There are some things in the Christian faith that are essential and without them, our faith would be pointless. And I think that how we read our Bible is one of those essential points. I’m not saying one certain version is the only right version, but I think that there are some versions of the Bible that are better. Like for example, I would say that the message bible is not a good version of the Bible because it is having the author, Eugene Peterson, tell you what the writers meant or how they meant their words. A better translation would be saying what the passages literally say or a word for word translation. But we’re not talking about Bible translations, though they are important. We’re talking about fundamentalism and how it corresponds with the Bible.
I’m a fundamentalist. I believe that the Bible and a good dictionary is all we need to understand what God has said to us. This is vital because if we think otherwise that leads to a lot of problems. But first I want to define fundamentalism first for you so that we’re all on the same page.
Fundamentalism: ‘maintenance, in opposition to modernism, of traditional orthodox beliefs such as the inerrancy (there are no errors) of Scripture and literal acceptance of the creeds as fundamentals of protestant Christianity.’ and these ‘fundamentals’ are ‘the inspiration and infallibility of Scripture, the deity of Christ, His virgin birth and miracles, His penal (punishment) death for our sins, and His physical resurrection and personal return.’
So, in essence, I believe that a person who can read can understand the Bible. All of it might not be easy to understand, but God wrote this book for us to understand so let’s take the time to understand it. And I’m dogmatic about it, I believe that God gave us His scriptures to learn from. And why would a God who made our language in the first place not be able to use it properly?
And I don’t want to sound judgemental or angry, but I really believe that this is a serious issue. Many young women don’t know or God forbid, don’t even care about the study of God’s word, Theology.
J. Gresham Machen says this about the subject… “It is a great mistake…to suppose that we who are called ‘conservatives’ hold desperately to certain beliefs merely because they are old, and are opposed to the discovery of new facts. On the contrary, we welcome new discoveries with all our hearts, and we believe that our cause will come to its rights again only when youth throws off its present intellectual lethargy, refuses to go thoughtlessly with the anti-intellectual current of the age, and recovers some genuine independence of mind. In one sense, indeed, we are traditionalists…But on the whole, in view of the conditions that now exist, it would perhaps be more correct to call us ‘radicals’ than to call us ‘conservatives…’ We are seeking, in particular, to arouse youth from its present uncritical repetition of current phrases into some genuine examination of the basis of life; and we believe that Christianity flourishes not in the darkness, but in the light.”
With our faith, there must be a passion and zeal, but also a firm stand on what the Bible says.
Redeemed by the King
My Redeemed Life 