The term “fundamental” has become negative in the minds of the non-religious & even many religious persons. We often see fundamentalism equated with radical or fanatical.

You hear the media use it in such a manner when describing Muslim terrorists. For example, the media will call Muslim terrorists, “fundamentalists”. You will also see the media use the term fundamentalists when talking about strongly devout Christians, especially when those Christians engage in the political process.

Is there then any wonder why there has been a mass exodus away from everything considered to be fundamental?

The word in itself is a good word simply meaning basic. I can’t see how Christians would oppose sticking close to the basics. What seems to happen is that many fundamental Christians aren’t simply sticking to the basics of Scripture but that they are sticking to the basics of their denomination, of their denominational traditions – traditions which may or may not be biblically based.

As people flee from fundamentalism there are typically two reasons or motivations which lead to two outcomes.

Fleeing from Fundamentalism REASON #1:

a.. Overly restrictive b.. Overly dogmatic c.. Overly bible-based

Fleeing from Fundamentalism REASON #2

a.. Overly temporal b.. Overly denominational c.. Overly traditional

Obviously we could add more reasons to each list but that should suffice to show how these two reasons result in different outcomes for the fleeing Christian.

OUTCOME of REASON #1 – Theological Liberalism

Typically, if a Christian is fleeing fundamentalism because of the items listed in Reason #1, these Christians go on to be more “liberal” in their theology. They tend to take pride in their new found “liberty”, even reveling in things that under their fundamentalist frame would have been considered sinful (whether it is sinful or not). This group tends to shun absolutes & focuses more on empirical, experiential, emotionalism-based theology. They often have a philanthropic drive to help their fellow man, which they think is the real purpose of religion. Lastly, they often have no problem mixing fad philosophies with biblical concepts as if such philosophies are on par with Scripture.

OUTCOME of REASON #2 – Theological Consistency

Typically, if a Christian is fleeing fundamentalism because of the items listed in Reason #2, these Christians go on to be more staunchly biblical in their theology. They tend to be insistent that everything, including traditions, confessions, & creeds must be tested by Scripture. This group tends to have an affinity for the Reformation Era of Christianity where there was a great pushes to test everything from Scripture. They tend to even embrace absolutes & consistency more than when they were fundamentalists, but this time those absolutes are not originating from what a pastor, nor a confession, nor a creed but from Scripture alone, wherein only real consistency can be found.

Conclusion

As these two types of Christians both flee from fundamentalism, at first they may find themselves both walking the same paths – but it quickly becomes clear that the only commonalities they had were their desire to leave fundamentalism. Their motives for doing so are at polar opposites. One group leaves seeking greater liberty, the other group leaves seeking greater consistency. Certainly these motives sometimes overlap, but the overall reasons can be categorized as listed.

What is interesting is that when the group seeking consistency interacts with the group seeking liberty, calling them to be more consistent & not to veer too far from Scripture & Truth, the theologically liberal group will do one of two things:

1.. Accuse the consistency group of being mean-spirited & judgmental & still fundamentalistic 2.. Try to get the consistency group to set aside differences for the common cause of distain for fundamentalism (the “we’re all heretics together” approach).

Sometimes some people from the consistency group will agree with point 1 or 2 & will either outright join in with the mentality & agenda of the theological liberals or they will become so closely embedded with them that the theological consistency is compromised for the bond & friendship with the theological liberals.

Ultimately the flight from fundamentalism will result in two branches of Christian mentality; theological liberalism or theological consistency. Oddly enough those advocating theological consistency may have more in common with the fundamentalists who want to stick to the basics than with the theological liberals who are ready to consume everything & anything in their effort to be more “free”. Whereas the theological liberals actually identify more with agnostics, atheists, & even persons holding to other religions.

http://thekingdomcome.com/fleeing_from_fundamentalism
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By Roderick on 2006