Fundamental Christianity

As I was writing the posting that will follow this one I discovered something very interesting about myself. I am a Fundamentalist Christian. Now many of you (and I do hope many) who have read my postings and contemplated my views and opinions are probably right now saying, “Well duh. What took you so long to realize that?” Well, quite honestly, I’m not quite sure what took me so long to “come out of the closet”. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that I spent the first half of my life in the North as a Roman Catholic and the second half of my life in the South as an Episcopalian. Fundamental Christianity, Roman Catholicism, and Episcopalian just don’t mix very well. Let me share with you a definition of Fundamentalist Christianity copied from the Internet:

"Fundamentalist Christianity, or Christian fundamentalism, can be defined as a movement that arose mainly within British and American Protestantism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by conservative evangelical Christians, who, in a reaction to modernism, actively affirmed a fundamental set of Christian beliefs: 

• The inerrancy of the Bible (the Bible is free of errors),
• Sola Scriptura (all scripture in the Bible is God’s words to us and contains all of the information we need to inherit God’s kingdom),
• The virgin birth of Christ,
• The doctrine of substitutionary atonement (Christ died in our place to redeem us from our sins),
• The bodily resurrection of Jesus, and
• The imminent return of Jesus Christ."

This sure doesn’t sound like anything I picked up in my Catholic Catechism or my Episcopal Sunday School, but this definition really does describe my beliefs. How in the heck did that happen? Reflecting on this I realize that I am living in the Bible Belt of the South, and Christian radio stations have had a huge influence on shaping my beliefs. Before I retired I spent about an hour a day commuting to and from work and would use that hour listening to radio evangelists discuss an untold number of topics. What these fellows have to say, how they argue their points, and how Bible scripture supports their teachings all fell together for me.

In recent years the National Episcopal Church has certainly wandered far from traditional Anglican teaching and is quickly becoming an “all inclusive” church with little regard for the Inerrancy of the Bible and Sola Scriptura. In my opinion the National Episcopal Church has it backwards. It is focusing upon modifying its doctrine to fit current social norms rather than working toward modifying current social norms to fit its doctrine (that is, bringing people closer to Christ).

So how do I come to grips with the fact that I am a Fundamentalist Christian AND an Episcopalian? Well, first of all the National Episcopal Church is “all inclusive” which means that Fundamentalists as well as all other beliefs are welcomed. That’s good. Since I am welcomed in the church then I am free to express my views, have them considered, and let folks make up their own minds about what I have to say. That is very good. What more could I ask for? I belong to a Christian community, made up of a wide range of beliefs that will listen to and consider what I have to say.  (This sounds like pretty fertile ground for a Fundamentalist Christian.)  This is far better than belonging to a church community where everyone believed exactly what I believed. How could I or anyone else learn and grow spiritually from each other in a community like that?

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