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I've been wanting to ask this question for a long time, and now is a good time to ask it.

What does the term "Christian Fundamentalist" mean to you?

Please don't look it up. Your own definition is what I'm really curious about. If this was done under scientific controls, I'm sure there would be a lot of different answers.

This is like many other terms that come up in conversations between Christians on a fairly regular basis - everyone has a different definition. Let's have some fun and share some personal perceptions about what this term means. If we have enough fun with this, there are many other terms that might be fun to discuss. Please do share every detail that comes to mind and forget the dictionaries. Dictionaries would ruin the fun.

Love In Christ,
Tom

Philippians 3:20-21 NASB  For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;  who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.

My perception of a fundamentalist Christian is changing. I used to think they were uptight,self-righteous, over-bearing people with a holier-than-thou attitude. While these adjectives fit some FC's, they don't fit most FC's. And now that I am reaching a plateau of sorts in my walk with Christ, I see myself as an FC who tries really hard to not take on the afore mentioned characteristics.

And there are a lot more non-believers with those characteristics than believers. While hypocrisy is alive and well among Christians, its breeding and nurturing ground is among non-believers.

Am I uptight? A little, I think. But I try to be tolerant without violating my belief system. And in today's American culture, Brother, that can be very difficult.

Am I self-righteous? Not in a realistic sense. If there is anything righteous about me, it is because of the shed blood of Jesus covering my unrighteousness. It is certainly not a result of anything within my own power.

Am I over-bearing? I suppose sometime I am. But that is MY nature...not Christ's supernature. (God is working on that in my life.) 

Am I holier than "thou"? Or anyone? HAHA! I assure you, my Brothers & Sisters, there is NO ONE less holy than me. When Paul called himself the chiefest of sinners, he made that claim having never met me. But one day, we'll meet and Paul will say, "Well, I don;'t feel so bad about myself now."  ;D

Am I an FC? Oh, yeah. And glad of it. I think now that an FC is one who believes in the fundamental truths of God's Word. An FC believes in the inerrancy of God's Word. An FC knows without a doubt where he/she will spend eternity. An FC believes Romans 8 (kinda covers everything) to every jot an tittle.

I use to think of a fundamentalist Christian as being a bit of a nutcase.

But like Len, my view has changed over the years and i now look at them as people who have the guts to say what they believe and are not scared what people and the world think of them. Over the years, society has changed and now accept as normal, things which past generations would have no way entertained. But i believe that a FC would stand up and say to heck with the norm, the bible says it wrong and so its wrong. And they won't be scared to confess that, whatever the world may say.

Ok so now we will find out that many feel the same way :)  Cause I used to think the same as Len and Joey.  When you are outside or new you think of "fundamentalist" as almost like "extremist".  So I usually thought of them as crazy. 
But as God has worked more in my life I have found myself more and more relating to those that I once thought crazy.

And now that my mind draws a blank...there are a verse or two that relate to what the world would see of us... to them it is foolish...something along those lines...bad day...second monday of hte week.

:)

 ;D  Yes, I think this is going to be some fun, but it may also be very informative. It's interesting how stereotypes are formed and when they are formed. As an example, many younger Christians stereotype older Christians.

Some of the stereotypes have been mentioned, but some haven't. We did hear something about "holier-than-thou", and this one is normally associated with Christian Fundamentalists. BUT, is it true or just part of a stereotype?

I'll give those who are dying to state their stereotype some ideas:

"Goody-two-shoes" an old term
"Stuffed-shirt" an old term
"Square" an old term

The definition by some might even contain thoughts of Puritans or the "Salem Witch Trials". Do you even visualize a stern and scowling face and an old man wearing a Puritan hat? Do you even have visions of the gallows, burning at the stake, and stoning?

The definition by some might involve harsh Old Testament Law and someone desiring to go back to Mosaic Law.

Have I hit any stereotypes for those who really want to answer this question and haven't yet?   ;)  Go ahead - let's have some fun. Tell us what you really think.

I was just mentioning something about this in another thread. Many words change depending upon a persons outlook due to age, societies use of those words, misconceptions of their true meaning (perhaps due to lack of proper education? ), the reason can go on to even more I am sure.

Perhaps it is because I'm old school but I have always considered the word to mean the understanding and abiding by the basic fundamentals of anything. In reference to it's useage with Christians I have always felt it meant a person that took the whole word of God to be the literal word of God not just a guide book as "guide books" are meant to be just that a basic guide that can be twisted or turned according to different situations and desires. Non-fundamentalists do just that, pick and choose what they want to believe and discard the rest as being old fashioned or out of date.

Pastor Roger, Brothers and Sisters,

I think that believing in all of the basic principles of the Holy Bible would be near the top of the list in terms of describing a Christian Fundamentalist. The argument might come in with various beliefs about what the basic principles are. Maybe we could start a list of the most basic ones first and see if there is enough agreement to add to the list and discuss again.

I would like to begin this list and see what everyone thinks. If we get close to reaching agreement, we can proceed with more. I really do think this might be interesting and informative, and we really might be surprised how close we are. So, here we go:

1 - Salvation is simple enough for a child to understand, but I'm going to put things as if I were talking to young adults and over. Salvation is faith that JESUS CHRIST died on the Cross about 2,000 years ago for the sins of mankind. Sin is disobedience of GOD, and all men sin, so we are all under a curse of sin and death. JESUS CHRIST was VERY GOD made manifest in the flesh, and HE was the ONLY HOLY AND PERFECT sacrifice who could rescue sinful man from the fires of hell. JESUS CHRIST and the CROSS were a GIFT from GOD from HIS matchless GRACE and LOVE - a precious GIFT that no man deserves or can earn. Man no longer has any sin offering or sacrifice that can be made which pleases GOD because the ONLY PERFECT AND HOLY SACRIFICE is JESUS CHRIST. So, faith in JESUS CHRIST and accepting HIM as Lord and Saviour is the ONLY WAY for Salvation. JESUS CHRIST arose from the dead on the third day and was seen by many witnesses before HE ascended back to HIS Rightful Place in Heaven. JESUS CHRIST is our Living Lord and Saviour forever for those who have Faith in all HE has done for us. In all reality, JESUS CHRIST died in our place and took the punishment we deserve in HIS OWN Precious and completely HOLY BODY. HE died - the JUST for the unjust - the HOLY for the unholy - the RIGHTEOUS for the unrighteous.

2 - ALMIGHTY GOD is a HOLY TRINITY - THREE HOLY DEITIES, yet ONE ALMIGHTY GOD. GOD THE FATHER, GOD THE SON (JESUS CHRIST), AND GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT are and always have been the ETERNAL and ALMIGHTY GOD - THE CREATOR! There are THREE - YET THEY ARE ONE and have been ONE for eternity past and will be ONE for eternity future. They crucified GOD HIMSELF - JESUS CHRIST - on that CROSS 2,000 years ago, and ONLY the precious BLOOD of JESUS CHRIST on the CROSS washes away our sins. ONLY JESUS CHRIST saves us and makes us fit to become children of GOD and receive a full inheritance with the Saints in LIGHT, the LIGHT of JESUS CHRIST. JESUS CHRIST holds HIS ARMS out in welcome to ALL, telling us that HE Loves us and wants all of us to come to HIM. GOD doesn't want any to perish in their sins without JESUS, but GOD won't force us to accept JESUS. The GOOD NEWS is that ALL who have Faith and come to JESUS will be accepted, regardless of the magnitude of their sins.

3 - The Holy Bible is GOD'S WORD - not the words of men. The writers of the Holy Bible were simply instruments that GOD used to record HIS MESSAGE to us. It is a timeless TRUTH from cover to cover, and ALL of it is for us to study and use to understand GOD'S MESSAGE to us. We must diligently learn how to study the Holy Bible and rightly divide the WORD of TRUTH as the WORD applies to us today. It is necessary to understand how the WORD applied during various times of history before we can fully understand and appreciate how the WORD applies to us today. I'll only mention a few of the major considerations that must be understood and applied:  1) Law versus Grace;  2)  before the CROSS versus after the CROSS;  3)  Israel versus the CHURCH WHICH IS THE BODY OF CHRIST.

4 - There is only ONE TRUE CHURCH, and it isn't made with human hands, nor does it have a name devised by man associated with it. The ONE TRUE CHURCH isn't made of brick and mortar, nor is it of this world. All truly saved children of GOD, the living and the dead, are members of the BODY OF CHRIST. CHRIST HIMSELF is the HEAD of this eternal CHURCH and we are members of HIS BODY. Israel is dealt with separately by GOD and we must distinguish between Israel and the BODY OF CHRIST. Separate promises were made by GOD to each of them, and they are NOT one and the same.

Brothers and Sisters, I hope this might be a good start. Let's all try to keep things basic and try to pleasantly discuss them as we go. If someone disagrees, we can agree to disagree and continue, but I don't think that I've listed anything so far except the most basic Biblical facts.

Love In Christ,
Tom

Ephesians 2:8-10 NASB  For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

Len you took allllllll the words right out of my mouth.

Yes I am proud to be an FC, some people may at times think I may go overboard especially when I praise God for things He's done for me, or when I offer to pray for them, or even when I give them Biblical answers to their problems. But then again I don't really care if they think so, just because they are ashamed or they may not want to hear the truth. I have a Higher Authority to answer to.

Am I self righteous, ABSOLUTELY NOT, I find myself asking God to forgive me for the same things over and over again. If it were not for the Blood of Jesus, I would be condemned forever.

WHERE WOULD I BE WITHOUT MY SAVIOR?

I want people to see the fruits of the Spirit in me, I want them to want Jesus in their life too.
I don't have all the answers to everything, but I know WHO does.  :D :D

I will agree,
FC is a stereotype that was given to out, abused even, to those who seemed to be a bit "crazy" (if I can use such a word) at times.  I have also heard those claiming to be Christians say "Watch out, he is a "born again" Christian" as if there were another kind.  Then I remembered back to my younger days playing sports and my father, who was my coach at the time, repeating the fact that we had to have the basic fundamentals down so that we had a foundation to build upon.  It sort of makes me laugh how labels are given out.  I'm still very young however labels don't seem to phase me as much anymore, but I'll agree with my father, you have to have the fundamentals down. If that makes me a FC then I guess I'm a FC.  Great thread!

 :D

Did you all know that there was no such thing as “Fundamentalists” or "Fundamentalism" name tags before the early 1900's (1909 to be the earliest that I can find) ? The reason for this is mentioned in the threads above.

GREAT THREAD!

Sister Maria brought something up that I would like to mention again. A Christian Fundamentalist would know that JESUS CHRIST is the only man who ever walked on this earth who didn't have sin and many things to be ashamed of.

A Christian Fundamentalist would KNOW that they are simply a sinner saved by the GRACE of GOD.

A Christian Fundamentalist would KNOW that they have NO RIGHTEOUSNESS of their own at all.

A Christian Fundamentalist would KNOW that the ONLY RIGHTEOUSNESS that a Christian has is in JESUS CHRIST. It isn't our righteousness - it's ONLY the RIGHTEOUSNESS of JESUS CHRIST.

So, I would conclude that all Christian Fundamentalists pray for forgiveness on a regular basis and KNOW that there is NO SUCH THING AS SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS - it just doesn't exist IN US. We are seen in and through JESUS CHRIST, and only HE makes us fit to obtain our inheritance as children of GOD. Galatians talks about people trying to establish their own righteousness as impossible and the obvious REQUIREMENT to YIELD to the RIGHTEOUSNESS OF CHRIST. CHRIST imputes some of HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS to us, and that is the ONLY RIGHTEOUSNESS we will ever have.

Love In Christ,
Tom

Romans 11:33 NASB  Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!

Fundamentalism has become a word used as a stereotype meant as a derogatory word but when it was first taken on in 1909 by a group of Christians it was in response to what was known as Modernists. Modernists were those that wanted to change the meaning of the Christian beliefs to allow more freedom in varied beliefs. Some of the fundamentalist preferred to be known as Evangelicals. This group published a 12 book volume on the fundamentals of Christianity known as "The Fundamentals". This series is out of print and very hard to get a hold of however R. A. Torrey modified it and put it out in a four volume set due to money constraints. This four volume set can be found on the internet for free.

It is full of many beautiful truths just as this thread is.


Amorous mentioned "that we had to have the basic fundamentals down so that we had a foundation to build upon". This is something that we are also taught in the Bible. From the first verse, the entire first chapter,  in Genesis the foundation is being set. If we change the story of Genesis or throw it out, as some would have, then it changes everything all the way through Jesus and the cross. It gives the doctrine of the Being of God; the origin of the universe; the creation of man; the origin of the soul; the fact of revelation; the introduction of sin; the promise of salvation; the purpose of the elected people; the preliminary part in the program of Christianity.

Amen Pastor Roger!

There is a reason why GOD gave us Genesis. HE wanted to tell us that HE is the CREATOR and HE is to be obeyed. We had a beginning, but the HOLY TRINITY does NOT. This alone is very difficult for human beings to understand, but it's just a minor fact for ALMIGHTY GOD. Man is very fortunate that our CREATOR Loves us, has some patience with us, and is merciful to us even when we disobey HIM. BUT, we also know that ALMIGHTY GOD can be a GOD of terrible wrath and HE hates the sin of disobedience.

Darwin can't even spell CREATION, much less describe it. All of the TRUTH that man knows about CREATION was given to us by GOD in the Holy Bible - HIS WORD. ALMIGHTY GOD CREATED all, and HE told us what HE wants us to know. It would be silly for a human being to think that they know about all the ways and means of GOD. Again, GOD has told us what HE wants us to know about HIS POWER and absolute dominion over ALL HE has CREATED. Saying that GOD'S account of CREATION in Genesis isn't truthful is calling the CREATOR - ALMIGHTY GOD a liar. Someone with common sense would know that it isn't smart to call their CREATOR a liar, but some self-professing Christians believe Darwin over ALMIGHTY GOD.

A Christian Fundamentalist believes every WORD of GOD and wouldn't dare call HIM a liar.

Love In Christ,
Tom

1 Corinthians 1:9-10 NASB  God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.

Brother AM you made a very valid point here ("Watch out, he is a 'born again' Christian") As if people had to watch out for Born Again Christians, these are the very ones who think that it is "Born Again" Christians have the power to judge, save, or condemn anyone. They don't even stop to think that God's Omnipotence, Omniscience, and Omnipresence. He is unchangeable and He is Eternally God, that is who they should always remember, that no matter what they think, say, do, or where they go, He is always there, unlike FC Christians whom people think could condemn them. Those who call Christian fundamentalists are already judging themselves. The only problem is they are not doing the only thing that can save them.

This a great thread.

My definiation of FC has changed from: Being an extremist and a nut case to someone being very passoniate about spreading the word and saving the lost. I now see them as someone who is on fire about Jesus and wants to spread the good news to all. I would consider myself a Fundamentalist Christian and would consider myself one. I am not on fire for Jesus like I should be but I do get my moments when I am on fire.

Hello AngelFriend,

I think that you just hit another area that is very worthy of discussion. The term "On Fire For JESUS" does make some people think of extremists, but maybe it's just another stereotype. Maybe we could describe this in many ways that would deal with the natural desires of a Christian, as opposed to the desires of the world.

As a child and young adult, I remember many Christian activities that I considered assignments from mom and dad or teachers at church. I probably compared them to homework like I was given at school, and there were other things that I would rather have been doing. Now, I have a list of things that I WANT to study in the Bible, and nobody told me to do them. I decided all by myself what topics and portions of Scripture that I WANT to do. It really isn't strange at all for a Christian to say that they enjoy Bible study, and there isn't anything extreme about wanting to study the Bible every day.

Some folks might think it was strange to want to do anything more than go to church one or two hours a week. Some folks might think that a person is dull or boring if they suggest that they actually WANT to do a Bible study as a matter of enjoyment and fellowship. AND, there isn't anything strange about wanting to spend private time in prayer and Bible study every day. This could even be considered to be an addiction, but there wouldn't be anything negative associated with it.

In short, the world doesn't understand how Christians can associate Bible study and other Christian activities with fun and enjoyment. The world associates these normal Christian activities and desires with being an extremist. This really leads to many other thoughts and discussions that are probably viewed by the world as negative. As an example, Christian Fundamentalists don't like or approve of dirty language, dirty television, dirty movies, dirty music, etc. Is there really anything extreme about this?

I'll mention one other area that might be good for discussion. Is there anything strange or extreme about a Christian being concerned about their testimony before men in what they do or won't do? In fact, there are many things that Christian Fundamentalists don't want to be associated with at all, and they will show active opposition to many things of the world. Fill in the blanks and think about what some of these things might be.

Love In Christ,
Tom

Philippians 2:1-2 NASB  Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.

I would say that if they set themselves on fire and said it was for Jesus...then they are extremely crazy! :D

But yes when I was young not only in life but even in Christ the terms fundamental and on fire usually meant that there would be no reasoning with those folks.  And I usually tried to stay away.  As time grew and I understood them more I started looking for people who were on fire for Jesus and wanted to spend more time with them, because I wanted to be on fire as well.

Amen!


Heb 12:28  Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
Heb 12:29  For our God is a consuming fire.

Heb 1:7  And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.

Brothers and Sisters,

There is beauty and great joy in serving the LORD. There are many beautiful portions of Scripture that associate fire with our Lord and Saviour, JESUS CHRIST. There are many applications and illustrations with fire. Some of them deal with refining and purification.

Pastor Roger, I was reading the Scriptures you posted from Hebrews and saw a cross reference to Psalms 104. There were many cross references, but I think that Psalms 104 is beautiful. Studying this portion of Scripture from Hebrews leads to some of the most beautiful portions of Scripture in the Bible.

Love In Christ,
Tom

Philippians 3:8-9 NASB  More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,

Amen brother Tom. That chapter was on my mind also at the time I posted those in Hebrews. One thing I would like to add for those that may not understand the significance here is the word minister that is used in Heb 1:7 and in Psalms 104:5 is not necessarily talking about just a Pastor. The meaning of that word in Hebrew or Greek means "worshipers of God".

Amen Pastor Roger!

Brother, all of GOD'S children can be used by GOD for HIS Purposes. All we have to do is yield to HIS Will. I am firmly convinced that GOD has work for all of us to do, and HE will provide opportunities for us to serve HIM. It is for us to say, "Yes LORD", regardless of how small or large the task is.

Brother, I'm really glad that you brought this up because some people believe that working for the LORD is reserved for Pastors or someone else with a title of some sort in a church. Maybe this would be another good description to add to a Christian Fundamentalist. A Christian Fundamentalist would believe that all of GOD'S children can be and should be servants and laborers for the MASTER. Much depends on us and whether or not we want to go when HE calls us to do something. The terms "servant or laborer" might seem to be demeaning to some people, but I like these terms when they are associated with serving the LORD. I was just reflecting on a great number of sweet Christians I've known during my life who were very happy to serve the LORD in any way that was needed. Any task for the LORD is an honor to do.

I must add that all of GOD'S children can be bearers of the GOOD NEWS. We don't need excellency of speech or degrees to tell others about JESUS CHRIST. GOD uses very plain and ordinary Christians every day. It's really a matter of whether we yield to HIS Will and be happy about HIM using us. If GOD sends us, HE will make us sufficient for HIS Purpose.

Love In Christ,
Tom

2 Corinthians 9:8 NASB  And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed;

Words ...... the meaning of words when used to describe individuals or groups is constantly changing. It is like using the word Christian. When we first see this word in history it described a group of people that knew who Jesus really is and followed Him. Today we see this word used to describe a large variety of people with a large variety of different beliefs some of which even deny that Jesus ever existed.

Another such word is "Evangelicals". An Evangelical used to be synonymous with Fundamentalists. This too has changed as we now see many that are changing the word of God to meet worldly desires and are supporting such things as homosexuality along with same sex marriages, abortions, evolution, voting on whether Jesus is or is not God and other such abominations. These are those that were there among even the Apostles that Paul spoke of in 2 Cor 11. This is the tares among us, the false prophets and teachers that we were warned of.

It is for these reasons that these words have taken on a new meaning in the society of today.


2Co 11:13  For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.

Phi 2:15  That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
Phi 2:16  Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.

Pastor Roger,

You make another good point. I think that just about all of man's labels, tags, and denominations are SOILED by man. There really aren't any short terms that have hard and fast definitions these days. That's why "Statements Of Faith" have become so popular. Most Christians don't want the world to be mistaken about what they believe, or they don't want to be associated with a particular church or group in the news that has served as a poor example for CHRIST. In fact, it's really pretty shocking what some groups and so-called churches have done in the name of the LORD.

We live in a time where the devil wants confusion, and man makes it pretty easy for him to get it.

Love In Christ,
Tom

Psalms 119:90 NASB  Your faithfulness continues throughout all generations; You established the earth, and it stands.

I think I'll post an opinion too, many people that are neither Jewish, Buddhists, muslums, islamics nor atheists call themselves Christians, even though they have not been born-again nor are practicing Bible believing Christians. Some believe in God and in Jesus, but are not at all familiar with the plan of Salvation, and they think that just saying they are Christian makes them so.

To be a real Christian means to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Others call themselves Christians but they don't know God, they don't know His Word, and many don't even believe that their is a hell.

In my opinion a Christian fundamentalist is a person who interprets every passage of Scripture literally, even to the point of ridiculousness.  For example, I once had a conversation with a fundamentalist preacher who claimed that the earth is surrounded by water since Genesis, chapter one states that God divided the waters that were under the firmament from the waters that were above the firmament.  I asked him if we would get wet when the rapture takes place.

No answer.

Josprel

You're speaking of Gen 1:7. Many creationists scientists now think that it was true that the earth was surrounded by an envelope of water. This envelope "sealed" the earth so to speak from harmful sun rays and created a perfect living condition for plants, animals and man. This situation would allow for plants to grow much larger and healthier than they do today. Larger plants and animal fossils do appear in the flood layers.

It is believed though that this envelope was "broken" which lent to the heavy rains of Noah's flood, which accounts for the atmosphere we have today, the smaller plants, animals and shorter life spans.

Looking at it in this aspect yes Genesis can be taken literal. It should also be taken as literal because it is God's word and He said what He means. Yes, I am a fundamentalist and proud of it.

AMEN!

YES - I believe every WORD of Genesis and other beautiful areas of the Bible where GOD tells us what HE wants us to know about HIS Glorious CREATION.

I was just thinking about many people during my life who have become angry with me when I bluntly called the theory of evolution GARBAGE. I'm very sad that some of these people were Christians. GOD told us everything we need to know about HIS CREATION, and GOD didn't need a bit of help from Charles Darwin. In my opinion, believing Darwin over GOD is calling GOD a liar, and there isn't any softer way to put this. I really have no desire to put this in softer terms. Christians who do this should feel great shame, especially when they realize they are casting doubt on the entire Bible, not just the parts that they dislike or think that scientists have a better and more logical explanation than GOD did and does.

Josprel, you just brought up another excellent facet for this discussion. Christian Fundamentalists will take the WORD of GOD over any other word and believe it every time. I'm thinking right now of many incredibly beautiful portions of Scripture that speak of the Might, Majesty, and Works of ALMIGHTY GOD. Many of the beautiful descriptions are beyond human imagination, and they should be. After all, the entire universe is HIS Handiwork, and we are just human beings. It is not for us to know the Full Might, Power, and Ways of our CREATOR. Scientists haven't unlocked all of GOD'S secrets from a single grain of sand, much less ALMIGHTY GOD'S CREATION.

I am in total awe of considering one sentence:  I am a possession of JESUS CHRIST and a child of the KING OF KINGS!

Love In Christ,
Tom

So you’re a fundamentalist, Pastor Rodgers.  Then, on that point we must agree to disagree, for I do not consider myself to be one, although I was brought up by fundamentist parents.  I do believe that the Bible is the verbally inspired Word of God, and without error in the original manuscripts.  I also believe that, at one point, the earth was protected by an envelope of water vapor that caused the deluge when it dissipated.  But for one to claim, as did the fundamentalist preacher I mentioned, that the earth still is encased in an envelope of water - not water vapor - which incidentally is contrary to obvious fact - strains incredulity.  What say you?

Josprel   
 

A water vapor may in fact be what it was as the Bible does say that a "mist went up". Creation scientists have been able to prove a hyperbaric condition in the lab would be the best and healthiest situation for all living things. As an example they grew standard tomatoes that normally only survive one year and reach a maximum of 3 to 5 feet in height. In the hyperbaric conditions the tomato plants lived for over three years, reached a height of 15 ft and produced 10 time more tomatoes of a larger size each.

Their idea of what of the condition was a "bubble" of hydrogen around the planet that trapped moisture and a higher level of oxygen under it. When the "bubble" broke the hydrogen combined with some of the oxygen forming (H20) the heavy rains. Now I agree that a lot of this is suppostion but it is based on what the Bible tells us and what the fossil and flood layers show. Whether it was as this says or an actual bubble of already formed water I don't know. I do know what the Bible tells us and to me it is definitely more of a possibility than the other aspects that some try to come up with as it is more in line with the Bible.

As for a "fundamentalist" believing the earth is still enveloped by a layer of water is overlooking the changes we are told of in the Bible that took place with Noah's flood and overlooking what is evident today in looking at it.

As is said in the posts above the word fundamentalist means many different things in todays language. A much different meaning than what it meant when the word was first started to be used by Christians. Now I agree that there are parables and such in the Bible that are not to be taken necessarily literal, there are meanings behind them instead of being given literally. However when God said He created all in 6 days and rested on the 7th that is exactly what He meant and it is evidenced by other references on creation throughout the Bible.

It is when people take the clear and evident things in the Bible and twist and turn them into something that is not there that they have removed themselves from the fundamentals of the Bible. Two of the most abused of these today is the preaching of "another Gospel" and then the support of evolution by some churches.

My thanks for your knowledgeable response.  And I wish you, the entire staff and each member of CUF a Christ-filled Christmas and a blessed year 2007. MARANATHA!

Josprel

I pray the same for you.