of the Faith and the preaching of the Gospel, without compromise or division.

Thus a Fundamentalist can be from quite a few Protestant denominations, even nondenominational. Those that defer to a view that sacred tradition is equal to scripture (not sola scriptura) would not.

 

[Izdaari Eristikon]

I suppose just the word fundie on it's own could cause some confusion. So I'll add a copy of our FSG's so everyone can see what I'm referring to when I ask the question. I will also add it to my OP for clarification.

Statement of Faith:

We adopt the Definition by the World Congress of Fundamentalists in 1976, to wit:


A born-again believer in the Lord Jesus Christ who

1. Maintains an immovable allegiance to the inerrant, infallible, and verbally Inspired Bible;
   
   
2. Believes whatever the Bible says is so;
   
   
3. Judges all things by the Bible, and is judged only by the Bible, aka - "Sola Scriptura";
   
   
4. Affirms the foundational truths of the historic Christian Faith:
   • The doctrine of the Trinity
   • The incarnation, virgin birth, substitutionary atonement, bodily resurrection, ascension into Heaven, and Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ
   • The new birth through regeneration of the Holy Spirit
   • The resurrection of saints to life eternal
   • The resurrection of the ungodly to final judgment and eternal death
   • The fellowship of the saints, who are the body of Christ;
     
     
5. Practices fidelity to that faith, and endeavors to preach it to every creature;
   
   
6. Exposes and separates from all ecclesiastical denial of that Faith, compromise with error, and apostasy from the Truth; and
   
   
7. Earnestly contends for the Faith once delivered.

Therefore, Fundamentalism is a militant orthodoxy with a soulwinning zeal. While Fundamentalists may differ on certain interpretations of Scripture, we join in unity of heart and common purpose for the defense of the Faith and the preaching of the Gospel, without compromise or division.

Thus a Fundamentalist can be from quite a few Protestant denominations, even nondenominational. Those that defer to a view that sacred tradition is equal to scripture (not sola scriptura) would not.

Almost, but not quite. I can go mostly go along with that, but the differences are too important to gloss over.

1. I believe the Bible is perfectly what God intended it to be. I can go with inerrant (God didn't make any mistakes) and infallible (having already affirmed inerrancy, this is from the Dept. of Redundancy Dept.? ), but I stick on the phrase "verbally inspired", which seems to imply God dictated the exact words to the human writers, allowing no role for them other than automatons, and that isn't God's way as I see it.

2. Alrighty, but I bet many of the folks here are "literalist" in their understanding of that, and I am not. I think that arose from the "modernist" outlook, and would have been foreign to the early church.

3. I'm only mostly Protestant. My church is in that tradition, so I am one by definition, but I'm not protesting anything, and I don't think the Catholic/Orthodox approach is entirely wrong. I don't see tradition as equal to scripture by any means, but I'm willing to allow it some role.

4. Sure, except for

• The resurrection of the ungodly to final judgment and eternal death

I don't dispute that, but I might not define it the same way.

5. I'll preach it to those who will listen, but I think aggressive methods of proselytizing are counter-productive, and make more confirmed anti-Christians than Christians. I see example and dialogue as being generally more productive.

6. Once I'm sure something is error, but I try to be humble about my understanding. I don't see any humility in that statement.

7. Aye, I try to do that.

And I stick on the phrase "militant orthodoxy". I like orthodoxy (right beliefs) but I think orthopraxy (right practice) is also important. But I would choose "generous" as an adjective modifying orthodoxy (with a nod to Brian McLaren) rather than "militant".

So as defined by the FSGs, I guess I'd be "conservative" but not "fundamentalist".

 

[dead2self]

So I am a fundy. Cool. Didn't know a conservative Baptist could be a fundamentalist too. Never saw the statement of faith before. I must say, I agree with it %100 and really like how it does not leave any room for squishy theology.

 

[desmalia]

Well I'm a Reformed Baptist, so that would qualify as conservative Baptist too, I'm sure. I think quite a number of us have Baptist roots, actually.

 

[ElijahFalling]

What do you believe is and isn't in the canon?

I don't agree that Esther should be in the canon. I don't believe most of the pauline epistles should be in the canon. I do believe Enoch should be in the canon, since it is quoted directly in Jude.

 

[Hentenza]

Hello all,

It occurs to me that there are quite a few new posters in this subforum as of late. So, I would like to ask this question. Keep your answer as simple or detailed as you like. I'd just really like to know more about all of our new friends.

So, are you a Fundamentalist?

(and for those of you who don't know me yet, yes, I am ).

EDIT:
Here is the definition of a fundamentalist I am referring to, just to avoid confusion:


Statement of Faith:

We adopt the Definition by the World Congress of Fundamentalists in 1976, to wit:


A born-again believer in the Lord Jesus Christ who

1. Maintains an immovable allegiance to the inerrant, infallible, and verbally Inspired Bible;
   
   
2. Believes whatever the Bible says is so;
   
   
3. Judges all things by the Bible, and is judged only by the Bible, aka - "Sola Scriptura";
   
   
4. Affirms the foundational truths of the historic Christian Faith:
   • The doctrine of the Trinity
   • The incarnation, virgin birth, substitutionary atonement, bodily resurrection, ascension into Heaven, and Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ
   • The new birth through regeneration of the Holy Spirit
   • The resurrection of saints to life eternal
   • The resurrection of the ungodly to final judgment and eternal death
   • The fellowship of the saints, who are the body of Christ;
     
     
5. Practices fidelity to that faith, and endeavors to preach it to every creature;
   
   
6. Exposes and separates from all ecclesiastical denial of that Faith, compromise with error, and apostasy from the Truth; and
   
   
7. Earnestly contends for the Faith once delivered.

Therefore, Fundamentalism is a militant orthodoxy with a soulwinning zeal. While Fundamentalists may differ on certain interpretations of Scripture, we join in unity of heart and common purpose for the defense of the Faith and the preaching of the Gospel, without compromise or division.

Thus a Fundamentalist can be from quite a few Protestant denominations, even nondenominational. Those that defer to a view that sacred tradition is equal to scripture (not sola scriptura) would not.

Yep!!!! I'm a fundie.