What is a Fundamental Christian?
77Definition and Example
Fundamental Christian is a term that is thrown around quite a bit lately. It is meant by some to degrade those who follow Jesus Christ, His teachings and the bible as a whole as being the Word of God. Before was can decide who is a fundamental Christian is, we must first define what they are.
The word fundamental is define according to Webster's 1828 dictionary as follows;
FUNDAMENT'AL, a. Pertaining to the foundation or basis; serving for the foundation. Hence, essential; important; as a fundamental truth or principle; a fundamental law; a fundamental sound or chord in music.
FUNDAMENT'AL, n. A leading or primary principle, rule, law or article, which serves as the ground work of a system; essential part; as the fundamentals of the christian faith.
I will use the definition of fundamental as used as an adjective which is the first definition. The definition of Christian that I will use is number three (3). If we put the two words together and define them, we can see that a Fundamental Christian is a person who serves or follows the religion or teachings of Christ in their basic form or foundation. If anyone has a problem with this definition, please let me know in comments and we will discuss it.
The word Christian is defined as;
CHRISTIAN, n.
1. A believer in the religion of Christ.
2. A professor of his belief in the religion of Christ.
3. A real disciple of Christ; one who believes in the truth of the Christian religion, and studies to follow the example, and obey the precepts, of Christ; a believer in Christ who is characterized by real piety.
4. In a general sense, the word Christians includes all who are born in a Christian country or of Christian parents.
CHRISTIAN, a. [See the Noun.]
1. Pertaining to Christ, taught by him, or received from him; as the Christian religion; Christian doctrines.
2. Professing the religion of Christ; as a Christian friend.
3. Belonging to the religion of Christ; relating to Christ, or to his doctrines, precepts and example; as christian profession and practice.
4. Pertaining to the church; ecclesiastical; as courts Christian.
CHRISTIAN, v.t. To baptize.
Jesus preached and taught love and forgiveness everywhere He went. There was not a single place that Jesus walked, where He didn't preach the same message to those who were lost. Mosy people will agree with the above statements. They don't have a problem with it.
Jesus also preached repentance (Mat 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.). This is where many want to back away from Jesus. They want the love and forgiveness, but they dont want to repent. They don't want to subscribe to the basics (fundamentals) of following Jesus.
Creed by Third Day
Why should a person start with the basics?
As I am writing this I am thinking of a college graduate who gets his first job in a major Corporation. The student would rather go straight to the top instead of having to learn things as he/she goes along. The basics are not thought about. In reality, the basics must be learned first and applied. Just as a baseball player must first learn how to throw a ball before he can throw it at more than 90 miles per hour. They must learn how to do these things before they can become a real baseball player.
When a person comes to Jesus, they must first confess their sins to Him and believe in their heart that God has raised Him from the dead. After this, the walk begins. You are not at your destination yet, but you are on the journey to it.
Rich Mullins wrote the song which Third Day is singing in the above video. if you hear the words of the song, you will know what a Fundamental Christian believes.
We believe that God created the heavens and the earth. We believe Him to be almighty, omnipresent, omniscient. There is none higher or more powerful than He is.
We believe that Jesus is God's begotten Son who was born of a virgin never touched by a man. We believe the conception of Jesus was done by the Holy Ghost which is God. We believe that Jesus is God, who put on a body of flesh to dwell among us. We believe that Jesus was crucified, killed on the cross at Calvary, and buried in a tomb which was not His own. We believe that he was raised from the dead on the third day.
We believe the Bible to be the Word of God given to man for instruction, reproof, doctrine and for instruction in righteousness. (2TImothy 3:16)
We believe that Jesus ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father. He is the judge of everything and over all things.
This is Who I Am by Third Day
My Summary
There are many who do not understand what a fundamental Christian really is. This was the purpose for writing this hub. There are some groups who spread hatred for nearly all men that "say" they are Christians. This is an untrue statement. God sent His Son Jesus to die for the sins of all men. We are to be like Christ in all ways. We are to have the mind of Christ. Christ showed the faults of man while yet maintaining mercy and grace toward them. This is what the "Real Christians" need to do.
Judgment begins at the house of God. After the house is judged, then the rest will be judged also. We are to judge, not to condemn, but to build up. All judgment should be made righteously according to the Word of God.
I hope this clears up some confusion. I always appreciate comments even if you disagree with me. That has been my stance for a long time now.
I Believe by Third Day
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Comments
Thanks you so much ASU for the wonderful comment. It is true that many do not try and see what we actually say and then some just like to start trouble.
SirDent,
No disagreements from me. Great hub and well organized.
Thank you. ~ eddie
Thank you Eddie for the read and comment. I appreciate it more than you know.
There are those who called themselves christians meaning quite frankly, that they believe Christ is real , doesn't mean He is a part of their life or day to day lives, a born again christian are those christians who are actually saved and going to Heaven when they die. A lot of so called christians persish every day because they do not have a personal relationship with Christ. Yes, I am a christian but I am also a child of God!
Thank you Sciantel for the comment. I agree that many say I am a christian and have no idea what they are saying because they refuse to find out the real truth.
The thing is, I believe that when most people think of "fundamentalist" they think of a person who is narrow minded, refuses to listen to other people's beliefs, and who judges a person on the basis of whether or not he or she confirms exactly to their beliefs. In addition fundamentalist are also viewed as people who shove their views down other people's throats.
I went to a fundamentalist church for most of my teenage life, and I admired their love for God but I did not admire their refusal to listen to other people's beliefs. It was basically-everyone else is going to hell who does not believe exactly what we do.
However, your hub does show that not all fundamentalist are like that. Even though I am no longer a "fundamentalist" Christian (I do belive in Jesus Christ and in his teachings, but I do take a more liberal view on the Bible) I still find your hub to be knowledable and insightful.
Thanks for clearing up a lot of misinformation that is out there about what and who a Fundamentalist Christian (F.C.) is. I agree that many people think of an F.C. as narrow minded because they have found all the truth they need to live within the Bible. I do not accuse anyone who is happy of any crime against humanity, even if I do not consider myself an F.C. I find my happiness in reading the Bible, but I also read many other religious books to try to find what binds us all together, regardless of our own beliefs or faith.
I do claim Christ as my lord and savior, and I worship him as the Son of God. I do not feel called to preach, to prosthelytize or to talk about my faith unless asked. I do admire those who can stand up at often great personal expense to proclaim their beliefs.
I think of Christians in nations where they are hanged, stoned to death or burned alive, and I remember this not only as history but also as current events. Of course, others have been brutally treated for their religious stands and beliefs, such as Jews under Saddam Hussein, or under Hitler or Stalin. Even the U.S. did not treat Jewish people at all well until recent times. There are still some in this nation who want to kill people who are Catholic, Jewish or are of some other religious belief. I know F.C.s are not that way, however.
I believe that Christ stood for many things, and one of those things is to love others and to try to help them attain the Kingdom of God. I recognize that might not always be in the manner I understand, but rather in the way of our mysterious God.
Great hub!
Cheers!
Chef Jeff
Theominai, I appreciate your comment. I do have a question I hope you will answer. You said you have a more "LIBERAL" view of the Bible. Just wondering what you mean.
Thanks Jeff for the read and comment. I appreciate it very much.
Thanks for the informative hub, sirdent. I believe there are many facets to a fundamentalist, including differing views within interpretations of the Bible. There are, for example, two poles of theology. The first is covenant theology, or what many consider reformation theology, and there's dispensational theology. Both can be very different but it doesn't however mean that one is right and thw other is wrong, although conflicting views usually mean one side is wrong we just don't truly know which one is. :P
While I don't consider myself a fundie, I am convinced my views are more fundamentally based on scripture than many open-interpreters out there.
Thanks for the read and comemnt TK. How I see things is this. There is only one interpretation that is absolutely right. It isn't my interpretation nor is it yours. It is the Holy Ghost's. I am bad for speaking out of turn at tiems and probably will continue to do so in the future, but I am working to refrain from doing so.
Speculation, private interpretation, opinions, are not always right and in fact very seldom are. If we would simply speak that which is revealed to us by the Holy Ghost, get ourselves out of the way, I believe everything would be much better for us and everyone else also.
Of course you still have the horned god Satan going around trying to destroy us. :P
Just goes to show that you should never stereotype anyone. My view of fundamental is the same as a few others as being narrow minded and regulatory. I only have that because the same people who were like that kept throwing the term fundamental in other believers faces to show that they were the only right ones. (I have a few family members that do that)
If we follow the path that you laid out based on definitions, there are more of us out there. It is just how we present it to the world the title we wear.
Very good article. We've got to be more like Paul. He was willing to be all things to all people to tell them about the Lord as long as it never violated the Word or the Faith.
Hello SirDent and everone else,
Fundemental Christians may have a real problem in that their minds may be made up on want they think is Gospel. However, I have found several interesting points in my Christian walk with the Father, Jersus Christ and The Holy Spirit. The first and formost point is we really need to listen close to what our Saviour said in the 4 Gospels. I know this may be hard for people that have already made up their minds on certain points they were taught and assumed are right. Again a person like this is really trapped in teachings that bind them and tie them selves up tighter then a ship to a mooring on a dock were they can not move and have enough slack to move with the waves and the current. They may snap and get slip into the current or flounder unto rocks some where along the way in their jouney of confusion.
I belonged to a Fundamentalist Church for some 33 years. When some major changes came along some snapped lose from their moorings and now are being swept along with the tide, currents and waves of confusion and apathy and bewilderment. Right now I am happy with our little House Church because we still held unto Jesus because we have had the common sense (more like discernment) to continue to grow in grace and the knowledge given to us through the leading of the Holy Spirit. So many have lost their first love because they failed to do their own Bible study like the Apostle Paul referred to that we are to do in, 2 Timothy 2:14-9., 1Thessalonians. 5:12-23. A good Bible example is found in the Bereans in Acts 17:11-12. These people continued to prove all things to see if what was being said by Paul and his companions were true.
The Fundametalist may have been accepting teachings that were far off the mark from what Jesus and the Holy Spirit taught. Thanks to God's good graces we still had our sights set on what we were shown in our own Bible studies. Well, Jesus Christ never said we can just lay back and be self satisfied with what we just think is right. We need to continue to prove what we have been fed my those that say they are God's ministers to see if their teaching are true!
I'm no genius to be able to keep watch by myself. It takes the Holy Spirit in you teaching and nurturings us to keep us on course. As we are holy vessels we are to go with Flo,the Holy Spirit, 1Corinthians 1:20-51; 2:9-15; 3:16-23.
Hey all, I have started a Hub of my own dealing with Churches, the fundamentalist are included. Come on over and give me some input on what you think about so many Churches that think they are of Christ's. If am giving three critical points that most Churches have a problem with.. See you soon. I'll be Back!!
The more I read the links you've provided the more I respect you, Sir Dent. As a good friend once told me, "Keep on keeping on!"
BTW, I love the music!
Cheers!
Chef Jeff
Is it fair to say a fundamentalist tries to follow the letter of the bible, and an extremist forces others to do it?
p.s. Haven't seen you much at AFD.
Not sure if it is the same thing, but a fundamentalist follows the spirit of the Bible. Extremists force others possibly. Haven;t thought about it in that way yet but will.
As far as AFD goes, I don't have enough time to really get into discussions and keep them going.
Thank you!
allshookup says:
8 months ago
SirDent, this is a great hub. You wrote it well and very truthful. And I agree with it. I know I am not as Christ-like as I want and need to be, but I do strive. You mentioned that we are to judge by using God's word. I find myself being told very often that Christians judge people. I don't feel that it's judging to see what fruits are produced by a person. It only makes sense to see what they produce. That's how I tell who I want to be friends with or who I don't. I don't want to be best friends with a person who is a drug dealer. Why? Because of their fruit. It's rotten fruit and the bad will always bring down the good. I don't fee that I'm any better than that person is, I just know I don't want to be in that crowd. I don't want to put myself into temptation. It seems that we are judged by the world in a scale that only Jesus Himself could weigh in correct on. And even then, by their standards He would probably not be up to their standards. This is sad. But I love that fact that it's not the world's scales we have to worry about. It's God's. This is a great hub. I do feel that Christians are misjudged but that we are misjudged because a lot of the time they enjoy it and try their best to hurt us. I feel that it's their goal a lot of the time. I don't feel they try to understand where we come from when we talk to them.