Out of curiosity...

Adventist Child · May 20, 2009

A lot of fundamentalist churches are looked down upon by the others.

Ironic?

I'd think one would be thought highly of for accepting the Bible as the truth of the world.

The traditions of men have always Tried to usurp the authority of scriptures... Even so back in the days of Jesus.

Mark 7:7-9

7 And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’

8 For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men—the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do.”
9 He said to them, “All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition.

Izdaari Eristikon · May 22, 2009

Like Arunma, I'm not quite a fundamentalist, but I have enough in common with my fundie friends here that I sometimes hang out with them, and mostly they don't mind. I do agree with the historic 'five fundamentals' of fundamentalism, but when we get beyond that, we have our differences.

My usual preferred label is "Christ follower". It means the same thing as "Christian" but carries less baggage and is a better conversation starter. "Disciple of Christ" would work for me just as well, but there's a denomination called "Disciples of Christ", and I wouldn't want to mislead anyone. If someone asks what church I go to, I'll say "xxxxx Community Church". If they want to know what denomination it's affiliated with, I'll say "Assemblies of God".

And if they want words that describe my theological leanings? Hmm. I'd say I'm fundamental on the very basics of the faith, but on other matters I range from conservative to moderate to liberal, depending on the issue.

My title of "Missional Anglicostal" is an accurate description too. "Missional" means I'm an agent of God's mission, just like missionaries sent overseas.

"Anglicostal" means that though my church membership is AG, I'll always be an Anglican at heart, due to my love for the writings of C.S. Lewis and N.T. Wright.

WannaWitness · May 25, 2009

Sadly, "fundamentalist" is a term that many people, Christian and non-Christian alike, misunderstand. Some get the idea that they are Christians on the most strict end of the spectrum (King James only, no contemporary music, dresses only for women, no TV, no playing cards or dice, no humor, always conservative politically, and the list goes on), and those who believe they are "holier" than everyone else because they have special convictions about a certain issue. I personally think people are confusing "fundamentalism" with "legalism", using the two words as though they are nearly interchangeable when the meanings are almost the opposite. Fundamentalist means believing in the Bible as the complete infallible Word of God, while a legalist adds his/her own ideas and opinions and say it's in the Bible when it is a mere interpretation of the Scriptures on which a certain conviction is based. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with having a certain conviction, because we all have our own. But when a person takes that conviction, turns it into a rule and say that's what makes one "holy", that's what is known as legalism.

WannaWitness · May 25, 2009

An answer to the OP: Yes, I have occasionally referred to myself as being fundamentalist. But since it is such a confusing term, I always find myself trying to explain the difference between it and legalism.

Nadiine · May 28, 2009

I never refer to myself as fundamentalist at any introductions.

I am a Christian - I believe and accept the fundamental teachings
of the Lord. I consider myself more to be Conservative becuz
I think we should all accept God's fundamental teachings as Christians.
The "fundamentals" should be a given.

Sadly in our world, the word fundamental has been morphed into
something ebil - as if we're legalist, radical terrorists and hate people.
(thanks to the likes of Fred Phelps who solidifies this imagery).

rcorlew · May 29, 2009

I have asked this question before but nobody has ever actually answered;

Does the Bible really require interpretation, or when you study it does it interpret itself?

I would describe myself as a super-fundie, in fact the only thing that would not be taken as literal is Revelation in the later chapters. In fact, when you study the Bible the times when it is not to be taken literally are clearly spelled out, in particular by Jesus and Paul; Jesus would say something like 'Here is the parable... or here is a parable...' and Paul would say 'now this is my opinion' or 'this is the opinion of the man appointed by God...'

Why am I a fundie though, because you have so much less explaining to do, you don't have to worry about if you don't take this or that literal and then find other parts of the Bible to refer to it as a literal event then having to explain that.

That is just my take though.

Albion · May 29, 2009

Although I am a fundamentalist, I never describe myself by use of that word. It is too misunderstood, too commonly associated not with any theological POV but with a style...for instacce, the kind of orientation that might lead a person to ask something like "Who is your favorite Christian band?"

AnneSally · May 31, 2009

Antigone said:
...Do you describe yourself to third parties as a 'fundamentalist christian', 'fundamentalist baptist/lutheran/Catholic/etc'?

Just Christian. That's all I've ever thought of myself and I don't belong to any religious denomination. But when I discuss my beliefs with third parties, etc, it's clear that I lean towards fundamental understanding of core doctrines and adhere to traditional Christian teaching.

AnneSally · May 31, 2009

Nadiine said:
I think we should all accept God's fundamental teachings as Christians.
The "fundamentals" should be a given.

Absolutely, I am in agreement with Nadiine on this! There are the fundamental teachings of the Christian Faith, they are a given whether folks want to acknowledge them or not. This is what I was trying to say but Nadiine expressed it better than me...

AnneSally · May 31, 2009

Nadiine said:
Sadly in our world, the word fundamental has been morphed into
something ebil - as if we're legalist, radical terrorists and hate people.
(thanks to the likes of Fred Phelps who solidifies this imagery).

Right.

AnneSally · May 31, 2009

Antigone said:
I'm asking because fundamentalist, especially to secular folk, sometimes carries negative overtones. Do you avoid the word, or is it something you're proud of and use regardless of what others might think?

Well, I'm certainly not proud of any label or term or religious classification. I'm just a Christian, and that unfortunately already carries negative connotations for most in the world (even within some quarters of Christianity).

But I'm not ashamed of the word "Christian" because of what 1 Peter 4:16 says:

"But if you suffer for being a Christian, do not feel ashamed, but glorify God with that name."

LovebirdsFlying · May 31, 2009

I simply reply that I am a Christian. If asked to elaborate, I explain that I follow the Bible as the inspired Word of God. I have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and I am saved not by anything I have done, but by the gift of His sacrifice. And, I believe in the basic principles of Christianity such as the virgin birth and the resurrection of the Lord. I say "basic" and avoid the word "fundamentalist" because, although I now correctly understand its meaning, the world doesn't. The world confuses "fundamentalist" with "extremist" or "legalist." And when witnessing, one must meet the world at its own level. (As I understand Paul's teaching in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23)

northernyogi · Jun 2, 2009

I just tell people that I am a Christian who believes that the Bible is God's instruction manual for us. When asked what church, I tell them whatever church is convenient.

WannaWitness · Jun 2, 2009

LovebirdsFlying said:
The world confuses "fundamentalist" with "extremist" or "legalist."

Sadly, that's about the size of it. Even many Christians confuse the two. When you mention the word "fundamentalist" or "fundie", the image people get is some humorless stick-in-the-mud who believes you have to walk on pins and needles to please God when in reality, Christianity isn't that rigid. The image they get is that "fundies" are King James only (as opposed to King James preferred), think all contemporary and jazzy music is of the devil, any woman who dares to put on a pair of pants at any time (no matter how loose-fitting it is) is "dressing like a harlot", and even such outlandish things as believing the use of the most innocent slang words (such as "heck" or "by gosh") is equivalent to "swearing". While it is true that some people who consider themselves fundamentalists may have some of these convictions, this is found not to be true when looking at the bigger picture. And no matter how much we try to explain that these are mostly misconceptions, they still can't see it.

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