From Christianity Today:
Fundamentalism is still with us, though you won’t hear many evangelicals talk about it. Not so with the fundamentalists, who worry about a growing number within their ranks who have wandered toward evangelicalism. A 2005 survey released on the popular fundamentalist blog SharperIron “revealed that many in the newest generation of fundamentalist leadership were still committed to fundamentalist theology but uncomfortable with some of the more extreme positions on secondary separation, association, worship music, extra-biblical standards, and other issues.” A resolution approved during the 2004 annual meeting of the Fundamental Baptist Fellowship International (FBFI) revealed the concern of fundamentalist leaders. They urged “young men to reject any temptation to lower biblical standar
ds in order to gain acceptance of those in the world or among theologically accommodating Christian movements.” According to Tim Baylor, reared in fundamentalism but now attending an evangelical seminary, “Militancy is at an all-time-low in Fundamentalism, and Fundamentalists are looking for someone to blame.”
Who worries today’s fundamentalist leaders? According to the FBFI’s 2005 resolutions, “Rick Warren and his Purpose Driven Life movement represents an incomplete gospel, a negligent carelessness in the use of Scripture paraphrases, extreme pragmatism, and a disdain for biblical separatism.”
For an interesting piece on Rick Warren teaching Jews how to do outreach—Christians call it evangelizing—check out this piece. And, to be honest, I’ve always thought of Pat Robertson (pictured) as the “crisis of modern fundamentalism.”
