Fatal Flaws in Fundamentalism

We have many paperbacks and Kindle books on our author page https://www.amazon.com/Bill-and-Roberta-Taylor/e/B09DTMSHT8/

What’s wrong with fundamentalism?  The idea was for churches to agree on 10 or 12 “fundamental” ideas so they could work together.  That was anti-Biblical.  Some divide Moses’ law into ceremonial, moral, and judicial parts.  Paul wrote in Gal. 5:3 that Moses’ law is indivisible – anyone who follows any of it “is a debtor to do the whole law.”  He also wrote “I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God (Acts 20:27).”  Moses’ law is indivisible; how can we declare “all the counsel of God” while focusing on a few fundamentals?

We’re to judge ideas by their fruits.  There are literally hundreds of Baptist splinter groups focusing on different lists of “fundamentals.” Regardless of the original idealistic goals, the idea was unfruitful from the beginning.

What’s wrong with fundamentalism?  The “P” of BaPtist which once stood for “priesthood of all believers,” now means “pastor sole authority.”  Latter-day papist pastors may climb up on their pedestals deliberately or people may urge them up by refusing to relate to God as described in Deuteronomy 5:24-27, but no pastor can be worshiped without his knowledge.  Pedestal pastors neglect their duty to warn, “See thou do it not” (Acts 14:14-15, Rev 19:10, 22:9).  They thunder, “If you’re offended by what I say, you’re not right with God,” neglecting the detail that Matthew 18:7 blames “that man by whom the offence cometh.”  The woman at the well was told her sins (John 4:29-39) but not so as to offend her (Ephesians 4:15, I John 4:8).  He converted the town whore into an evangelist though holiness tempered by love and acceptance.

Churches ruled by pedestal pastors end up with unwritten checklists based on the pastor’s personal preferences.  If you check ALL the boxes, if your tie’s THIS wide, if your skirt’s THAT long, you’re a good Christian.  Checklist churches produce cookie-cutter Christians who act alike, but most of them are play-acting, visitors spot fakery and don’t come back.  It’s works-based fellowship as condemned in Gal. 2:11-13.

What’s wrong with fundamentalism?  Checklist churches ignore the inevitability of trials and say that having problems means you aren’t right with God.  People become reluctant to share their burdens, but we can’t bear one another’s burdens unless we know what they are (Galatians 6:2).  From a marketing point of view, it makes sense to teach that there are no trials in the checklist-based Christian life, talking about trials scares away potential customers and interferes with making merchandise of the members (II Peter 2:3).

There are two kinds of people in the Bible – sheep and goats.  Goats can be herded, sheep have to be led individually.  Checklist churches treat everyone like goats; true sheep don’t like being herded and leave.  Many churches are filled with tares because the wheat’s driven out.

What’s wrong with fundamentalism?  “I” no longer stands for “individual soul liberty,” it’s “infallibility of the leadership.”  Whether official leaders or not, the inner circle enforces the checklist by biting and devouring.  The checklist’s based on preferences.  We can’t justify our preferences from the Word of God, so anybody who asks questions has to be declared to be in rebellion against “them that have the rule over you.”

Woe to anyone who reads the Bible - you can’t follow a checklist if you’re following the Holy Spirit.  Checklist churches have no use for fruit of the spirit, no grace or longsuffering needed, anyone who’s slow to check the boxes gets thrown out.  Reading the Word of God gets you in trouble, which is why there are so many ex-members all over the hillsides who want nothing to do with any church.

Checklist Christians don’t work out their own salvation, they spit back checklists like Beka students spit back facts to show that they’re “good students.”  Beka kids learn the date of the Spanish Armada but they don’t learn the issues behind it nor are they told why Philip apologized to Elizabeth afterward.

The Bob Jones curriculum requires thought, but the lower-grade Bible textbook has quotes from Bob Jones Sr. in the same size and format as quotes from Jesus Christ.  They’re good quotes, but giving the words of man the same treatment as the Word of God leads elementary kids who’re too young to know better into ancestor worship and blasphemy.

What’s wrong with fundamentalism?  We teach half the character of God.  God is all holy, but He’s also all love and we’re to teach both (Acts 20:27).  New Evangelical churches teach the love half of God without teaching His holiness, everybody’s accepted, but they might as well attend Rotary.  A love-only message is meaningless because it doesn’t define sin or tell people that God hates sin (Ps. 7:11b).  How can people seek forgiveness without being made aware of how much God hates their sins (Ro. 3:10)?

Fundies teach God’s holiness without mentioning His love, the Bible’s a stick to beat people with, God’s a bully who’s just waiting for you to violate the checklist so He can whack you.  Burdens are lifted at Calvary, but not in fundamental churches.

Holiness without love is repugnant because it’s too harsh.  Sinners don’t want to hear about holiness alone because they don’t want to feel hopelessly bad about themselves.  Showing God’s love gives hope and helps sinners accept God’s holiness.  Sinners can’t understand why Jesus had to die on the cross unless they’re taught to cling to His love.

Our speech is to be always with grace, seasoned with salt (Col 4:6).  The grace is the love of God, the salt is the holiness of God.  A diet without salt is too bland to eat, that’s why so many kids who grow up in New Evangelical churches wander away as soon as they are big enough to follow their own convictions.  There’s no point to following a church that only teaches the love of God, there’s no guidance what to do.

Fundie preaching is all salt.  Fundies drive away their kids because a diet of salt is too bitter to eat.  Jude 22-23 says that some come to Christ because of His love, others come out of fear of Hell.  Eph. 6:4 speaks of “the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”  It is admittedly difficult to find the right balance between showing love and showing correction for each individual follower on any given day, but that’s what God expects of His leaders.  Fundies don’t even try.

What’s wrong with fundamentalism?  We eat our seed corn by driving away the smart, strong ones who should be our future leaders.  It takes time to decide whether a new member who asks questions is looking for loopholes or is seeking the mind of God, the smarter he is, the tougher his questions.

Churches and colleges won’t take time needed to convince or persuade (2 Cor. 5:11); we coerce or conform because it’s faster.  Coercion may achieve the outward appearance of Godliness as in II Timothy 3:5-7, but Romans 14:23 says that whatsoever is not of faith is sin.  If a member obeys because we coerce him and not because we’ve convinced him, we’re forcing him into sin.

What of those who won’t conform?  It’s hard to discern the difference between “faithful, steadfast, unmovable” and “stubborn” in others.  Someone who’s faithful to what the Holy Spirit tells him has no place in our checklist churches even though we shouldn’t interfere in another person’s walk with the Spirit.  We drive away potential leaders who see that there’s no Bible behind our rules.  We keep followers who aren’t smart enough to see this and call them “leaders” because of their skill in parroting the pastor.

Without intelligent, well-informed leaders, we have no one who can work out answers to stem cell research or assisted suicide.  We lost the battle of abortion because we came late to the debate; the church is silent on assisted suicide.  If we have nothing convincing to say about how life begins or how we end it, why should the lost care what we say about anything?

Driving away strong leaders leads to a low pastoral education level.  A real PhD requires original thought which is anathema to many Christian colleges.  Instead, honorary doctorates are awarded to encourage pastors to agree with the current “winds of doctrine” being pushed by the college as opposed to seeking the heart and mind of God on subjects such as abortion.  Virtually no competent fundamental theological works are being written.  Students are taught to ignore incorrect positions such as Armenialism without thinking deeply enough to answer the arguments with scripture as Jesus answered Satan.

What’s wrong with fundamentalism?  Our Bible colleges claim to be ministries.  God teaches that ministries should be under the authority of a local church; colleges aren’t, but we punish students who question this hypocrisy.  Acts 8:18-24 condemns the purchase of ministerial capabilities; an organization which offers education in return for money is a business, not a ministry, even if they’re training people for the ministry.

Christian colleges occasionally bar customers from the premises; John 16:2-3 casts doubt on the salvation of ecclesiastical authorities who do this.  Matthew 18 specifies how to excise a sinning member from the body.  Sinners are always welcome to attend services and hear the Word of God, there’s no Biblical reason to bar an orderly sinner from the premises as colleges reserve the right to do.  John 16:2-3 means that either colleges aren’t ministries or their leaders aren’t saved, pick one.

There’s no need for college management to claim ecclesiastical authority, unsaved colleges say, “Our rules are the best we know to make the place work.  If you know any better, help us improve the rules.”  Fundies forget that rules are a tool to help us live in harmony, rules aren’t the goal.  We accuse students who question the rules of blasphemy and crush or eject them rather than convincing them or learning from them.

Kids who keep quiet go home cynical (Ephesians 6:4).  The tragedy is that most rules are pretty sensible.  Students who sit down with leaders to discuss the rules generally become convinced and go back to the dorms saying, “That’s the best anybody can do, let’s live with it.”  Discussing the rules with students explicitly admits the possibility that the rules could be improved, which implies that the existing man-made rules might somehow be less than divinely perfect, a concept the leadership won’t tolerate.  This prepares students to perpetuate the problem of pedestal pastors and checklist Christianity when they’re called to a pulpit and it’s their turn to impose their checklist.

What’s wrong with fundamentalism?  No “fun,” too much “damn,” not enough “mental,” and far too much “ism,” which clumps people according to checklists instead of working out their own salvation.

What’s wrong with fundamentalism?  We treat women as some combination of servant, slave, pet, toy, or trophy rather than honoring them as precious undeserved Gifts from God (Proverbs 18:22, Genesis 2:18).  Our divorce rate is comparable to divorce among the lost, if Christian couples can’t find joy in this life, why should anyone care what we say about the next life?

In spite of the clear teaching of Matthew 27:19, Judges 13:13, Proverbs 31:1, 26 and I Peter 3:7-8, most fundies don’t believe that a woman could possibly say anything worth the effort of listening.

Watch people interact.  Unsaved men and women carry on mixed conversations because each individual is worthy of contributing or not based on established knowledge as opposed to gender.  Christian men and women separate by gender during fellowship and rarely mingle even when some are couples.  If a couple doesn’t want to be apart, one goes to the other gender’s group but rarely comments, even when asked direct questions. 

Christian discomfort in mixed-gender situations is visible to the lost.  In unsaved conversations, men and women often participate regardless of gender.  Proverbs 31:26 says that a wife opens up her mouth with wisdom; a man who ignores wisdom regardless of source is a fool (Proverbs 1:7).  In the matter of men listening to women, the children of this world are wiser than the children of light (Luke 16:8b) even though this came about through the struggles of women’s lib.  God is not limited to using only the purest of human motives to achieve His desires.

If a lost couple comes to church, the wife senses that Christian women are under bondage, they have no liberty in Christ, she doesn’t want to come back.  Suppose a couple is saved by visitation and starts attending church.  The husband is taught that a Godly man rules his wife minutely and governs every little detail because women caused the fall and can’t be trusted.  He’ll probably be taught attitudes which reflect the widespread falsehood, “last in creation, first in the fall,” he won’t hear, “last at the cross, first at the tomb.”

He’ll hear, “Marriage would be OK if women would submit, too bad there are so few Proverbs 31 wives...”  He won’t be told who gave Lemuel the content of Proverbs 31 or that it’s written to men.  How many fundies understand the ONE duty of a husband under Proverbs 31?  How many fundies know that the temple veil was rent for women (Galatians 3:28) and that a wife can come boldly before her husband, asking his grace and his mercy at any time she has need (Ephesians 5:25-33, Hebrews 4:16, I Peter 3:6, John 13:13-15)?  Christ’s presence on earth was recognized by one woman (Luke 2:36) and one man when Mary and Joseph brought Christ to the temple; God involves women in His plans, why don’t we?

Once her husband learns to rule her with a checklist based on his preferences, a newly-saved wife finds that she’s worse off in this life for having come to church; her lost friends see it and want nothing to do with God.  I Samuel 2:17 condemns acts which make others abhor the things of the Lord.

What’s wrong with fundamentalism?  We’ve lost our Baptist distinctives.   Why, then, do we remain in fundamental churches?  It’s Peter’s dilemma of John 6:68, whither shall we go?  Bible sole authority, priesthood of all believers, and individual soul liberty are to die for, no other group even mentions them.  We Baptists no longer follow our distinctives, but at least we claim them, which means that they should at least be legitimate discussion topics.