Rick Warren Renounces Christian Fundamentalism
9 Jan 2007
The American Dialect Society has selected “plutoed” as the 2006 word of the year. The word is derived from the planet Pluto’s demotion from planetary status to insignificant solar system sphere. To be “plutoed” means to be demoted or devalued. While “plutoed” may be 2006’s word of the year, nothing in 2006, not even the solar system’s former ninth planet, was “plutoed” more than Christian fundamentalists.
Rosie O’Donnell likened Christian fundamentalists to Muslim terrorists on ABC’s The View. In his book, Our Endangered Values: America’s Moral Crisis, former president and Southern Baptist Jimmy Carter suggested that Christian fundamentalists pose a serious threat to our nation’s future. And even mega-church pastor extraordinaire and Purpose Driven Life author Rick Warren got in on the act, dissing Christian fundamentalism as “a very legalistic, narrow view of Christianity.” Speaking to some of our nation’s leading journalists in Key West, Florida, Warren assured them that he was no fundamentalist and that “there really aren’t that many fundamentalists left.” According to Warren, about the only place to find a Christian fundamentalist in today’s America is in some small struggling church, never in a large growing church like his.
That the term “fundamentalist” has fallen into ill-repute in our day is undeniable. The mere mention of the word causes folks to conjure up images of Muslim terrorists flying planes into skyscrapers or of narrow-minded, hate-spewing, Bible-thumping bigots. According to a recent poll, a majority of Americans would prefer to live next door to a member of organized crime than to a member of a Christian fundamentalist church.
Much to the chagrin of today’s fundamentalist sneering world, the word fundamentals simply means foundational or essential things. Thus, contrary to popular belief, a Christian fundamentalist is not a narrow-minded religious bigot, but merely a person who adheres to the foundational and essential doctrines of the Christian faith. In light of this, it is safe to say that all Christians are fundamentalists and that anyone who isn’t is no Christian.
For too long now the church has tried to make the gospel palatable to a Christ-rejecting world that has no taste for the truth. By washing our mouths out with soft-soap and dulling the edges of God’s two-edged sword we’ve mistakenly believed that we can save men from their sin by the power of our persuasion. The Bible, however, plainly teaches that it takes a simple and straightforward presentation of the gospel and the power of God—not the power of our persuasion—for men to be saved (Romans 1:16).
One unforeseen and unintended consequence of the contemporary church’s soft selling of the gospel is the inundating of our churches with folks who have never considered, much less counted, the cost of discipleship (Luke 14:25-35). Whereas Jesus made a point of bringing up the high-cost of discipleship to crowds feigning to follow Him, today’s church often attempts to secure a crowd by feigning to follow Christ without picking up a cross or paying any cost. As a result, modern-day churches are full of people who believe Christianity has neither prerequisites—essential doctrines that must be adhered to—or parameters—certain boundaries requiring voluntarily confinement. For instance, many who fill church pews today deny that Christ is the only way to heaven and believe that you can be a good Christian while living a gay lifestyle.
In the face of such spiritual permissiveness, anyone insisting upon adherence to cardinal doctrines and conduct consistent with Biblical principles is quickly condemned as a narrow-minded Christian fundamentalist; that is, someone insisting upon others conforming to his or her idea of a Christian. Yet, the truth is, fundamentalists do not insist upon others conforming to their idea of a Christian, but to the Biblical definition of one. All who profess and practice what the Bible teaches are true followers of Christ. Those who don’t are not. It’s really that simple.
Christian fundamentalists believe that it is our beliefs, not our boasts that determine whether or not we’re a Christian. While today’s world may believe that the definition of a Christian may be as varied as the opinions of those calling themselves Christians, Christian fundamentalists belief that the definition of a Christian has been written once and for all by the divinely inspired authors of the sacred Scriptures. Therefore, no one who calls himself a Christian gets to redefine Christianity to suit himself. Instead, only those willing to conform to the Biblical definition of a Christian should ever dare to call themselves one. All others are no more a Christian than Benedict Arnold was a patriot, irregardless of what they call themselves.
Don Walton
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