Do You Hold the Fundamentals?

I was going to title this article, "I call myself a fundamentalist." But I did not want to spend the next three months assuring my friends that I don't own any plastic explosives, and that I have no plans to enroll in flight school.

Few words hold a more negative connotation in our society than "fundamentalism." It nearly always draws the wrong reaction from people. Can you imagine trying to get past airport security with a button proclaiming, "Fundamentalist"? For this reason I must be careful how I use the word.

One of the problems is the modern identification with Islam. But the fundamentals of Islam are quite different from Christianity. Who would deny that loving your enemy is fundamental to Christianity? That is not the case with other religions. Legalism is not fundamental to Christianity, but it lies at the heart of Islam.

Most pastors will understand when I say fundamentalism deals with hermeneutics. These are the underlying principles of what we believe. When I was growing up, I remember hearing that two doctrines were foundational to everything we believe; "Salvation is by grace through faith." and "The Bible is our only guide to faith and practice."

If I hear some new thinking, I can measure it by these basics. It may sound conservative, but be unbiblical. A new method may be popular, even though it does not come from God. This security brings freedom. If a new practice frightens everyone because it is different, I measure it by scripture. If it is based on biblical truth, I don't join the protest. That does not mean I don't have to think and pray and struggle with issues. But it does mean I have a framework for my thinking.

Even unity rises from fundamentals. In fact, unity in a local church and among churches is a biblical mandate. We are bound together by the most important truths that we hold dear. I meet regularly for prayer with a group of pastors from other denominations. I don't agree with them on some issues and practices that are important to me. But we all agree that people are lost without Jesus Christ. We all believe the Bible. And we believe God hears and answers prayer. The urgency of these basics brings us together to pray.

Much of the negativity attributed to fundamentalism rises from ignorance. People don't know what the word means, but they hear it applied to unsavory characters. Some of its divisiveness comes from our own sins. We have given the truth a bad name by anger and harsh words. For these reasons, it is probably not a good idea for me to call myself a fundamentalist at least not at the airport.

I remember hearing a seminary professor talk about this. We were looking at several systems of hermeneutics. Some of us were surprised to discover that everyone in the class liked the underlying principles of fundamentalism best. Of course, we had thought fundamentalism meant narrow-minded extremism, although it does not. The professor made a statement that did not make much sense to me at the time. He said, "You can be fundamental, without being a fundamentalist." I still believe the professor was technically wrong--the two words are synonymous. But I can hold the fundamentals without calling myself a fundamentalist, offending my friends and the people I want to reach. Do you hold the fundamentals? Hold them quietly, but hold them tight. "Let us hold firmly to the faith we profess." Hebrews 4:14b