The last two weeks I have looked at the following two topics and I have given you the information in them that I found interesting.
So, today we will take a look at the good and bad of Christian Fundamentalism, the second part of this series.
Part II: Good and Bad of Christian Fundamentalism
Fundamentalism has a very negative connotation in this day and age. The term was first used by anti-fundamentalists. At first, it was meant as a term of endearment, meaning “old fashioned and traditional”. Later, anti-fundamentalists came to use the word to disparage a narrow-minded and intolerant group of people. They are now associated with being negative, judgmental, and intolerant. But, by and large, the fundamentalist mindset is still in American Christianity. And it is not only bad.
With that said, I will give you some of the good aspects of Fundamentalism and then turn to the bad aspects.
The good aspects of Fundamentalism
- There is a distinct right and wrong when it comes to morality and it is easy to know what is right and wrong.
- It is easier to teach Christian principles since there are a basic set of beliefs that make up the doctrine that can be taught and followed.
- It is easy to give reason for faith. The Bible is the written word of God. If it can be proved true, then so can faith.
The bad aspects of Fundamentalism
- It can be narrow-minded and intolerant. I discussed this last week. Fundamentalism is where people view themselves and their beliefs as correct and everyone else and their beliefs as heretical and wrong. This aspect is usually present in Fundamentalism.
- There is a danger of fundamentalism falling into extreme legalism. This means that Fundamentalism can overlay importance on how we need to live to be faithful to God.
- It can cause us to become shallow in our faith. We may have all the right answers but not feel the connection to God, which is what really matters.
- It can cause us to be arrogant. We believe we know it all when we don’t.
- It makes us believe that the Bible is inerrant and infallible – word for word written by God. As I said above, fundamentalism is where people view themselves and their beliefs as correct and everyone else and their beliefs as heretical and wrong. Fundamentalism is where people view themselves and their beliefs as correct and everyone else and their beliefs as heretical and wrong.
I have given you my opinion, and I am not an expert in this subject. I would like to hear yours, so if you would like to comment on the topic, you can do so below. I would love to hear from you.