Fundamentalism

[CWJ]

'Be ye therefore followers of God,
as dear children;
And walk in love,
as Christ also hath loved us,
and hath given Himself for us an offering
and a sacrifice to God
for a sweetsmelling savour.'
(Eph. 5:1,2)


'I beseech you therefore,
brethren,
by the mercies of God,
that ye present your bodies
a living sacrifice,
holy,
acceptable unto God,
which is your reasonable service.
And be not conformed to this world:
but be ye transformed
by the renewing of your mind,
that ye may prove
what is that good,
and acceptable,
and perfect,
will of God.'
(Rom 12:1,2)

 

[CWJ]

Paul said,

'Now thanks be unto God,
which always causeth us to triumph
in Christ,
and maketh manifest the savour of His knowledge
by us in every place.
For we are
unto God
a sweet savour of Christ,
in them that are saved,
and in them that perish:
To the one we are the savour of death unto death;
and to the other the savour of life unto life.
And who is sufficient for these things?
For we are not as many,
which corrupt the word of God:
but as of sincerity,
but as of God,
in the sight of God
speak we in Christ.
( 2 Cor.2:14 - 17)

Let this also be true of us.

 

[Dan_473]

now even CATHOLICS call themselves CHRISTIAN even though they dont follow ONE THING IN THE BIBLE!

Christians follow JESUS
CHRIST ians get it?>

'Christian' can be defined as someone who follows Christ according to what's written in the Bible... or according to the teachings of the Apostles (the Apostles here would be a continuing group)... maybe some other approaches?

 

[gamlet]

I think Carter's definition of fundamentalism was inaccurate. Fundamentalist generally disagree with those who contradict the bible. The way to root them out is to eliminate the bible. jmo

By rooting out, I mean rooting out the fundamentalist attitude in all of us. This attitude pertains to intolerance of those who hold beliefs unlike ours. It also includes the thinking that only our beliefs are those that are in accordance with truth and that others are either mistaken or are evil.

 

[gamlet]

How do WE root it OUT?

How about Hitler how he rooted out Jews?
MAybe you could gas us

how about Romans how they rooted out disciples
the crucified them

how about like Klu lux klan
they burned tham and castrated them
that ought to get rid of all those who dont believe just like you

Satan is here in person I see.

That's why I said "root it out" not them. I'm referring to rooting out the fundamentalist attitude in us all (even myself). It refers to the attitude of intolerance towards others who hold different beliefs. It refers to the attitude that sees our own beliefs as the truth. And those which others hold are unbiblical.

 

[crossnote]

By rooting out, I mean rooting out the fundamentalist attitude in all of us. This attitude pertains to intolerance of those who hold beliefs unlike ours. It also includes the thinking that only our beliefs are those that are in accordance with truth and that others are either mistaken or are evil.

Do you believe there are absolute truths?
And if so, can a person come to know those truths?

 

[gamlet]

Dude,
Jesus wa s a fundamentalist my friend

right?

It iw written it is written it is written....

Jesus you didnt wash your hands come wash... NO it is written

JEsus, show a little respect for the pervert priests ok lighten up

no it is written

Jesus your mom is here telling you not to go craxy
No it is written

JEsus was the leading fundamentalist of all time


when I hear someone complainging about fundamentalists, it is usually because they are wolves in sheeps clothing keeping SUNDAY and selling them lies that it dont matter what you DO Jesus paid it all

and the devil laughed.


and laughed and laughed

his ministers preach good sermons.

Jesus opposed the fundamentalists of his time, the Pharisees. But was He himself a fundamentalist? Fair Question. He definitely had beliefs. Did He impose His beliefs on others? He tried to correct the beliefs of others specially those concerning the Messiah. He pointed people to look to Him. Now, if we consider that the greatest issue about fundamentalism is a lack of acceptance of those who held different beliefs, then Jesus definitely didn't have this fundamentalist attitude. He loved the Samaritans, the publicans, even the Pharisees.

So I would definitely say no. He did not have the fundamentalist attitude that I refer to here.

 

[gamlet]

Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God

that is pretty fundamentl

you know what they USED to call Fundamentalists?
they used to call them CHRISTIANS

now even CATHOLICS call themselves CHRISTIAN even though they dont follow ONE THING IN THE BIBLE!

Christians follow JESUS
CHRIST ians get it?>

Jesus said keep the commandments
why dont you follow JEsus?

Liek JEsus said

You know not what spirit YOU are of.

I do keep the commandments, friend. As best as I can. And I try to teach others to keep them, too. But I don't exclude from salvation or God's grace anyone who refuses to. I refuse to judge them. Instead I try to love them--that means accepting them as people trying their best to follow God as they see it--just like me. That's the spirit I have.

 

[gamlet]

Bible reader Bible believer and Bible follower
is that what you are?

Did you ever READ the whole Bible?

then
Why are you not following it?

No where in the Bible does it say to root our anyone
what apostate religion are you?

Please read closely. I said "root it out." I'm referring to the fundamentalist attitude. That needs to be rooted out in all of us (even me).

 

[crossnote]

Jesus opposed the fundamentalists of his time, the Pharisees. But was He himself a fundamentalist? Fair Question. He definitely had beliefs. Did He impose His beliefs on others? He tried to correct the beliefs of others specially those concerning the Messiah. He pointed people to look to Him. Now, if we consider that the greatest issue about fundamentalism is a lack of acceptance of those who held different beliefs, then Jesus definitely didn't have this fundamentalist attitude. He loved the Samaritans, the publicans, even the Pharisees.

So I would definitely say no. He did not have the fundamentalist attitude that I refer to here.

Then it appears you contradicted your earlier statement..

"It also includes the thinking that only our beliefs are those that are in accordance with truth and that others are either mistaken or are evil.''

or He had the fundamentalist thinking but not the attitude? Whaaa?

 

[pastac]

The terms you use I understand in the broad sense. Some will argue any point to prove a point but I get where you are coming from. I will say however that we aer to root out. rip up, overturn, destroy throw down the works of the enemy at all cost. We are to cry loud and spare not telling the whole truth. No how we arrive at that truth, our truth will vary but if we stay on this journey I am assured we will arrive at it. Some faster than others and yes some slower than others.
As I said this is a good thread as long as it stays on topic. These threads seem to have a knack for getting lost in unclear assumptions and lots of distorted views that are scripture based but way out of context in a lot of instances. Stay on top of your thread to keep it true to what you are saying and dont let people pull you away from the intent of the thread. Be careful how you word your thoughts there are some really mature Christians hereon this site that this will catch their eye, others will jump on any opportunity to rip apart what you say if its not just right when they read it totally missing the spirit of what you are hoping to relay Just some thoughts.

 

[gamlet]

'bluntly proclaim the gospel and strengthen prejudice'?

Why can't I just bluntly tell the Gospel without strengthening prejudice? Does the Gospel bluntly preached create prejudice? If so, how so?

Jesus showed us how to effectively communicate the Gospel (John 4). First, he sought to remove prejudice. The woman at the well had a lot of this. So do many people today. That's why we need to undertake this part of the process. Then, he dealt with personal issues that would tend to keep people from genuine commitment to God--much like the weeds in the parable of the sower. Then, He told the woman, "I am he."--the Gospel. Not undertaking the first two steps is what I mean by bluntly telling the Gospel.

 

[gamlet]

fundamentalist...I would love to meet a fundamentalist in person eye to eye face to face and shake the fundamentalist's hand. Oh yeah, that's right, I cannot. The fundamentalist understanding of the fundamentalist cannot exist. Fundamentalist work in literal interpretation of words however fundamentalist itself by definition is up for interpretation. I cannot put a fundamentalist in a wheelbarrow and push it around because the word is not a noun it describes a noun by ones perception of that noun over a given period of time. Anyone have any scripture containing this word?

Unfortunately, fundamentalist is too late an invention to have been made part of the Bible. But please see Romans 2:17-20 that describes Jewish/Pharisaical fundamentalism.

 

[crossnote]

Jesus showed us how to effectively communicate the Gospel (John 4). First, he sought to remove prejudice. The woman at the well had a lot of this. So do many people today. That's why we need to undertake this part of the process. Then, he dealt with personal issues that would tend to keep people from genuine commitment to God--much like the weeds in the parable of the sower. Then, He told the woman, "I am he."--the Gospel. Not undertaking the first two steps is what I mean by bluntly telling the Gospel.

But each case is different. In Acts you see the apostles bluntly proclaim the Gospel even to individuals without stirring up prejudice.

I'm still wondering,
Do you believe there are absolute truths?
And if so, can a person come to know those truths?

 

[TheAristocat]

“Fundamentalists draw clear distinctions between themselves, as true believers, and others, convinced that they are right and that anyone who contradicts them is ignorant and possibly evil. Fundamentalists are militant in fighting against any challenge to their beliefs. They are often angry and sometimes resort to verbal or even physical abuse against those who interfere with the implementation of their agenda. There are three words that characterize fundamentalism: rigidity, domination, and exclusion.”
- Jimmy Carter


The Fundamentalism that is spoken of here is pretty common in current Christianity. How do we root it out?

Essentially, Fundamentalism does not deal with the fundamentals (the Hebrew language and the roots of the Judeo-Christian faith) but with the extraneous (KJV English translations and westernized Jewish traditions). And that is its flaw. If it weren't for this irony I'd have no problem with calling myself a Fundamentalist, since it is the fundamentals that matter.

 

[gamlet]

1 Corinthians 1:23-24 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.

The preaching of the Gospel transcends cultural, racial, ethnic, economic even religious differences and concludes all under sin heading for hell until they place their faith in God's Son who gave Himself unto death for their sins. The only prejudice shown would be witholding the Truth of the Gospel from any particular group.
Sugar coating the message is wrong as many liberal, emergents, and church growth proponents do.

I'm talking about proclaiming the message with the love and acceptance that Jesus manifested. This includes taking hold of your own humanity--being capable of making mistakes and the fact that God also has a relationship with those you are sharing the gospel with.

 

[gamlet]

But how do you know they are unforgiving? I strongly disagree with the gay lifestyle, but
that doesn't mean I hate days. Liberals often use this as an excuse to bash conservatives.

It's the hating that I'm speaking against. The Jews/Pharisees demonstrated well the unforgiving attitude of fundamentalists. Many Christians who conclude that others are sinners have the same unforgiving attitude.

 

[pastac]

I'm still wondering,
Do you believe there are absolute truths?
And if so, can a person come to know those truths?

This question stuns me because the answer is yes
Jesus is absolutely who he said he is this is the absolute truth
God is manifested in Jesus this is absolute truth
Jesus died and was raised from the dead anin absolute truth
The bible is our guide book for absolute truth so I dont know where you are going with that question I could do absolute truth all day Help me understand your point

absolute

Houghton Mifflin

• [h=5]adj.adjective[/h]
  • Perfect in quality or nature; complete.
    
  • Not mixed; pure.
    
  • Not limited by restrictions or exceptions; unconditional.
    absolute trust.
    
  • Unqualified in extent or degree; total.
    absolute silence.
    
  • Unconstrained by constitutional or other provisions.
    an absolute ruler.
    
  • Not to be doubted or questioned; positive.
    absolute proof.
    
  • Of, relating to, or being a word, phrase, or construction that is isolated syntactically from the rest of a sentence, as the referee having finally arrived in The referee having finally arrived, the game began.
    
  • Of, relating to, or being a transitive verb when its object is implied but not stated. For example, inspires in We have a teacher who inspires is an absolute verb.
    
  • Of, relating to, or being an adjective or pronoun that stands alone when the noun it modifies is being implied but not stated. For example, in Theirs were the best, theirs is an absolute pronoun and best is an absolute adjective.
    
  • Relating to measurements or units of measurement derived from fundamental units of length, mass, and time.
    
  • Relating to absolute temperature.
    
  • Complete and unconditional; final.
• [h=5]n.noun[/h]
  • Something that is absolute.
    
  • Something regarded as the ultimate basis of all thought and being. Used with the.
    
  • Something regarded as independent of and unrelated to anything else

 

[pastac]

In reference to your question.
Absolute Truth - Inflexible Reality
"Absolute truth" is defined as inflexible reality: fixed, invariable, unalterable facts. For example, it is a fixed, invariable, unalterable fact that there are absolutely no square circles and there are absolutely no round squares.
Absolute Truth vs. Relativism
While absolute truth is a logical necessity, there are some religious orientations (atheistic humanists, for example) who argue against the existence of absolute truth. Humanism's exclusion of God necessitates moral relativism. Humanist John Dewey (1859-1952), co-author and signer of the Humanist Manifesto 1 (1933), declared, "There is no God and there is no soul. Hence, there are no needs for the props of traditional religion. With dogma and creed excluded, then immutable truth is also dead and buried. There is no room for fixed, natural law or moral absolutes." Humanists believe one should do, as one feels is right.
Absolute Truth - A Logical Necessity
You can't logically argue against the existence of absolute truth. To argue against something is to establish that a truth exists. You cannot argue against absolute truth unless an absolute truth is the basis of your argument. Consider a few of the classic arguments and declarations made by those who seek to argue against the existence of absolute truth…

"There are no absolutes." First of all, the relativist is declaring there are absolutely no absolutes. That is an absolute statement. The statement is logically contradictory. If the statement is true, there is, in fact, an absolute - there are absolutely no absolutes.

"Truth is relative." Again, this is an absolute statement implying truth is absolutely relative. Besides positing an absolute, suppose the statement was true and "truth is relative." Everything including that statement would be relative. If a statement is relative, it is not always true. If "truth is relative" is not always true, sometimes truth is not relative. This means there are absolutes, which means the above statement is false. When you follow the logic, relativist arguments will always contradict themselves.
Once you start going here it goes way off topic from what he is actually talkig of so that is why i am confused about how you feel this is on the same topic as he is discussing in this thread. Just some thoughts

 

[gamlet]

sure thing... some examples...

John 8:44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires.

Luke 11:37ff Jesus pronounces woes on Pharisees (as a group, according to translations I've seen), says they are foolish, and then proceeds to 'insult' the experts in the law...

Contextually, we speak today in a different manner than they did during Jesus' time. We need to consider this when interpreting passages. He was sometimes direct. But I would ask, if He were alive today, how would he speak to people. Obviously, the answer is that He would speak in a different manner to different people. I would think that he would do whatever was the most effective means of making people recognize their need of a relationship with God. So must we do the same today. If you think that you can get people to a better relationship with God by insulting them or by telling them that they are devils, then by all means help yourself to it.

(I'll take a closer look at these passages).