Biblical Fundamentalism

Full Reports on the Bible & Theology Course - 2004

Biblical Fundamentalism

Biblical fundamentalism professes a new effort to restore traditional Christianity. The term "fundamentalism" derives from a series of 12 booklets titled 'The Fundamentals', which appeared during the period from 1910 to 1915. They were written by eminent conservative evangelical leaders of the USA. These booklets define the "five points of fundamentalism" namely: (1)Verbal inerrancy of Scripture, (2)Divinity of Christ, (3)Jesus' virginal birth, (4)Doctrine of vicarious expiation, and (5)Bodily resurrection at the time of the second coming of Christ. Fundamentalist views on the divine inspiration of the Bible, the inerrancy (not the verbal one) of the Bible, and other biblical truths are right. However, the fundamentalist way of presenting these truths is rooted in an ideology that is not biblical, especially when it imposes a Bible understanding that admits no questions and rules out any kind of critical research.

Main tenets of fundamentalism

1. Fundamentalists present the Bible as the only necessary source for teaching about Christ and the single rule for Christian living. Fundamentalists hold the principle of "Scripture alone" (sola Scriptura) and do not accept the testimony of the Sacred Tradition of the Church. They even fail to realize that the books of the New Testament took shape within the Christian Church. As a result of the denial of the Church traditions, the fundamentalists try to find in the Bible all the answers for Christian living. As Catholics, we look to both the Church's official teaching and Scripture for guidance in addressing life's problems. It is the official teaching of the Church or magisterium that guides us in matters of belief and morality that have developed after the last word of Scripture was written.
   
   
2. Fundamentalists see the Church only as spiritual. They deny its institutional aspect. According to their claims, there is no historic, authoritative Church in continuity with Peter and other apostles; there is no vision of the Church as our "Mother" - a Mother who is visibly there to teach and guide us in the way of Christ. Unfortunately, some fundamentalist churches and sects interpret the Catholic Church as a "man-made organization" with "man-made" rules. It is important for each of us to realize and acknowledge that the Bible is the Church's book. The New Testament did not come before the Church, but from the Church.
   
   
3. Fundamentalists hold the view that the Bible should be read and interpreted "literally" in all its details. Thus, fundamentalism is also known as "literalism". For example, it accepts in a literal sense the ancient, out-of-date cosmology, just because it is found expressed in the Bible. In the fundamentalist view, the narratives of the Bible are photographed history rather than different stories with religious messages. Also, fundamentalists believe that only they have the correct interpretation of God's word.
   
   This view excludes the efforts to understand the complex process of Bible formation such as the historical, social, and cultural contexts in which biblical books came into being. Thus, the fundamentalist view rejects the use of historical or scientific methods for the interpretation of Scripture. It also refuses to admit the fact that the inspired Word of God was expressed in human language by human authors with limited ability and resources. Because of this, fundamentalists treat the biblical text as having been dictated word for word by the Spirit, and not as having been formulated in language and expression and conditioned over various periods. They maintain that leaning does not improve man's qualification to interpret the Bible. For them, any believing Christian is able to interpret the Bible as clearly as a scholar and perhaps better than the scholar.
   
   
4. Fundamentalism tends to give absolute inerrancy (infallibility) to the Bible, holding that the Bible is free from any error whatsoever, whether historical, theological, or scientific. It considers everything in the Bible true and historical, without admitting the possibility of symbolic or figurative meaning, and fails to understand even the poetical and metaphorical language of the Bible.
   
   
5. Fundamentalists often show a tendency to ignore or deny the problems presented by the biblical text in its original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek form. They refer only to one translation. For example, Jehovah's Witnesses refer only to their own New World Translation of the Bible, which is a biased translation in which many of the peculiar teachings of the Watchtower Society are included into the Bible text itself. Jehovah's Witnesses deny both the personality and the divinity of the Holy Spirit. For them, the Holy Spirit is only "the invisible force of Almighty God".
   [Please see: The Holy Spirit: The third person in the Holy Trinity @ Category: THE CHURCH >> Sermons]
   It is highly significant that in their New World Translation, the word "spirit" or "holy spirit", when used to designate the Holy Spirit, is never capitalized. Jehovah's Witnesses consider Jesus Christ as the highest of all of God's creatures. They deny the divinity of Christ too. In short, they reject the doctrine of the Trinity, the divinity of Christ, and the personality and the divinity the Holy Spirit.

Introduction   Biblical Fundamentalism   Challenges Today
Book of Rev. & Fundamentalism   Jehovah's Witnesses   Teachings of JWs
Pentecostal Churches   Characteristics of Pentecostals

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