Evangelicals, Fundamentalists
From Philosopedia
Contents |
Evangelicalism
According to D. W. Beggington's Evangelicals in Modern Britain: A History from the 1730s to the 1980s (London: Unwin),
- Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s[1] and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.
- Its key commitments are:
- The need for personal conversion (or being "born again");
- A high regard for biblical authority;
- An emphasis on teachings that proclaim the saving death and resurrection of the Son of God, Jesus Christ;
- Actively expressing and sharing the gospel.
David Bebbington has termed these four distinctive aspects conversionism, biblicism, crucicentrism, and activism noting, "Together they form a quadrilateral of priorities that is the basis of Evangelicalism."
(See "Defining Evangelicalism," Institute for the Study of American Evangelicals, Wheaton College.)
Fundamentalism
Fundamentalism is the demand for a strict adherence to specific theological doctrines usually understood as a reaction against Modernist theology, combined with a vigorous attack on outside threats to their religious culture. [George M. Marsden, "Fundamentalism and American Culture", (1980), pp 4-5]
The term "fundamentalism" was originally coined by its supporters to describe a specific package of theological beliefs that developed into a movement within the Protestant community of the United States in the early part of the 20th century, and that had its roots in the Fundamentalist–Modernist Controversy of that time.[Buescher, John. "A History of Fundamentalism]. The term usually has a religious connotation indicating unwavering attachment to a set of irreducible beliefs. [Nagata, Judith (Jun 2001), "Beyond Theology: Toward an Anthropology of "Fundamentalism"". American Anthropologist]
"Fundamentalism" is sometimes used as a pejorative term, particularly when combined with other epithets (as in the phrase "right-wing fundamentalists"). [Harris, Harriet, Fundamentalism and Evangelicals. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008; Boer, Roland, "Fundamentalism" (2005)]
Evangelicals share the same theology as Fundamentalists but put much less emphasis on the aggressive defense of that theology. Many Christian fundamentalists are evangelicals, but not all evangelicals are fundamentalists.
Fundamentalism, Defined by Taslima Nasrin
• Fundamentalism is an ideology that diverts people from the path of natural development of consciousness and undermines their personal rights. —Taslima Nasrin
Fundamentalism, Secularist Views
“Fundamentalist” has its root in the “fundament,” “foundation,” “of the buttocks,” “backside,” etc. In Christian theology, fundamentalism is a conservative 19th- and 20th-century movement. Fundamentalists believe that the statements in the Bible are literally true, which puts them at odds with the theory of evolution. In the 1920s and to date, the Evangelical movement has opposed liberalism and secularism. Fundamentalists throughout the Christian or Muslim world are noted for their rigid adherence to fundamental or basic principles, principles for which they are willing to die if necessary. Marlene Winell wrote Leaving the Fold: A Guide for Former Fundamentalists and Others Leaving Their Religion (1993), and Edward T. Babinski wrote Leaving the Fold: Testimonies of Former Fundamentalists (1995). Herb Caen, in San Francisco Chronicle (20 July 1981), wrote a secular critique of fundamentalism: “The trouble with born-again Christians is that they are an even bigger pain the second time around.” "Walk Away" is a newsletter for ex-fundamentalists.
(See entry for fatwa, a device used by Muslim fundamentalists.)
FUNDAMENTALIST CHRISTIAN: PAT ROBERTSON
• Charismatic TV preacher, international businessman, presidential candidate in 1988, founder of Regent university, would-be Third World evangelist and entrepreneur, self-styled political boss, [Pat] Robertson is on a mission from God. He wants a godly nation, which sounds to his enemies like a fundamentalist Christian state, one that might apply the Word to all facets of American life (much as the Afghan Taliban and Iranian mullahs are applying their Word). Robertson denies working toward a theocracy. He isn’t likely to start flogging women for showing their faces, or lopping off the hands of thieves, and he most certainly wouldn’t ban television (as the Taliban did). He wants a country where abortion is outlawed, where the Bible is back in schools, where “children are cared for by two married, heterosexual parents.” He wants a popular culture that is strictly PG, that, he says, “glorifies not what is seamy and sordid and violent but what is good, beautiful and noble.” He wants to combat the “white witchcraft, black magic and satanic worship” he sees behind astrology, UFOs, Zen and New Age religions, and he wants to encourage a strictly patriarchal view of marriage: “Christ is the head of the household, and the husband is the head of the wife.” He wants to save the world, but first and mostly he wants to save America. —Mark Bowden, “The Holy Terror,” Playboy, February 1999
FUNDAMENTALISTS ANONYMOUS
Fundamentalists Anonymous, Box 20324 Greeley Square Station, New York, NY 10001, published a newsletter. {FD}
