Fundamentalism, How to describe it

[Salty]

How would you describe Fundamentalism?

Do you agree with Mr. Webster ? "a movement in 20th century Protestantism emphasizing the literally interpreted Bible as fundamental to Christian life and teaching"

Would you say the 5 points of fundamentalism sums it up?
In 1910, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church identified what became known as the five fundamentals:[19]

• Biblical inspiration and the infallibility of scripture as a result of this
• Virgin birth of Jesus
• Belief that Christ's death was the atonement for sin
• Bodily resurrection of Jesus
• Historical reality of the miracles of Jesus

 

[timf]

The term "fundamentalism" as it is used today has its origin with the books published in the early past of the 20th century.

The Fundamentals - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

The term has come to be applied widely outside of Christianity as a sort of description of any movement to return to its origin. The philosopher Eric Hoffer said that every movement first becomes a business and then a racket. This perhaps captures a little of the general desire for some to return to basics of whatever movement they are apart of.

When the books were written the church had been captivated by political progressiveism to the point where Marxism, Freudianism, and Darwinism had made huge inroads as a sort of alternative truth. In addition biblical criticism, feminism, and a general idea that the government was a more practical tool to run our lives than God also was gaining traction. This was aided by the relatively sudden proliferation of colleges and universities

One might see in fundamentalism the same desire to refute error that was the basis for formulating various creeds. One can certainly understand the alarm in seeing how much success Satan has had in undermining the faith of many. However, there is a danger in a reflexive defensive reaction. By focusing on a few critical elements of faith, we can be led to neglect other key elements. For example, by fighting against the ideas of evolution, might be distracted from paying attention to the personal growth that was intended for each of us in walking by the Spirit instead of the flesh. In fact some can even be led to fight for Christ in the flesh and thus inhibiting any maturity in faith.

Here is an article from the blog archive of christianpioneer.com that touches on this problem

Bunker Christianity

There have been historical times of opposition and even persecution where Christians have responded defensively. The term “fundamentalism” comes from a series of booklets called the Fundamentals written 100 years ago in response to the rising tide of secularism seen with Darwin, Freud, and Marx enthusiastically taken up in colleges as an alternative to Christianity.

Hymns like “Onward Christian Soldiers” often resonate with a desire for a militant engagement with the world that can foster either a defensive ossification or alternatively a prideful bellicosity. However, Christians are rather called to be prepared to give a reason for the hope that is within them.

Christians under siege can react to perceived threat with fear and anger which weakens faith in their Savior and a strengthens of faith in themselves (the flesh). This usually happens when walking in truth and humility seems uncertain and being “right” seems a more concrete position. Being “right” usually means adherence to doctrines, rituals, traditions, and practices of men. Walking in truth usually means a humble surrender to the work of the Holy Spirit and unreserved trust in Jesus.

Being “right” may manifest in creeds, organizational systems, crusades, seminaries, and even inquisitions. Walking in truth often seems to engender a passivity that may lead anywhere from being ignored to being burned alive. Adversity usually exposes the limitations of being “right”. A person may cling to a particular bible translation, an achievement such as having made Jesus Lord of his life or baptism, a tradition such as generations of denominational faithfulness, or faithful adherence to a practice such as Sabbath or dietary observances, however, ultimately being “right" elevates self and walking in truth brings us closer to him who is truth.

Christians who have sought the comfort of security in a defensive position often find themselves contending with other Christians over various elements of doctrine, bible versions, prayer formats, color of choir robes, or any deviation from what has been defined as “right”. Often sermons from this vantage point carry the theme of how bad everyone else is and how good we are.

Christianity was always intended to be transcendent to the world, not promoting it, entangled with it, or in the case of “bunker" Christianity even sniping at it. There is a book hundreds of years old called, “The Practice of the Presence of God” by a Brother Lawrence. Brother Lawrence could not often be called “right”, but what he shows is a simple and complete faith in God. In a way, his various errors are useful in demonstrating by contrast how little faith depends on intellectual achievement, meticulous practice, or getting things exactly “right”.

Satan has always had success getting humans to try to take control of things. When driven into a defensive posture, we often become vulnerable to this temptation by thinking we are contending for the faith by attacking other Christians or fighting their error. Christians are called to exhort, encourage, even admonish but most of all to love other Christians. When under attack or even put to death, our God is not so weak as to need us to fight the world or each other.

 

[Zaatar71]

The term "fundamentalism" as it is used today has its origin with the books published in the early past of the 20th century.

The Fundamentals - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

The term has come to be applied widely outside of Christianity as a sort of description of any movement to return to its origin. The philosopher Eric Hoffer said that every movement first becomes a business and then a racket. This perhaps captures a little of the general desire for some to return to basics of whatever movement they are apart of.

When the books were written the church had been captivated by political progressiveism to the point where Marxism, Freudianism, and Darwinism had made huge inroads as a sort of alternative truth. In addition biblical criticism, feminism, and a general idea that the government was a more practical tool to run our lives than God also was gaining traction. This was aided by the relatively sudden proliferation of colleges and universities

One might see in fundamentalism the same desire to refute error that was the basis for formulating various creeds. One can certainly understand the alarm in seeing how much success Satan has had in undermining the faith of many. However, there is a danger in a reflexive defensive reaction. By focusing on a few critical elements of faith, we can be led to neglect other key elements. For example, by fighting against the ideas of evolution, might be distracted from paying attention to the personal growth that was intended for each of us in walking by the Spirit instead of the flesh. In fact some can even be led to fight for Christ in the flesh and thus inhibiting any maturity in faith.

Here is an article from the blog archive of christianpioneer.com that touches on this problem

Bunker Christianity

There have been historical times of opposition and even persecution where Christians have responded defensively. The term “fundamentalism” comes from a series of booklets called the Fundamentals written 100 years ago in response to the rising tide of secularism seen with Darwin, Freud, and Marx enthusiastically taken up in colleges as an alternative to Christianity.

Hymns like “Onward Christian Soldiers” often resonate with a desire for a militant engagement with the world that can foster either a defensive ossification or alternatively a prideful bellicosity. However, Christians are rather called to be prepared to give a reason for the hope that is within them.

Christians under siege can react to perceived threat with fear and anger which weakens faith in their Savior and a strengthens of faith in themselves (the flesh). This usually happens when walking in truth and humility seems uncertain and being “right” seems a more concrete position. Being “right” usually means adherence to doctrines, rituals, traditions, and practices of men. Walking in truth usually means a humble surrender to the work of the Holy Spirit and unreserved trust in Jesus.

Being “right” may manifest in creeds, organizational systems, crusades, seminaries, and even inquisitions. Walking in truth often seems to engender a passivity that may lead anywhere from being ignored to being burned alive. Adversity usually exposes the limitations of being “right”. A person may cling to a particular bible translation, an achievement such as having made Jesus Lord of his life or baptism, a tradition such as generations of denominational faithfulness, or faithful adherence to a practice such as Sabbath or dietary observances, however, ultimately being “right" elevates self and walking in truth brings us closer to him who is truth.

Christians who have sought the comfort of security in a defensive position often find themselves contending with other Christians over various elements of doctrine, bible versions, prayer formats, color of choir robes, or any deviation from what has been defined as “right”. Often sermons from this vantage point carry the theme of how bad everyone else is and how good we are.

Christianity was always intended to be transcendent to the world, not promoting it, entangled with it, or in the case of “bunker" Christianity even sniping at it. There is a book hundreds of years old called, “The Practice of the Presence of God” by a Brother Lawrence. Brother Lawrence could not often be called “right”, but what he shows is a simple and complete faith in God. In a way, his various errors are useful in demonstrating by contrast how little faith depends on intellectual achievement, meticulous practice, or getting things exactly “right”.

Satan has always had success getting humans to try to take control of things. When driven into a defensive posture, we often become vulnerable to this temptation by thinking we are contending for the faith by attacking other Christians or fighting their error. Christians are called to exhort, encourage, even admonish but most of all to love other Christians. When under attack or even put to death, our God is not so weak as to need us to fight the world or each other.

Yes the good purpose of those who originally wrote these 5 points was to refute liberal apostate ideas. Over time additional legalistic baggage was added to this definition to make it a thing people turn away from if they do not look at the history a bit.

 

[atpollard]

What is Fundamentalism? (Got Questions)​

The word fundamental can describe any religious impulse that adheres to its basic tenets. Fundamentalism, for the purpose of this article, is a movement within the church that holds to the essentials of the Christian faith. In modern times the word fundamentalist is often used in a derogatory sense.

The Fundamentalist movement has its roots in Princeton Theological Seminary because of its association with graduates from that institution. Two wealthy church laymen commissioned ninety-seven conservative church leaders from all over the Western world to write 12 volumes on the basic tenets of the Christian faith. They then published these writings and distributed over 300,000 copies free of charge to ministers and others involved in church leadership. The books were entitled The Fundamentals, and they are still in print today as a two-volume set.

Fundamentalism was formalized in the late 19th century and early 20th century by conservative Christians—John Nelson Darby, Dwight L. Moody, B. B. Warfield, Billy Sunday, and others—who were concerned that moral values were being eroded by modernism—a belief that human beings (rather than God) create, improve, and reshape their environment with the aid of scientific knowledge, technology and practical experimentation. In addition to fighting the influence of modernism, the church was struggling with the German higher criticism movement, which sought to deny the inerrancy of Scripture.

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.

Other points of doctrine held by Fundamentalists are that Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible and that the church will be raptured prior to the tribulation of the end times. Most Fundamentalists are also dispensationalists.

The Fundamentalist movement has often embraced a certain militancy for truth, and this led to some infighting. Many new denominations and fellowships appeared, as people left their churches in the name of doctrinal purity. One of the defining characteristics of Fundamentalism has been to see itself as the guardian of the truth, usually to the exclusion of others’ biblical interpretation. At that time of the rise of Fundamentalism, the world was embracing liberalism, modernism, and Darwinism, and the church itself was being invaded by false teachers. Fundamentalism was a reaction against the loss of biblical teaching.

The movement took a severe hit in 1925 by liberal press coverage of the legendary Scopes trial. Although Fundamentalists won the case, they were mocked publicly. Afterwards, Fundamentalism began to splinter and refocus. The most prominent and vocal group in the USA has been the Christian Right. This group of self-described Fundamentalists has been more involved in political movements than most other religious groups. By the 1990s, groups such as the Christian Coalition and Family Research Council have influenced politics and cultural issues. Today, Fundamentalism lives on in various evangelical groups such as the Southern Baptist Convention. Together, these groups claim to have more than 30 million followers.

Like all movements, Fundamentalism has enjoyed both successes and failures. The greatest failure may be in allowing Fundamentalism’s detractors define what it means to be a Fundamentalist. As a result, many people today see Fundamentalists as radical, snake-handling extremists who want to establish a state religion and force their beliefs on everyone else. This is far from the truth. Fundamentalists seek to guard the truth of Scripture and defend the Christian faith, which was “once for all entrusted to the saints” (Jude 1:3).

The church today is struggling in the postmodern, secular culture and needs people who are not ashamed to proclaim the gospel of Christ. Truth does not change, and adherence to the fundamental principles of doctrine is needful. These principles are the bedrock upon which Christianity stands, and, as Jesus taught, the house built upon the Rock will weather any storm (Matthew 7:24-25).

 

[JesusFan]

What is Fundamentalism? (Got Questions)​

The word fundamental can describe any religious impulse that adheres to its basic tenets. Fundamentalism, for the purpose of this article, is a movement within the church that holds to the essentials of the Christian faith. In modern times the word fundamentalist is often used in a derogatory sense.

The Fundamentalist movement has its roots in Princeton Theological Seminary because of its association with graduates from that institution. Two wealthy church laymen commissioned ninety-seven conservative church leaders from all over the Western world to write 12 volumes on the basic tenets of the Christian faith. They then published these writings and distributed over 300,000 copies free of charge to ministers and others involved in church leadership. The books were entitled The Fundamentals, and they are still in print today as a two-volume set.

Fundamentalism was formalized in the late 19th century and early 20th century by conservative Christians—John Nelson Darby, Dwight L. Moody, B. B. Warfield, Billy Sunday, and others—who were concerned that moral values were being eroded by modernism—a belief that human beings (rather than God) create, improve, and reshape their environment with the aid of scientific knowledge, technology and practical experimentation. In addition to fighting the influence of modernism, the church was struggling with the German higher criticism movement, which sought to deny the inerrancy of Scripture.

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.

Other points of doctrine held by Fundamentalists are that Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible and that the church will be raptured prior to the tribulation of the end times. Most Fundamentalists are also dispensationalists.

The Fundamentalist movement has often embraced a certain militancy for truth, and this led to some infighting. Many new denominations and fellowships appeared, as people left their churches in the name of doctrinal purity. One of the defining characteristics of Fundamentalism has been to see itself as the guardian of the truth, usually to the exclusion of others’ biblical interpretation. At that time of the rise of Fundamentalism, the world was embracing liberalism, modernism, and Darwinism, and the church itself was being invaded by false teachers. Fundamentalism was a reaction against the loss of biblical teaching.

The movement took a severe hit in 1925 by liberal press coverage of the legendary Scopes trial. Although Fundamentalists won the case, they were mocked publicly. Afterwards, Fundamentalism began to splinter and refocus. The most prominent and vocal group in the USA has been the Christian Right. This group of self-described Fundamentalists has been more involved in political movements than most other religious groups. By the 1990s, groups such as the Christian Coalition and Family Research Council have influenced politics and cultural issues. Today, Fundamentalism lives on in various evangelical groups such as the Southern Baptist Convention. Together, these groups claim to have more than 30 million followers.

Like all movements, Fundamentalism has enjoyed both successes and failures. The greatest failure may be in allowing Fundamentalism’s detractors define what it means to be a Fundamentalist. As a result, many people today see Fundamentalists as radical, snake-handling extremists who want to establish a state religion and force their beliefs on everyone else. This is far from the truth. Fundamentalists seek to guard the truth of Scripture and defend the Christian faith, which was “once for all entrusted to the saints” (Jude 1:3).

The church today is struggling in the postmodern, secular culture and needs people who are not ashamed to proclaim the gospel of Christ. Truth does not change, and adherence to the fundamental principles of doctrine is needful. These principles are the bedrock upon which Christianity stands, and, as Jesus taught, the house built upon the Rock will weather any storm (Matthew 7:24-25).

The main difference between Fundamentalism Proper and Evangelism was hw they viewed how to behave in society and with other Christians, as those Fundamentalists in many IBF churches pretty much wanted to separate and distance themselves from the culture and even other Christians, while those in Evangelisms desired to influence culture and be committed to reaching out and working with fellow saved persons.

 

[atpollard]

The main difference between Fundamentalism Proper and Evangelism was hw they viewed how to behave in society and with other Christians, as those Fundamentalists in many IBF churches pretty much wanted to separate and distance themselves from the culture and even other Christians, while those in Evangelisms desired to influence culture and be committed to reaching out and working with fellow saved persons.

I sure am glad that it isn't my job to figure out which of those it right.

Too much "Fundamentalism" and you become a Church Fortress - insular, isolated and judgemental.
Too much "Evangelism" and the church becomes secular and indistinguishable from the world.

... so where lies Biblical balance: the narrow path of being IN the world (having an impact for Christ as salt and light and making disciples) without becoming OF the world (like the bad soils that never yielded fruit). I do not envy those that must lead.