Beth-El Baptist Church

02/07/2010

Greg Tomlinson


What does it mean to be a Christian fundamentalist?


The term “fundamentalist” whether applied to Christians or Islam is treated by the culture around us as a type of “dirty” word. It is generally used to identify the views of someone as extreme and as such they should not be tolerated.


  1. What does the term “fundamentalist” generally mean?

According to an on-line dictionary, the word fundamentalist has three basic meanings:

  1. A movement in American Protestantism that arose in the early part of the 20th century in reaction to modernism and that stresses the infallibility of the Bible not only in matters of faith and morals but also as a literal historical record, holding as essential to Christian faith belief in such doctrines as the creation of the world, the virgin birth, physical resurrection, atonement by the sacrificial death of Christ, and the Second Coming.

  2. The beliefs held by those in this movement.

  3. Strict adherence to any set of basic ideas or principles: the fundamentalism of the extreme conservatives.


From a dictionary perspective, a fundamentalist is someone who believes in the literal history as it is recorded in the Bible. This includes the Bibles documentation regarding creation, Christ's birth, death, and resurrection and the meaning of Christ's death and resurrection as well as the belief that Jesus is coming again.


  1. Is it reasonable to believe the Bible actually records literal history?

John 3:11-12 Mark 10:5-9

Titus 1:1-3 Job 38:4-6

2 Peter 1:20-21 2 Timothy 3:16-17


The reality is that Jesus Himself stated that we are to verify His words concerning the kingdom of God with His words regarding the history of the world. If we can find that the history of the world lines up with what the Bible states, then it is only reasonable to believe the rest of what Jesus says. While not every thing that has been written concerning the history of the world has been confirmed, there has yet to be any statement of history that has been proved to be incorrect. More often than not the history of the Bible has been confirmed as correct.


Daniel 8:19-22


The prophecies of Daniel is one such example. It is believed that Daniel lived from about 606BC to 535BC. It was in 586BC that the Babylonian exile took place so the book of Daniel would have been written after that. It is recorded in Daniel 9 that the number of the years of exile as recorded in Jeremiah have been completed. That places the writing of some of these prophecies closer to 516BC. Historical records place the beginning of the Medo-Persian empire at around 550BC, the Grecian empire under Alexander the Great in the 336BC to 323BC and the dividing of the Grecian empire at around 323BC. Daniel records the rise and fall of these empires before they happen. The rise and fall of the Alexandrian Grecian empire at nearly 200 years before it actually took place. Since the Bible accurately records and prophetically describes historical events that in fact took place, it is only reasonable to believe the rest of the biblical historical record.


  1. How literal should the Bible be taken?

Psalm 91:1-5 Isaiah 28:9-10

Ezekiel 16:3-6 Luke 16:29-31; 24:25-27

Genesis 1:23-31 Job 38:4-6


Poetry should be taken as poetry, prophecy as prophecy, history as history. The scriptures are written using different genres of writings. Some are more illustrative than literally literal. Others are literally literal. Historical records are history and as such need to be taken literal historical events. Especially since we were not there it is important to understand that we cannot 100% confirm anything that is historical using the operational science method. For historical events, we can only go off of written records from eye witnesses that are believed to be correct. Since the Bible is actually the work of God and not of men, and God is a trustworthy and reliable eyewitness to these events, we have no choice but to believe what God has written. The preference is to understand that the Bible is to be taken literarily, history as history, poetry as poetry, etc..


  1. Can you only accept as true some parts of the Bible as true and others as embellishments?

Matthew 6:24 2 Timothy 3:16-17

2 Peter 1:19-21


The Bible is not the creation of men, but it is the creation of God. Therefore we cannot possibly accept some parts of the Bible as embellishments that are to be neglected.


  1. If the Bible is taken literally, should people be killed for such menial crimes as the Bible advocates?

Deuteronomy 13:6-10; 17:2-5; 21:18-21; 22:13-24

Leviticus 18:22-24 Romans 6:14-15

Genesis 1:26-27; 9:4-6


There are many crimes mentioned in the scriptures that people today would consider to be menial and definitely not worthy of death as the Bible advocates. Such crimes as a rebellious child, a false prophet, the committing of adultery, same sex relationships and the like. The first thing to understand is that we now live under grace and not under law, although the law is still applicable. The law exposes the reality of sin in the lives of people. In God's eyes, a rebellious child IS worthy of death. The child and the parents have both been created in the likeness and image of God and when the child rebels, he is rebelling primarily against God (Psalm 51:4) and has thus damaged the image of God in which he has been created. The difference today though is that the Christian leaves the judgment and the punishment of the rebel in the hands of God while fully acknowledging that they themselves deserve the death penalty.


Summary:

It is right and proper for Christians to be fundamentalists. Ultimately a fundamentalist is one who takes the written word from God seriously enough for it to guide every aspect of His life. While the Bible does not tell us every detail about every possible action, it does lay down the principles by which we can learn how to live with and among other people in service and humility before God.