Posted on 05/25/2011 9:45:34 AM PDT by Alex Murphy
In general, do not use fundamentalist unless a group applies the word to itself.
The problem is that religious authorities the voices journalists quote keep pinning this label on others. Thus, one experts evangelical is anothers fundamentalist. For progressive Catholics, in other words, Pope Benedict XVI is a fundamentalist on sexuality.
Anyone who expects scholars to stand strong and defend a basic, historic definition will be disappointed. As philosopher Alvin Plantinga of the University of Notre Dame once quipped, among academics fundamentalist has become a term of abuse or disapprobation that most often resembles the casual semi-curse, sumbitch.
The term [Fundamentalism] was born when conservative Protestants in early-20th-century America committed themselves to defend the five "fundamentals" of their faith -- the inerrancy of the Bible, virgin birth and deity of Jesus, doctrine of atonement, bodily resurrection of Jesus, and His imminent return.
-- from the thread The many forms of fundamentalism
Fundamentalist: A term created during the turn-of-the-20th-century Protestant church splits to define those who held to the fundamentals of Christianitythe inerrancy of the Bible, the virgin birth of Jesus and his literal resurrection from the dead. The term is now considered pejorative. (Wheaton College philosophy professor Alvin Plantinga famously observed, The full meaning of the term...can be given by something like stupid sumbitch whose theological opinions are considerably to the right of mine.)Related threads:
-- from the thread New Kids In The Flock
See also:
The Presbyterians' Doctrinal Deliverance of 1910 [Wikipedia]
bttt
An oft-repeated maxim is that everyone more religious than me is a fanatic, everyone less so is a heretic.
I am proud to wear the label of “Christian fundamentalist”.
I don’t find the term to be pejorative or derogatory at all, even when that’s how its use is intended.
That's pretty good - I'm going to have to remember that one!
My definition of "fundamentalism" is "belief in the facticity of religious truth." This means that religious doctrines/beliefs mean what they say and are not charming allegorical myths created organically by the various ethno-cultures (ie, "faith traditions").
The other definition of "fundamentalist," the one used by everyone else, is equally simple: it's an ethnic slur. It is used exclusively of poor rural Anglo-Saxon or Anglo-Celtic Americans. One of another ethnicity, by definition, can never be a "fundamentalist" regardless of how literally they interpret the Bible (the Black community is the best illustration of this).
I like mine better: G-d is not only a "truth" (whatever that means), but a fact as well, and everything He says is also factual.
Good post. For the uninformed - Alvan Plantinga is the most brilliant and influential American philosopher of at least the last 100 years. Arguably since 17th/18th century philosopher and theologian Johnathan Edwards. He single handedly led a acedemic revolution back in the 70’s such that in many universities the philosophy department became the only faction of the college that had as many Christian faculty as agnostic/athiest faculty.
What are the diiferences among Fundamentalists, Evangelicals, and Oneness. Do they all adhere to Sola scriptura?
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aksarben6
Since May 24, 2011
Depends. Most self described fundamentalists I know consider themselves Evangelicals. I would imagine most self described Evangelicals and Fundamentalists adhere to Sola Scrpiture. I know very lilttle about the oneness Pentacostals except that they deny the Trinity. It is a heretical, Arianist sect.
and Oneness. Do they all adhere to Sola scriptura?
No. Oneness Pentacostals I know do not believe God ended his revelations in the book of Revelation. The oneness doctrine is a result of some man’s personal revelation about the Godhead in early part of the 20th century. And they deny justification by grace through faith alone.
Define:
fundamentalist:
a person who gives funds to the mental hospital
I forgot the sarcasm/satire tag ont aht. Consider it done.
Akin to my retort to a left-winger’s loaded question of “so where do you put yourself on the political spectrum?” : everyone is a centrist to themselves, “left” and “right” is relative to that.
Blew his mind.
Oneness Pentecostals are not Arians. Arians (and those in their orbit) believe J*sus is a lesser being than the Father, a "demigod." Oneness Pentecostals believe there is only one person in the G-dhead and that J*sus is it; ie, when J*sus was on earth, heaven was vacant.
So would you characterize them as more Sabellian or Modalists?
I’ll have to remember that one.
I'm not sure. It's been a long time since I've read this stuff, but if I recall correctly the Modalists/Sabellians believed in a trinity of "modalities." The Oneness Pentecostals don't believe in a trinity at all. And I think some of them (Modalists/Sabellians) said J*sus wasn't real and didn't really die. The Oneness Pentecostals don't say that. They say he really died but that he was the one and only person in the godhead incarnated.
Come to think of it, you could probably call them modalists of a sort. Sabellians, I'm not so sure. But remember, heaven was vacant when J*sus was on earth (according to them).
I always thought a fundamentalist was a guy with the ability to read minds enjoying himself... I could be wrong.
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