Leaving Fundamentalism

By: Katy-Anne Wilson

It is fast approaching one year since I left fundamentalism, and while some of the memories hurt, I also see something beautiful emerging from the hurt. It was about this time last year that I became disillusioned and unsettled about many things with fundamentalism. The only people I talked to about it were God and the lady who at the time was my best friend. This year, on March 3rd, will make four years that I have been a Christian. It's been one amazing journey. It was about this time four years ago that I began to become unsettled about salvation. I went to my pastor and he told me to read the book of John, and to read it over and over until I figured out if I was saved or not. He said that the book of John was written for those who don't believe to believe, so it was a good place to start. I was praying and asking God to show me (people have told me God doesn't hear the prayers of those who aren't Christians, and until I see some solid Biblical evidence I tend to disagree with that theory).

I realized that while I walked around in self-righteousness snottily judging everybody else as not as spiritual and not right with God and how much better I was because of my standards and "convictions" and how much doctrine and apologetics I knew, that, when it came down to it, I knew nothing. When I came to the place a few months later, 10 days before my 23rd birthday, where I accepted Jesus, I was humiliated, and now I am thankful for that. I was humiliated because I had acted like I had it all together, like I knew so much more about the Bible than other people, and then realized that I knew nothing. When I got saved, it took me a while to tell people, because I was embarrassed. I told my pastor that I was embarrassed but that I did want everyone to know and that I did want to be baptized because I knew that the first two times didn't count. He smiled and said he'd take care of it. He did, by baptizing me Easter Sunday when he knew that almost everyone would be there plus visitors to boot. Looking back, it must have been insanely hilarious to those driving past at the time of my baptism. I was baptized in a cattle trough in a parking lot on a busy street, and I was very obviously pregnant. 

I needed to get to a place of humiliation because my main sin in my life at that time was pride. I was proud at how much knowledge I thought I had, at how much I thought I was living better than everybody else. Unless you've been there, you probably can't imagine how that humiliation feels. I realized my good works could not earn me favor with God, for, as much as I said otherwise, I truly did believe in some part that my works were what saved me. I realized also that praying a pretty sounding little prayer did not save me. What I realized when I became a Christian that day was that it is JESUS who saves. I had been reading the gospel of John like my pastor told me to (actually, I devoured it and read it twice in one day) and I realized that formulas like pretty prayers don't save, works don't save, that it is Jesus and ONLY Jesus who saves. Now, when I got saved I did pray, but it wasn't that prayer that saved me. It was Jesus who saved me. And that was the first time I truly understood the difference. I had never, in almost 23 years of growing up with Christianity, realized that salvation was about Jesus and not about what I did. I'd never understood what the Bible meant when it said salvation was not earned by my works, until that point. I'd only just grasped that concept. That took 23 years of growing up in Christian culture, church every Sunday, Bible reading, prayer, etc. Twenty-three years of religion before I found the savior. 
It wasn't long before I got caught up in self-righteousness again and lost sight of all that I had in Christ. Worship was empty and meaningless. But, about this time last year, God started revealing some things to me, and I started to see...

Why I Have Left Fundamentalism: An Open Letter

By: Louis A.M. (Webmaster)

I have learnt that the Lord loves me immensely and incomprehensibly, through Christ. Since I am completely "accepted in the Beloved"1, His love will not depend on my behaviour; his favour will not increase by my obedience or decrease by my disobedience. Each time God looks at me, He sees Christ.

I have learnt that I am sanctified the same way I was justified: by grace through faith 2. I am not sanctified, for example, by attending church three times a week, going door-to-door witnessing regularly, reading the Bible daily, or any other physical activity that could be measured or quantified. I am conformed to the image of Christ every time I believe in the Gospel, every time I believe that Jesus Christ is more than enough to satisfy my needs, and every time that, after having sinned, I thrust myself in His arms, returning to the inexhaustible source of forgiveness 3.

I have learnt that the evidence of a Spirit-filled life is not abstaining from alcoholic beverages, refusing to listen to popular music, wearing a tie as part of my clothing, or following man-made rules. The evidence of a Spirit-filled life is: love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness and self-control. Any person, in fact, is able to maintain an external appearance and an irreproachable testimony, so to speak, without the need to be regenerated (e.g. Paul, in his life as a Pharisee 4). However, the fruit of the Spirit is impossible to be carried out if one does not possess the Spirit.

In His long prayer to the Father, as recorded in John 17, Jesus pleaded concerning His people, that "they may all be one," 5 I have learnt that the doors of Hades have not prevailed against the Church throughout history. Those who have put their entire trust in God, through His Son, are innumerable. It is our prerogative to seek communion with such brethren in Christ, wherever they are. There will always be doctrinal differences among denominations, which is inevitable on this side of eternity. Nevertheless, we have fellowship one with another on the basis of Whom we believe, not necessarily what we believe. To withdraw from brethren that believe in the same Gospel we believe is both destructive and arrogant; it is not virtuous.

Finally, I have learnt that God seeks for people who would worship Him in "spirit and in truth" 6. The worship of God is not limited to musical styles contemporary to certain eras (e.g. Sixteenth century European classical music) or to certain instruments. On the contrary, the preponderance of Scriptural evidence points out that the worship of God should involve our emotions 7, our bodies 8, as well as our minds and understanding 9. Moreover, we see that there is no limit in quality or quantity of instruments that could be used to exalt God, since King David, that great Psalmist, would create new instruments continually 10. The belief that our worship should in no way appeal to our senses is an old Gnostic, pagan doctrine that is based on the premise that everything physical and material is vile and unclean 11. Jehovah God refuted this falsehood on the sixth day of our history when, after having finished his creation, "He saw that everything was good" 12.

In summary, I have renounced Independent Baptist Fundamentalism, given that this movement

Has promoted a legalism that is disguised as grace, instead of faith.
Has promoted rules instead of a relationship with God.
Has promoted conformity to human standards instead of fullness of the Spirit.
Has promoted separation instead of unity in Christ.
Has promoted the performance of certain musical styles instead of worship.

Nevertheless, my desire is to have complete fellowship with my brethren that are in this movement, as far as it is wise and possible. Such things we have in common:

Our faith in a Triune God
Our trust in the divine inspiration and infallibility of the Bible
Our belief in salvation by grace, through faith in the vicarious sacrifice of Christ
Our hope of the Second Coming of our Lord

This is my conviction, in which I will abide by the help of God, to Whom be the glory.

Louis A. Melendez
Toa Alta, Puerto Rico
February, 2012
_______________________________________________________
Scripture References

1. Ephesians 1:6
2. Colossians 2:6
3. II Corinthians 3:18
4. Philippians 3:6
5. John 17:21
6. John 4:24
7. Psalm 138:1
8. Psalm 149:3
9. I Corinthians 14:15
10. II Chronicles 7:6
11. Colossians 2:20-23
12. Genesis 1:31, I Timothy 4:4

The Importance of Love

Anyone acquainted with fundamentalism has heard derogatory remarks made towards evangelicals (“evanjellyfish”), liberals, and others. This is simply the outworking of ecclesiastical separation where lines have to be drawn and an “us vs. them” dynamic is maintained.

The basis for ecclesiastical separation is a voluntarist, (pseudo-)creedal ecclesiology that defines Christian community not through receiving of God grace, but through mental assent to a set of propositional truths. Therefore, such an ecclesiology has further warrant to prosecute from within those who do not line up with the specific, stated positions of the leadership... (Read more)

Standing against Corruption

Fundamentalists have a reputation for tirelessly preaching against the sin and wickedness of the world. They are not content to achieve doctrinal purity but also desire to achieve holiness and blamelessness before the Lord. This holistic “search for purity” is a defining characteristic of Fundamentalism.

These characteristics were considered praiseworthy by Christ and ought to be considered praiseworthy by us as well. It is easy to be blown about with every wind of doctrine. It is easy to allow sin into our lives. It is also very easy to allow our hearts to grow cold and our zeal for Christ to wane. Historically, fundamentalism has had much to teach the church at large about the need for truth, purity, and endurance... (Read more)

Farewell

 

You’ve lied to me since the moment we met.

I was so young I can’t remember not having you
    in my life.

You taught me Who God was, what people are,
    what we do, and why.

Well, not the last part.

I guess you meant well at the beginning... (Read more)

What is the Fundamentalist movement?

The short answer to this question is that Fundamentalism is a subset of Christianity. It is relatively new, having only been around less than a century. It is important to note the distinction between the ‘fundamentals of the faith’ and ‘fundamentalism’. The fundamentals of the faith are the core beliefs of Christianity. A short list of these beliefs would include the deity of Christ; the virgin birth; Christ’s death, burial and resurrection; the divine inspiration of Scripture. Most Evangelical Christians would also agree with the statements listed in the Apostles’ Creed. 

Picture a circle in your mind. This circle represents the gospel and each person is either inside or outside of this gospel circle. Within this circle there are different flavors of Christianity. The largest group would be.. (Read more)

Fundamentalism and the Church at Ephesus

We see a pattern in each letter. There is a description of Christ that is particularly relevant to the church, praises for what the church is doing well, warnings over things that need to corrected, and finally, an eternal promise that fulfills what the church is seeking. Each of the seven letters follows this pattern except for the letter to Philadelphia, which contains no warnings.

It is my belief that the church at Ephesus is representative of today’s fundamentalist churches... (Read more)