Fundamentalism

Original Fundamentalism article

Fundamentalism is a theological tendency seeking to follow and preserve what are believed to be the essential fundamentals of a religion or ideology. Followers of fundamentalism often seek to prevent what they perceive to be the liberalization of these fundamentals.

Often the term "fundamentalism" is used in a pejorative way by opponents of conservative Christianity. Liberal Christianity often portrays Fundamentalism as a form of religious illiteracy, which is an absurd caricature since it is clearly 19th and 20th century Princeton theological seminary theology. Fundamentalism is a 19th through early 20th codification of 16th century Protestantism interpreted through 17th and 18th century Scottish Common-sense philosophy. It developed as an extension of the doctrine of inerrancy in response to turn-of-the-century Protestant clergy concerns regarding professional authority. Its primary purpose and development parallels the Roman Catholic doctrine of Papal Infallibility. Members of Christian Fundamentalism tend to value skills such as gifts of the spirit and rhetorical delivery on par with clergical education and institutional ordination.

References

• Reference.com

Original Fundamentalist article

Fundamentalism is a movement which began within Protestant Christianity in the late 19th century in opposition to the emergence of modernism within several denominations. The term itself was popularized by R.A. Torrey when he published his book The Fundamentals in 1917. Fundamentalism stresses several points:

• The inerrancy of the Bible
• The Virgin Birth of Christ
• The bodily resurrection of Christ
• The substitutionary atonement of Christ on the cross
• The literal nature of the Biblical accounts of Christ's miracles, the Creation account in Genesis, and so on

Fundamentalism held to these points in opposition to such trends as higher criticism and the increasing acceptance of Darwinism, which were popular among modernists. Fundamentalist movements were found in most Protestant denominations by the early 20th century, with the debate between fundamentalists and modernists especially strong in Presbyterian and Baptist churches. The term fundamentalism would later come to be closely associated with dispensationalist beliefs, belief in the impending Second Coming of Christ, and with Evangelical Christianity in general.

Today the term is used by the liberal media to attempt to marginalize strong Christians, and is used as a pejorative by atheists and liberals to criticize Christianity. It could also be applied to other religions, such as Islam and Hinduism, but the use of the term against those religions is much less frequent in the media. The media do refer to "radical" Islam when referencing Muslim terrorists, but the media generally do not use the term "fundamentalist" or "radical" to refer to any beliefs other than Christianity.

Philosophical distinction between fundamentalism and fanaticism

The philosopher Jay Newman concedes that religious fundamentalists are not fanatics. He nevertheless maintains that some unidentified "we" (possibly meaning those who hold Professor values) are allowed to deplore the methods and objectives of fundamentalists. Moreover, Newman smuggles in an allowance for subjective and bigoted suspicions against religious fundamentalists as possible fanatics until they prove themselves otherwise. Newman's concession:

“

If some religious fundamentalists eloquently defend their decision to campaign aggressively for the removal of certain "adult" novels from the public school library—if they were to cite relevant facts and figures with some care and point to relevant observations by noted educational psychologists—then, while we may still deplore their methods and objectives, we will probably abandon our initial suspicion that they are fanatics.

”

Jews and Fundamentalism

Historically speaking, the vast and overwhelming majority of fundamentalists have been and remain zionists. Fundamentalist-evangelicals rejoiced when part of Jerusalem was annexed after the 1967 six day war, whereas the National Council of Churches (by then a mere puppet of the always highly questionable forces of Christian Liberalism) surprisingly and incomprehensibly denounced Israel. Bizarrely, liberal Christianity called for the "internationalization" of Jerusalem throughout the 1960's, while Chistian fundamentalists believed and expressed their hope for Biblical prophecy: God promised Jerusalem to Israel.

Differences between liberal and fundamentalist Christians towards the Jewish people

There are three main differences between liberal Christian theology and fundamentalism-evangelicalism that affect their respective attitudes towards Jewish people. These differences are:

1. Fundamentalism's literal interpretation of prophecy over against Liberalism's spiritual interpretation.
2. Fundamentalism's equal weighting of the Old and New Testatement over against Liberalism privledging the New, especially the liberal tendency to interpret critical remarks against Judaism without taking into full account the Old Testament and the fact that Jesus was genetically and culturally Jewish.
3. Fundamentalism's belief in unconverted Israel over against Liberalism's conversion requirement.

See also

• John Gresham Machen
• Southern Baptist Convention
• Theory of Fundamentalist anti-Semitism

External Link

• Online copy of The Fundamentals
• Christian Zionism