Recently an Asphalt Jesus group wrote with a series of questions, one of which was: “What is your definition of fundamentalism?” I’ll try to address the other questions in future posts, but here’s my take on what fundamentalism is. Feel free to add a comment with your own definition!
My definition really isn’t mine at all, but was articulated in the early 1900s, partly as a result of something called the Niagara Bible Conference which sought to define the beliefs thought to be non-negotiable or “fundamental” to Christian faith (which led to the term “fundamentalism”). These beliefs were distilled into a “top five” of sorts. Ironically these five principles were first formally articulated within the Presbyterian Church soon which split into two very different denominations as a result of conflict over how “fundamental” these principles actually are:
(1) The inerrancy of Scripture.
(2) The virgin birth of Christ.
(3) The belief in the atonement of sins through Christ’s death.
(4) The bodily resurrection of Christ.
(5) The historical reality of all of Christ’s miracles.
Of course, quite a number of people of more moderate faith would affirm some of the above beliefs. In actuality, just two of the beliefs above serve as significant separators between fundamentalism and other forms of Christian belief: (1) belief in the literal inerrancy of Scripture and (2) belief that Christ saves (only) believers from eternal damnation through atonement on the cross.
I want to make it perfectly clear here, though, that to distinguish between Christian fundamentalism and other forms of Christian faith such as Christian liberal or progressivism is not to distinguish in any way between who is a “good” Christian (or human being) and who is not.
You may recall that Jesus himself said that he came not to serve the “healthy” but the “sick” (Luke 7). By definition, therefore, ALL who claim to follow Jesus should identify themselves with “the sick” regardless of how liberal or conservative their beliefs. We all stand in “fundamental” need of God and have “fundamental” problems turning our will (and with it, our lives) over to God’s power and guidance.
Personally, while I find myself frequently at odds with fundamentalist Christian belief (and really, fundamentalist belief of any sort), I would trade the community of a hundred liberal/progressives who saw themselves as completely healthy and in little need for God in their lives for the community of ten fundamentalists who had truly understood themselves to rely on the grace, love and guidance of God.
The reason why, though, I find a more liberal/progressive faith system (and community) to a more fundamentalist/conservative one is because, having tried both systems, I have found that a more liberal/progressive faith helps ME accept and acknowledge the realization that I am sick and am in need of God in my life. What does this look like concretely in my life? It looks like this:
Regarding the salvation thing.
Because I have become convinced, through scripture, through Christians who have come before me, and through life experience, that I and all people are loved unconditionally, beyond our wildest imagination, I feel far freer than I did in my distant and brief “fundamentalist” phase to admit that I don’t have all of life’s answers wrapped up in a nice, neat package. I feel no need to prove to God or others that I have perfect faith, or that my faith has “made me whole” (and therefore no longer in need of God?).
Being assured of God’s unconditional love has given me the freedom to take a more critical look at my life and realize just how strongly I must rely on a higher power to move beyond my shortcomings and truly live on a higher level. It has also given me a sense of deep acceptance of others, shortcomings and all, in ways that I did not have before. If someone is driving me crazy, I firmly believe that when all is said and done (in this life or beyond), we will be united with each other in God’s grace and love. This gives me a sense of patience with people that I personally would not have if I believed that God was just waiting to punish the person (forever!) for failure to agree with me (after all, my views and God’s are the same, right? Not!).
Regarding the scripture thing.
My belief that the scriptures are NOT inerrant radically increases my joy in studying the scriptures, and with it, my ability to learn from our ancient sisters and brothers of faith. Since I do not feel compelled to blindly accept that which runs contrary to love of God, neighbor, and self in scripture, I can enter into a deeper, more honest relationship with the texts before me. (Incidentally, sometimes that “love of self” principle includes love of the part of myself that has an intellect and therefore does not confuse story and parable with scientific fact. And that “love of neighbor” part convinces me that an adulterer is not to be stoned to death as the scriptures advocate). I have become convinced that taking the scriptures “seriously but not literally” enables me to better “hear” what the ancients were trying to tell us in the first place about their authentic experiences of God. Those who wrote scripture weren’t literalists! And they certainly did not think that what they were writing was inerrant (The only that claims to be the pure words of God is Revelation – the most historically controversial book of the whole Bible!). When I stop looking for scientific fact and start listening for what the scriptures are trying (imperfectly) to tell us about love of and by God, and love of neighbor and self, the scriptures frequently point me to where I can find these loves potentially at work in my life that I haven’t noticed before.
I could go on and on, but will finish with this final point about what my liberal/progressive faith does for me: It fills me with bewilderment over why more liberal/progressive Christians frequently find it so hard to love their enemies, acknowledge their own shortcomings, devote themselves to seeking God’s guidance on a daily basis, and study the scriptures on a deeper level. Life gets so darn good when we do these things consistently, and our theology is such an incredibly powerful support in doing so!
But just when I get worked up about how others fail in this regard, I start looking at myself again and realize how far ALL of us have yet to go down this path. And, it’s also about the time I find yet another example of how perfectly God works through imperfect people like us. I guess that’s why God loves grace so much. God isn’t dependent upon our perfection to expand or deepen God’s Realm on earth or to take us into (wonderful) places we wouldn’t necessarily go ourselves!
