Fundamentalism

 

 Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:11-12)

          Jesus said we’re blessed with people hate us because of Him. We’re not blessed if we go about making Dr. House and Brother Jerome seem like sweethearts. Our goal isn’t to be objectionable for the sake of objectionability (though that can be fun.) Our goal is to care more about what Jesus thinks about something than we do about what people think about it.

          In the chapter of The Body that I’m reading, Chuck Colson writes about fundamentalism. Lots of people turn up their noses at the term. Fundamentalists are whacked out megalomaniacs and lunatics like snake-handlers and Muslims who fly jets into buildings. At least, that is what the world would have us believe as it dishes out the insults, persecution, lies, and evil that Jesus was talking about in the passage above.

          Back in the late 1800s and early 1900s, so-called “higher criticism” was gaining momentum. Basically, it claimed that all that stuff that the Bible said happened didn’t really happen. The Bible isn’t history, but it does include some nice ideas and ideals that we should incorporate into our lives. A group of scholars who opposed this idea put together a response to the higher criticism, which it called The Fundamentals. I have it as a two-volume set, and I have yet to tackle it. The general position taken by the Fundamentalists was that what Scripture proclaimed to be true is true.

          Of course, the higher-criticism crowd brought out their stellar argumentations – straw men and ad hominems – misrepresenting what fundamentalists believe and calling them names.

          Personally, I don’t understand how one can call oneself a Christian, a Muslim, a Jew, a Hindu, a Conservative, a Liberal, a Progressive, or much of anything else if one rejects the fundamental, foundational beliefs or practices of the faith, philosophy, or idea. It’s like saying you’re a painter, but rejecting the use of red, yellow, blue, black, and white; or, a writer who says “Words are useless.”

          But,  you see, if you can convince others that you are the real deal, and all those fundamentalists are mad, sad, bad, or just plain evil – then you have the power and control. You have it, unless real examples of that title you’ve claimed come along and refuse to back down. Scripture says that such a person is blessed – not will be blessed but is blessed. One reason I believe this to be true is that such a person has a firm foundation. Every new claim doesn’t throw their faith into a tailspin.

          This doesn’t mean that the person who holds to truth as truth doesn’t struggle, but that their struggle makes them stronger, whereas the one who lacks that fundamental foundation grows weaker in their struggles. It’s not the folks who hold fast to Scripture who throw their brains out the door. It’s the ones who accept every new claim that comes along.