I guess it is a matter of language. I am pretty sure that I know how to use the word "fundamental." I am aware of fundamental issues in the things we do - as those are the truths of the issue that everyone must understand to be participating in the event. We know that to use a ladder safely to go up on a roof, it is fundamental that the ladder base be away from the house approximately the distance equal to 1/4th of the height of the roof and that the ground be solid where the feet of the ladder rests. That is "fundamental."
However, it seems to me that people here are looking down their noses at people they call "fundamentalists."
I would like to know what a "fundamentalist" is. The term alone tells me that it would be a person who sees the truths of the Bible and believes in them. I must be wrong, as I don't see how peole would insult them they way I see it being done here.
Please educate me. Since I see the truth of the bible and want to comply with the teachings given in it, I wonder if I should be insulting myself as well. There must be something more to it that I am not aware of.
Fundamentalism is an historical movement which began in the 1920s (or earlier according to some scholars). The name came from a series of pamphlets called "The Fundamentals" which were written by conservative scholars and pastors and paid for by Christian businessmen. Those pamphlets were then sent to pastors around the country. You can find them online at:
http://www.xmission.com/~fidelis/
The founding fathers of fundamentalism included such men as R. A. Torrey, A. T. Pierson, B. B. Warfield, C. I. Scofield, etc. My own grandfather, well known evangelist John R. Rice, became a fundamentalist in 1927 and was a major force in Baptist fundamentalism.
The early fundamentalists not only believed the fundamental doctrines of the faith (there is controversy about the original lists), but were willing to fight for them. They saw their denominations and fellowships being taken over by theological liberalism, which often opposed fundamental doctrines such as the deity, virgin birth and bodily resurrection of Christ, and were willing to fight for the truth. Many of those early fundamentalists were disciplined out of their denominations (my grandfather was blackballed by the Texas Baptist Convention), or suffered in other ways for their beliefs.
In the 21st century, the flag of fundamentalism is largely carried by Baptists. A fundamentalist scholar friend of mine believes this is because of the Baptist distinctive of the Bible as the sole rule of faith and practice. However, there are also other groups which are fundamentalist, such as the Bible Presbyterians.
What most people who oppose fundamentalism object to is our doctrine of "personal separation." We believe that Christians ought to be separate to God from the world, and avoid what we consider to be worldly practices. This doctrine has been held by fundamentalists from the very beginning (contrary to popular belief on this board), as can be seen by the writings of early fundamentalists such as R. A. Torrey and John R. Rice, and the analysis of non-fundamentalist Francis Schaeffer in his landmark book,
The Great Evangelical Disaster. As you've noted, fundamentalists are often ridiculed on the Baptist Board for this belief, which opponents of fundamentalism call (with no theological basis) "legalism."
I hope this helps.
