fundamentalism |fndmentlizm| noun
• a form of Protestant Christianity that upholds belief in the strict and literal interpretation of the Bible, including its narratives, doctrines, prophecies, and moral laws.
• strict maintenance of ancient or fundamental doctrines of any religion or ideology.
There are a couple of short Oxford English Dictionary definitions of fundamentalism. I think, commonly, it is considered primarily a Protestant phenomenon. When people say "fundamentalist" that's what they generally mean. There are some Catholics (not bashing here) who refer to all protestants as fundamentalists. This is simple ignorance. Perhaps it's what they've heard in their circles. I was in those circles, I know what's heard and said. It's also what "liberal" protestants call anyone who is more "conservative" than they are. God forbid you believe the Bible is, in fact, the Word of God - fundamentalist! Again, ignorance.
It's OK to be ignorant, you know. We all are. We all lack knowledge. But please, let's not put our ignorance up on a pedestal and pour it over others as if they need it too. Keep that one section of your mind and heart open --- the one that realizes when you are getting something wrong, when you're "off." Keep that part open so you can see when you're treading in swamp land. It will tell you and you can listen and look around. There is generally someone there to help pull you out, IF you grab the rope. Otherwise you can walk around in there till you sink. Don't sink up in your ignorance. That's just stupid. And we don't want to go to stupid-land.
So, can there be fundamentalist Catholics? Sure there can. There are. There can be fundamentalist anything. That word strict and the other one, literal --- they would be key. They dredge up pictures of other words: harsh, cold, unbending or legalistic. I have known both Protestants and Catholics who are like this. And both were in a bad place if you ask me. It feels very right to hold a tight line. It feels secure you know. It makes you feel very safe and right. This is a dangerous feeling.
I was closer to being a fundamentalist Catholic than I ever have been anything that anyone would refer to as Protestant. I still don't consider myself a protestant. You can consider me whatever you like I suppose. Have fun. I am not mounting an organized protest against Catholicism. I have more good to say about that Church than many inside it as far as I know. If I play favorites in any way, it's probably in favor of the Roman Catholic Church. I probably shouldn't. I have a soft spot, sue me. I figure "she" gets enough grief from people --- doesn't need any from me. At this point, though, I am no fundamentalist - not in the estimation of anyone who knows what it means and who knows me at all. I'm conservative to some and liberal to others. Some would condemn me as too Catholic, others as a schismatic Protestant. I sort of like this ground, at least for now.
Are there things to hold a hard line about? There certainly are. To not be a fundamentalist does not mean you are noncommittal. It doesn't for me anyway. I'm quite committal about several things. There is Truth. There is a common Christian orthodoxy. Sure, we don't become wishy-washy, anything goes kind of theologians or Christians as a reaction against fundamentalism. I don't think that's the answer. I see it happening, but that, to me, is just as unhealthy as the harsh alternative.
Maybe I just wanted to say I am not a fundamentalist. I am also not theologically amorphous such that you would think I didn't believe anything in particular. I think neither is healthy. There's lots of good healthy earth between those two extremes. And analogies only go so far, remember that. Perhaps I'm saying it for some others as well. You can use my words if you like. Do you sometimes feel as if you are in between worlds in this whole mess? Yeah, I can relate. Maybe this will help you to know you are not alone.
It's very frustrating to be even mentally labeled by people in two different worlds as something that you're not. Sometimes a little clarification is needed so that eyes are opened a bit more than they were. There will still be frustration though. There will always be those who only see from their point of view. That cannot be helped I suppose. You might have gotten this already but this is all coming from someone who has, to an extent, seen both sides of this particular fence. No, I don't think I've ever really been a fundamentalist (like I said, not in the Protestant world anyway), but I have been a Roman Catholic Christian as well as an "independent charismatic" Christian --- now what might be called an "emerging church," ancient-future, post-charistmatic, trying to recapture a deep catholic faith Christian. I may be the only person some of you have ever heard of who didn't leave the Catholic Church in order to get "really saved." Yeah, I had already been born from above.
Anyway, this will put you in an interesting place for sure. Fundies from both ends will find you in their sights. You come to see how that business is not the healthiest thing in the world, wherever it comes from. Hopefully, along the way, we can move to a better place. Peace be with all of us.
 Alan Creech is a church planter and graphic designer in Lexington, Kentucky. He, his wife Liz, and a small community of others are planting a new church there called Vine & Branches Christian Community. You can find more about what they're doing on their website - www.vbcc.net. You can contact him at vbcc@qx.net. He also has a rambling blog where you can read his mind on a regular basis - scary - www.alancreech.com. |
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