I live in the rural Bible Belt, and we still have plenty of independent rural Fundamentalist churches who make both Catholicism and Orthodoxy look like a Coven of Unitarian-Universalist Pagans.
Yet I note that for all the criticism of liberal Protestant churches, it is these very ones that Catholics and Orthodox want to "dialogue" with. If you're so vehemently against them, why all the ecumenical meetings with them?
Ironically, it is these very rural independent Fundamentalist churches who are all alone holding the line, yet they are the ones Catholics and Orthodox scorn the very most. Orthodoxy is a member of the National and World Councils of Churches which is made up of these very lesbian Protestant denominations, and while the Catholic Church isn't a member, it might as well be. If the Fundamentalists are doing something right, why is there only condemnation and scorn, and never praise, from the ancient liturgical churches? What's the deal? Certainly most Catholic/Orthodox criticism is aimed at Fundamentalist churches rather than their liberal counterparts. When I was a member of the Catholic Church I noticed Catholic publications were far more critical of believing in a six day creation or that the events described in the Book of Jonah actually took place than they were to any amount of liberalism. It's as if the Fundamentalists' clinging to the Bible is somehow worse than all the heresies of liberal Protestantism. Can you explain that?
I also note the irony that the most scorned of all Fundamentalist beliefs is in the literal historical truth of the first eleven chapters of Genesis--not in any sectarian belief, but the one book that is common to all chrstians of whatever strip as well as to Jews, Qara'im, and Samaritans. Why is the most universal book of all the one that is the most resented?
If rural Fundamentalists would give up their belief in the total inerrancy of the Bible I believe they could keep all their other beliefs--even that the Pope is the "antichrist"--and then Catholics and Orthodox wouldn't hate them nearly as much.
If the "old testament" is so silly, why do you even have it in your bibles? Why not just take it out? That would certainly be preferable to keeping it in and considering it primitive mythology.
But doing so would destroy the very basis for the beliefs we have, the basis for our strong convictions of right and wrong.
Giving that up is exactly where the liberal mainline Prot denominations went off the rails and where the Catholic church is.
It would be a denial of all we believe in if Scripture cannot be considered that reliable.
If Scripture is not the inerrant, God breathed, Holy Spirit inspired word of God then there is nothing left for an absolute standard of truth, and those Fundamentalist churches that are standing alone would join the rest of the train wreck that institutionalized religion is.
We might as well all become Hindus or new agers, or whatever else suits our fancy.
Also, don't forget to consider, that Christians standing on that word is probably the only thing that is capable of resisting islam.
Everyone else who has given up on that belief is wanting to sit around with the muslims singing kumbaya while the muslims are sharpening their knives.