“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness." - Luke 18:11-13
In today’s society, a great many words have been hijacked and used to describe things they were never intended to describe. Many of those are wrapped up and used to offend and insult the one to whom the word is applied. The further intent is to entirely dismiss any regard other people may have for the target’s opinions, beliefs, viewpoints, or outlooks of the target. Fundamentalist is such a word.
Interestingly, the Google definition of the word “fundamental” has not changed a bit, but as soon as you add the “…ist” the definition is then applied to a religious person who believes in the strict, literal interpretation of scripture. (Google / Oxford languages) Of course, the term can be applied to any religious fundamental belief – meaning, Islam, Judaism, and Buddhism would all fall under that general category, but the negative declaration of the term generally seems to fall behind the word Christian. Christian Fundamentalist.
The problem is that many of those using the term in a derogatory manner also call themselves Christians. But why the critique?
What are the fundamentals of fundamentalism?
There are, indeed, fundamentals on which all Christians agree – or should agree. These are the four tenets of what is called the Romans Road:
- …for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)
- For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus, our Lord. (Romans 6:23)
- But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)
- If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9)
While there is certainly much more to our faith than these four principles, these, indeed, are the essentials. The fundamentals, if you will. Upon reading Romans 5, we pretty much find the entire Gospel message. As stated, there are other key essentials:
- Jesus is the Son of God and is equal to God. A member of the Holy Trinity. (Mark 3:11; Luke 22:70; John 1:1, 1:49; Philippians 2:5-11)
- Jesus lived a sinless life. (John 8:29; Hebrews 4:15)
- Jesus was crucified to pay the penalty for our sins. Substitutionary atonement. (1Corinthians 15:2-4)
- Jesus died on the cross and was buried – and rose from the dead so we could have eternal life. (Matthew; Mark; Luke; John)
- We are saved by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
In other words, as a result of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we are saved for eternity through faith in Him. There is nothing more we need or can do to “earn” eternal life.
Throughout his epistles (his letters contained in the New Testament) Paul goes to great lengths to differentiate being saved by grace from the Law - the Law saved no one ever and saves no one now. The Law leads only to death – even the Law is written on stone tablets (2 Corinthians 3:7). James, the brother of Jesus, explains further that our faith is what leads us to a change in our behavior – to “good works.” (James 2:17-20)
What is modern-day fundamentalism?
Originally, fundamentalism was built, as the word means, on the fundamentals—the essentials of the Christian faith. Over time, however, it seems that those who refer to themselves as Christian Fundamentalists have added to that list of essentials. They began to add requirements—Jesus plus something else. Seemingly, as society's general morals deteriorated, the list of “something else” grew larger.
Their unofficial motto became, “The Bible says it, therefore I believe it, and that settles it!” This is not entirely wrong, and all Christians hold to the truth and authority of God’s word, however this axiom could also lead to misinterpretation and misapplication. John declared that Jesus came full of grace and truth.
"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." - John 1:14
Grace and truth. Jesus always struck a balance between the two. Too much grace leads to a progressive theology, but too much truth leads to a legalistic, Pharisaic approach. This is where the fundamentalists began to go wrong, and unfortunately, it continues today. Too often, isolated verses are taken out of the context of the rest of Scripture. Even in verses that may be clarified or expanded upon by many other verses, the focus is on the application of the particular verse, and a rigid application is not only applied – but becomes required behavior. Any nuance subtlety, or consideration of the intent of the original language, is ignored in favor of a harsh, strict application. For example:
- Baptism is required for salvation! If you are not baptized, you are not saved. This statement is based on Mark 16:16 – Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved…” Yet, there are many examples of those Jesus healed and were forgiven (Luke 7:37-50; Matthew 9:2) and of course, the thief on the cross to whom Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”(Luke 23:43) And of course, there is no evidence for the Apostles being baptized, other than Paul.
- You must go to church and not work on Sunday! (Exodus 20:8) Of course, this is one of the Pharisee's accusations against Jesus. How dare you heal on the Sabbath! And telling the people to come back another day to be healed. (Luke 13:14)
- We must not get drunk (Ephesians 5:18) – therefore it is sinful for Christians to drink alcohol! This ignores the fact that Jesus drank wine – was even accused of being a glutton and drunkard (Matthew 11:19) - and Paul told Timothy to take a little wine for his stomach. (1Timothy 5:23)
- The Bible says the love of money is the root of evil (1 Timothy 6:10) – therefore Christians should not gamble. However, that verse actually says “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. There are no Biblical admonitions against gambling, provided it does not become an idol.
Over the years, Fundamentalists have attempted to limit a great many harmless activities—even such as dancing, going to and celebrating Christmas or Easter. By no means is this intended to imply that, in and of themselves, these are things any believer ought to ignore. Baptism is a wonderful gift—a public expression of a heartfelt faith. Unfortunately, it is too often taken to an extreme.
Is fundamentalism the same thing as legalism?
The problem with creating rules that “must” be followed is that you soon realize you have to create exceptions around those rules – or even rules within the rules. The Pharisees discovered this problem, creating 600+ rules the Jews were required to follow. For example – precisely how far one could walk on the Sabbath, or what work one could perform regarding their animals. We ought to remember, too, that Jesus held is harshest criticism for the legalistic Pharisees.
A rule requiring baptism for salvation would lead one to ask – what about a deathbed confession; or someone who died before they could be baptized? Or precisely what rules apply to the ceremony of the baptism itself – who could perform it and how many people had to be there? You see my point.
"To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Luke 18:9-14)
The man who recognizes he is a sinner and seeks God’s grace will be justified, while the arrogant rule-follower will fall behind. A valuable lesson here in the words, “…who were confident in their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else.” And therein lies the danger of fundamentalism. Whatever you choose to call it – legalism or fundamentalism – it leads to a type of racism of religion. It is an attitude of we’re right and you’re wrong! And you’re going to hell because you don’t believe in my rules! We are holier than thou! But there is more…
Fundamentalists have moved a bit further in a militant direction, becoming political activists for the application of their Christian beliefs into legislation. You may recall when the Westboro Baptist Church began picketing funerals of American soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan – claiming God hated and was punishing America. While Westboro may certainly be an extreme example, it isn’t by much. The fundamentalists are convinced that liberals have used political power to advance their own message and agenda, and the only way to put a stop to their scheme is to regain political power. “Christian Nationalism” is now a term used to discredit all Christians. As a result, many believers are now labeled “Christian Nationalists” for simply stating their faith. The challenge with this is that once that label is applied, eyes and ears go blind and deaf to the truth of the gospel message. The love, mercy, grace, and forgiveness of Jesus Christ are completely lost. Worse, it closes off hearts entirely. But to many fundamentalists, the gospel of Christ now takes a back seat to gaining political power.
Rules, rites, rituals – and laws - save no one. Not a single heart is changed by following fundamentalist rules – no matter how well intended. We cannot expect a non-believer to have the same morals and beliefs as a believer. Grant Agler, pastor of Foundations Church, puts it this way – “Christianity is for Christians.” Change of behavior comes after faith in Christ. Jesus too held criticism for legalism:
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill, and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel." - Matthew 23:23-24)
How should we approach fundamentalism?
In his letter to the Romans, Paul discussed those who still chose to follow certain rules, restrict their personal eating habits, and so forth. Paul admonishes all to accept those whose faith is weak without quarreling (Romans 14 & 15). As with all things, we are to deal with our fundamentalist brothers and sisters with love. Quarreling solves nothing and will not change their hearts—only the Lord can do that.
"Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God." - (Romans 15:7)
We must then be prepared to point out their error in love, help guide them to the love of Christ, and use God’s Word as the foundation for the grace, mercy, and forgiveness that form the Gospel message—God’s grace alone, through faith in Jesus Christ.
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast." - Ephesians 2:8-9
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Red Goldwing
