COPYRIGHT ROBERT LAYNTON 2012
Introduction
by Pilgrim Simon (Robert Laynton)
All the essays in this collection have been published before on various blog sites and e-book sites on the web, but they have never been gathered together in this way before. They deal with key issues that are central to Christian Fundamentalism. Christian Fundamentalism is dealt with rather than Fundamentalism as whole, because it is Christian Fun- damentalism that I am most familiar with and have most experience of. Nevertheless, certain aspects of these essays and certain principles contained within them can be applied to the wider Fundamentalist movement.
Christian fundamentalist ideology can be very powerful indeed. Once the believer accepts certain assumptions as fact, Christian fundamentalist thinking can exert an iron grip on the believer, locking them into a self- perpetuating and isolated system of thought and behaviour. Indeed, for Calvinist thinkers such as B.B. Warfield and Charles Hodge who found their theology under threat by rationalism, scientific development and evolutionary theory – this closing of the theological/ideological circle to lock believers into a certain belief system was exactly what was intended.
Many Christians are very happy within the Christian Fundamentalist system. Of course they do not call themselves Christian Fundamentalists because this is now seen as a pejorative term with negative connotations – even though the term originated within their own ranks as a sort of ‘back to basics’ movement within the broader and more liberal protest- ant church. Terms come and go, but phrases such as ‘Bible believing Christian’ or ‘Born again Christian’ mean roughly the same thing. However, if doubts begin to creep in to the believer’s mind such that this theology begins to be openly, but sincerely questioned, then the believer may well find themselves subtly (or even not so subtly) threatened, ex- cluded, isolated, ostracised, unfairly criticised, disapproved of and so on. There is the idea within Christian Fundamentalism that the ‘truth’ that they believe in is particular, exclusive and absolute. To question it is to question (and therefore doubt) God, to inquire into other religions is to ‘go after other gods’ or even to follow ‘the devil and deceitful spirits’. There is only ‘one way’ (which happens to be their way) to God. In this way, Christian Fundamentalism in ultra-orthodox.
The author takes the position that we cannot create a fixed or an ad- equate conception of God. The Divine is far too Transcendent to be bound by finite conceptualisations and theologies. In his view, belief systems, theologies, conceptions of the Divine and so on serve to both reveal and mask the Transcendent – they can only point to That which cannot be known. Belief systems serve to give us finite creatures of form a relative perspective of the Infinite. But as we draw near to the Formless, these forms fall away, rendered useless by the Vastness of the Absolute. So why pick on Christian Fundamentalism? It is one of a number of approaches to the Godhead, so why critique this approach?
It is the closed absoluteness of Christian Fundamentalism (and Fundamentalism generally) that makes demands for a collection of articles such as this. There is within Christian Fundamentalism an express belief that the Bible forms a now-closed inspired or God-breathed revelation from the one God. No new revelations are to be expected – the rule-book is closed and complete. There is also a certain type of literalism present within Christian Fundamentalism: Jesus really did perform miracles and rise from the dead. God really did create the world in six literal, twenty- four hour days. Moses really did lead the Israelites through the parted waters of the Red Sea. Christian Fundamentalism constantly draws the believer back to what are perceived as literal, objective events of history. Then there is also a great emphasis on belief – on believing the right ‘key’ doctrines that often serve as ‘proof’ of one’s salvation.
The author is an ex-Christian Fundamentalist – a Calvinist – who has experienced first hand the power and grip both of the theology and the group pressures involved in Christian Fundamentalism and what hap- pens when one leaves. Following some deep spiritual experiences within Christian Fundamentalism (Baptism of the Spirit, Extraordinary Witness of the Spirit), his Christian Fundamentalist theology proved especially tenacious, with the result that it took over thirty years to deconstruct these now deep-rooted spiritual beliefs and to establish new ones. It is that deconstruction that we have presented here, in a series of essays and articles that have been written between 1976 and 2011. As a result of such a compilation, there is inevitably some repetition of certain sections and passages, which I hope that the reader will bear with. However, the author has not become an atheist – he embraced secular humanism only briefly before rejecting it as inadequate – rather he retains a lively interest in and engagement with spirituality and thus, it is not his intention to dismiss Christianity. There is much within Christianity that is of value and interest – but nevertheless, key orthodox ideas have to be questioned. At the end of this collection of essays, there is an attempt to present some sort of outline Christianity in the light of the comments made throughout this collection – but it is a Christianity that is quite radically different from the mainstream orthodox Christianity handed down to us through history and particularly different from the ultra-orthodoxy of Christian Fundamentalism.
The articles and essays in this collection deal with the fundamentalist idea of absolute truth, the Christian Fundamentalist system and the people that subscribe to it. The foundation of Christian Fundamentalism is looked at – the idea that the Bible is a closed revelatory book which is without major error or contradiction. A whole series of questions relating to spiritual and moral authority in the church are explored The founding figure in Christianity, Jesus Christ is looked at in order to explore what Jesus really seemed to teach and how orthodox ideas were developed and established around him as the central figure of the faith. Since the thought of the Apostle Paul makes up most of the New Testament, we explore where he obtained his ideas. There are also brief articles on the nature of belief, why leaving fundamentalism can be so hard and a look at groups sects and cults. There is also an exploration on what a 21st century might look like and the testimony/spiritual biography of the author.
Pilgrim Simon Feb 2012