Fundamentalism and Other Dirty Words

Describing oneself as a 'fundamentalist Christian' is a dubious exercise in nomenclature. Unfortunately (and this admission is costing me), I did so once, as a seventeen year old undergraduate at Melbourne Uni, to a new-found friend. The memory makes me wince, and only by the grace of God did that new-found friend remain my friend. Ten years later, and I'm convinced that if a person truly wants to follow Christ - God's radical, cosmic instrument of deliverance - he who was called a drunkard and a madman - fundamentalism is not an option. (Except perhaps to excitable first-year uni students who aren't quite sure what they believe in but know it's important to somehow be identified as a Christian. *ahem*)

Obviously, the term 'fundamentalism' isn't just applicable to Christian worldviews. Anyone who doesn't tolerate dissent, whether they be Muslim, scientist, atheist, communist, is a fundamentalist. When the jihadist cries out "Allah Akbah!"; when some far right, pre-millenial American church prevents a devoted Christian doctor from serving needy people in Nepal because he holds the wrong eschatological views; when Richard Dawkins labels all religious people "know-nothings"; when Mao declares that all enemies of communism should be systematically crushed - they are expressing their fundamentalist positions.

Disregarding the other examples for the moment: Christian fundamentalist expressions of belief in the 21st century are a fear reaction to the challenges of the global, pluralistic society we live in. It is an instinctive position in which, ultimately, no one else is allowed to exist. It is about the need to be right. It destroys humility, a cornerstone of our faith, and encourages conflict. It takes away the right of the individual to choose. And yet - God created a world in which choice is present and necessary. Human beings may make choices against God - cf. the Garden of Eden - and those choices may have consequences - exclusion from the Garden - but God still cares for them! Look at His steadfast love, mercy, patience, forgiveness, grace to all people throughout the whole Bible. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us and reconciled us to the Father, despite the fact that we continue to make choices against Him.

And did Christ our redeemer teach fundamentalism to his disciples? By no means: his response to the people who opposed him was self-sacrifice. He taught his disciples to love their enemies, those Roman boots on their necks. In the face of provocation, oppression, rebellion - love and patience is the answer. That is the story of God through the ages. That is the great mystery of being a Christian; and fundamentalism leaves no room for mystery.

I hope and pray that my life might be a courageous challenge to the enemy - that I might be loving and humble when it is hardest. There is nothing pious, or soft, or submissive about loving the enemy. It is a battle that is there for the Christian to win; and it is the farthest thing from fundamentalism that exists.

(Other dirty words: premillenialism! antidisestablishmentarianism! mormonism! prism!)