Gunny
10th May 2004, 09:35 AM
When these philosophies began to infiltrate mainstream Christianity, the modernism born in Germany almost 2 centuries earlier began to infect mainstream denominations in the United States like an incurable cancer. Heresies spawned in the 19th Century that scorned the fundamental doctrines of the Word of God culminated in the dogma of Twentieth Century Modernism:
The Bible is the result of a human evolutionary process
Dismissal of miracles
No validity to Biblical historical accounts (i.e.-no Adam or Eve, no Flood)
Many Old Testament events are merely myth
No Virgin Birth, Deny Deity of Christ, No Bodily Resurrection
Gospel narratives are not factual
No accurate idea of what Jesus was really like
Historical-critical approach to Bible interpretation (2)
One need not have a degree in theology to see the correlation between these corruptions of the truth of God with the philosophical blasphemy instigated in the 19th Century. The hand of Hegel, Darwin, Marx, Wescott, and Hort are readily apparent in this blatant approbation against Almighty God. By the 1900s, the philosophies of these men were spreading like a raging wildfire through churches in the United States, igniting fierce controversies within denominational bodies. While most Fundamentalists chose to fight these battles within their respective denominations until about 1930, separatist groups from every denomination later emerged as the hierarchies of each denomination fell like meticulously placed dominoes into the hands of liberal infidels. The situation deteriorated to the point that some denominations refused to even produce official doctrinal statements that would indict the heretics within their ranks.
It was in this climate that the term "Fundamentalist" was coined. Though the term was coined in 1920, it was explicitly defined by the World Congress of Fundamentalists in 1976:
"A Fundamentalist is a born-again believer in the Lord Jesus Christ who
1) Maintains an immovable allegiance to the inerrant, infallible, and verbally Inspired Bible;
2) Believes whatever the Bible says is so;
3) Judges all things by the Bible, and is judged only by the Bible;
4) Affirms the foundational truths of the historic Christian Faith:
a. The doctrine of the Trinity
b. The incarnation, virgin birth, substitutionary atonement, bodily resurrection, ascension into Heaven, and Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ
c. The new birth through regeneration of the Holy Spirit
d. The resurrection of saints to life eternal
e. The resurrection of the ungodly to final judgment and eternal death
f. The fellowship of the saints, who are the body of Christ;
5) Practices fidelity to that faith, and endeavors to preach it to every creature;
6) Exposes and separates from all ecclesiastical denial of that Faith, compromise with error, and apostasy from the Truth; and
7) Earnestly contends for the Faith once delivered.
Therefore, Fundamentalism is a militant orthodoxy with a soulwinning zeal. While Fundamentalists may differ on certain interpretations of Scripture, we join in unity of heart and common purpose for the defense of the Faith and the preaching of the Gospel, without compromise or division.
Unless a man holds and defends the Faith of Scripture, and is concerned for the salvation of the lost, he is not a true Fundamentalist."
The entire text is located at:
http://www.cuttingedge.org/news/n1506index.html
Disclaimer:As with many Christian ministries I do not agree or condone all of Cutting Edge Ministries statements.
The text above regarding what defines a "Fundamentalist", concerning this, I do agree.
The Bible is the result of a human evolutionary process
Dismissal of miracles
No validity to Biblical historical accounts (i.e.-no Adam or Eve, no Flood)
Many Old Testament events are merely myth
No Virgin Birth, Deny Deity of Christ, No Bodily Resurrection
Gospel narratives are not factual
No accurate idea of what Jesus was really like
Historical-critical approach to Bible interpretation (2)
One need not have a degree in theology to see the correlation between these corruptions of the truth of God with the philosophical blasphemy instigated in the 19th Century. The hand of Hegel, Darwin, Marx, Wescott, and Hort are readily apparent in this blatant approbation against Almighty God. By the 1900s, the philosophies of these men were spreading like a raging wildfire through churches in the United States, igniting fierce controversies within denominational bodies. While most Fundamentalists chose to fight these battles within their respective denominations until about 1930, separatist groups from every denomination later emerged as the hierarchies of each denomination fell like meticulously placed dominoes into the hands of liberal infidels. The situation deteriorated to the point that some denominations refused to even produce official doctrinal statements that would indict the heretics within their ranks.
It was in this climate that the term "Fundamentalist" was coined. Though the term was coined in 1920, it was explicitly defined by the World Congress of Fundamentalists in 1976:
"A Fundamentalist is a born-again believer in the Lord Jesus Christ who
1) Maintains an immovable allegiance to the inerrant, infallible, and verbally Inspired Bible;
2) Believes whatever the Bible says is so;
3) Judges all things by the Bible, and is judged only by the Bible;
4) Affirms the foundational truths of the historic Christian Faith:
a. The doctrine of the Trinity
b. The incarnation, virgin birth, substitutionary atonement, bodily resurrection, ascension into Heaven, and Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ
c. The new birth through regeneration of the Holy Spirit
d. The resurrection of saints to life eternal
e. The resurrection of the ungodly to final judgment and eternal death
f. The fellowship of the saints, who are the body of Christ;
5) Practices fidelity to that faith, and endeavors to preach it to every creature;
6) Exposes and separates from all ecclesiastical denial of that Faith, compromise with error, and apostasy from the Truth; and
7) Earnestly contends for the Faith once delivered.
Therefore, Fundamentalism is a militant orthodoxy with a soulwinning zeal. While Fundamentalists may differ on certain interpretations of Scripture, we join in unity of heart and common purpose for the defense of the Faith and the preaching of the Gospel, without compromise or division.
Unless a man holds and defends the Faith of Scripture, and is concerned for the salvation of the lost, he is not a true Fundamentalist."
The entire text is located at:
http://www.cuttingedge.org/news/n1506index.html
Disclaimer:As with many Christian ministries I do not agree or condone all of Cutting Edge Ministries statements.
The text above regarding what defines a "Fundamentalist", concerning this, I do agree.