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Well, obviously it doesn't bring a positive image to mind when fundamentalist Christians spew nastiness to other Christians. I have been on the receiving end of that. But remember, nobody else gave fundamentalists the name. They called themselves that.
At least you are being realistic now regarding the image.
They call themselves that? I don't call myself or anyone else that - yet I get the name. Not buying that one...
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Originally Posted by Mightyqueen801
I will be the first one to say that not all fundamenalist/literalist Christians on here have been unkind, though. Not even the majority. Unfortunately, when one of any group does something bad, it tends to unfairly smear the rest.
What group? There's no group - except Christians, and non-Christians. In Adam... or in Christ.
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Originally Posted by Mightyqueen801
As far as divisiveness goes, it exists, unfortunately, when there is such a gap in the beliefs that a conversation cannot even be conducted, or when a person hides behind their belief to justify hurting another. That's a fault of humanity, not of Christianity.
I am not Catholic. I will never become a Catholic. And yet, the person I know who has lived her life closest to the way Christ said to to do is Catholic. Divisions are all man-made.
If you are in Christ, divisiveness should not exist among the body of believers. That's pretty clear.
And even with distinctions such as Catholic - everyone has their own individual spin on what they believe and what they do. So most of the time I don't even worry about that and just deal with the person.
So I didn't intend for this to go on, for pages and pages. It was a side comment between being unkind and hateful. And I think most people who point the term towards others, uses it as a back-handed, pejorative characterization... but not hateful.
Just as all scientists are scientists, there are different fields of science and there are different designations for those fields. Not all scientists are in the same area of science. And so it is with Christians. All Christians are Christians, but not all Christians have the same beliefs. And so you have designations such as fundamentalist, liberal, Protestant, Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, non-denominational, Preterist, futurist, etc.
Being offended or upset by the term fundamentalist is silly. It simply describes your belief-set as a Christian.
Never said I was upset.
I stated a few pages ago that the term was used in an unkind manner.
And - another question you chose not to answer. I think we both know that when describing yourself as a Christian, there is no descriptor before that. So why do it to others?
I stated a few pages ago that the term was used in an unkind manner.
Not always, and not by everyone who uses the term.
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And - another question you chose not to answer. I think we both know that when describing yourself as a Christian, there is no descriptor before that. So why do it to others?
As I explained in post 50 of this thread, while all Christians are Christians, Christians fall within a spectrum of beliefs. There is absolutely nothing wrong with identifying a Christian according to where he falls within that spectrum. Fundamentalist, evangelical, progressive, liberal, protestant, Catholic, etc. are all perfectly acceptable and legitimate terms or labels by which to describe where in Christian theology a person resides. Nothing at all wrong with it. That you think that there is seems to be a hangup with you, but that doesn't invalidate the use of descriptors. It simply doesn't.
Last edited by Michael Way; 02-22-2023 at 07:29 PM..
I stated a few pages ago that the term was used in an unkind manner.
And - another question you chose not to answer. I think we both know that when describing yourself as a Christian, there is no descriptor before that. So why do it to others?
Not always, and not by everyone who uses the term.
As I explained in post 50 of this thread, while all Christians are Christians, Christians fall within a spectrum of beliefs. There is absolutely nothing wrong with identifying a Christian according to where he falls within that spectrum. Fundamentalist, evangelical, progressive, liberal, protestant, Catholic, etc. are all perfectly acceptable and legitimate terms or labels by which to describe where in Christian theology a person resides. Nothing at all wrong with it. That you think that there is seems to be a hangup with you, but that doesn't invalidate the use of descriptors. It simply doesn't.
You might want to review the Catholic Encyclopedia. It makes it clear that - while it sucks that these nasty secular governments will no longer allow them to torture or burn heretics - they look forward to the day when the can force their theocracy and return to the good old days. Sound familiar?
Not always, and not by everyone who uses the term.
As I explained in post 50 of this thread, while all Christians are Christians, Christians fall within a spectrum of beliefs. There is absolutely nothing wrong with identifying a Christian according to where he falls within that spectrum. Fundamentalist, evangelical, progressive, liberal, protestant, Catholic, etc. are all perfectly acceptable and legitimate terms or labels by which to describe where in Christian theology a person resides. Nothing at all wrong with it. That you think that there is seems to be a hangup with you, but that doesn't invalidate the use of descriptors. It simply doesn't.
Unfortunately, the fundamentalist group of Christians tends to foster unkindness and misery on those who do not meet their beliefs about what God wants or what is an abomination to God. It seems hypocritical for them to be overly sensitive to any unkindness to their intolerant beliefs.
People in general are less loving, respectful, and understanding these days. It's not just in Christianity or the churches. I see plenty of it in unrelated circles from Christianity.
We need to focus on the common problem rather than selectively pick at parts of the scab. (LOL)
Unfortunately, the fundamentalist group of Christians tends to foster unkindness and misery on those who do not meet their beliefs about what God wants or what is an abomination to God. It seems hypocritical for them to be overly sensitive to any unkindness to their intolerant beliefs.
True, but intolerance isn't confined to fundamentalists. It exists among more liberal Christians as well. There's an individual aspect to it. Some people are just more tolerant than others no matter where they fit within Christianity. I myself can be quite intolerant. Something to work on.
People in general are less loving, respectful, and understanding these days. It's not just in Christianity or the churches. I see plenty of it in unrelated circles from Christianity.
We need to focus on the common problem rather than selectively pick at parts of the scab. (LOL)
I've noticed this as well since last year.
The pandemic and it's resulting actions really took a toll on society and not in a good way IMHO.
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Unfortunately, the fundamentalist group of Christians tends to foster unkindness and misery on those who do not meet their beliefs about what God wants or what is an abomination to God. It seems hypocritical for them to be overly sensitive to any unkindness to their intolerant beliefs.
