I was a teenage fundamentalist

Maybe it’s not that simple? asks Barry Gittins

‘If Jesus said it I believe it  /  his word cannot lie,
If it’s written in the Bible  /  I’ll believe it ’til I die.
Though the mountains be removed  /  and cast into the sea,
God’s Word will last forever  /  throughout eternity.’

It was the early- to mid -’80s. Brisbane’s King George Square was packed with festive, congress-bound Salvos and I was harmonising my faith into an arsenal of mikes with my sister, Karen, and my bro, Ash. He strummed his acoustic as we all squinted into the blazing sun and sang our hearts out. The tune and the sentiments were parroted out happily as together we enjoyed expressing our love for God through music.

Although, as I look at those lyrics today, I recognise I have several issues with them.

Perhaps the Word ‘cannot lie’, but human beings can and do misuse that same Word. We swing ‘the sword of the Spirit’ against other people rather than ‘principalities and powers’. The veracity of the scriptures is something that is a key value for fundamentalists and, to varying degrees, all Christians.

‘Truth’ should be another word for Christ, just as ‘good’ (literally) is another word for God. In all honesty, that is not always the case with Christians. Nor is scripture always helpful and useful for teaching, as the apostle Paul told Timothy.

Simply put, the possibilities of mistranslations and the realities of misapplications of scripture can no longer be ignored if Christians want to take their faith seriously and be taken seriously in the broader marketplace of ideas.

I still believe God inspired the writing of the ’scriptures of the Old and New Testaments’. I no longer agree with the Army’s doctrinal stance that the biblical record is the only thing that constitutes ‘the Divine rule of Christian faith and practice’. Human agency is involved, clearly, in the writing and interpreting of scripture. To pretend otherwise is foolish and disrespectful of our God-given capacity to reason.

That’s patently not the case, in light of a) the Christian belief that God the Holy Spirit moves through all people, b) the long-held theological recognition that God is revealed through his creation and his creatures, and c) the historical reality that the vast majority of Christians throughout the life cycle of the church have been illiterate, relying on the preaching, example and verbal teachings of church canons that may or may not have been related to scriptural teachings (and clergy and laity that may or may not have been biblically literate).

Christians can no longer present a viewpoint, state an ethical framework, or try to justify bigotry, simply by saying ‘the Bible says so’. It doesn’t wash with others, and if we are honest it doesn’t wash with ourselves.

These days? I love God and I love the idea of God as expressed through love (1 John 4:7,8). It continues to make sense to me in a cruel universe. I believe Jesus is the best path I personally have found and will find to take me ‘home’ to God. I believe the kingdom of God is among us (rather than within us, as is introspectively and improperly translated).

I’m less inclined, these days, to categorise, praise or dismiss others. To uncritically accept the judgments of others, or accept the pronouncements of fellow believers - or non-believers - as ‘gospel’. I find myself walking a well-beaten track between Christ’s admonition to share my faith and to ‘judge not’.

I would like to think that I am less naïve than my younger self, but that I still retain my love for a God who loves me back, and my hope in a Saviour who was executed to stay ‘on message’.

We are called to embrace life and love as a child of God; we are called to be childlike in our awe at creation and creativity and our readiness to wonder. We are not called to be childish in an others-negating, exclusivist, ‘it’s not your road, it’s my road’ manner.

Writer: Barry Gittins is a Melbourne-based writer, lifelong Salvationist, husband (to Trudy) and father(to Emily and Benjamin) who seeks God in everyday encounters. A frustrated poet and playwright, he has worked for the Salvos’ Australia Southern Territory in various roles since 1991: as a journalist (for Warcry, The Young Soldier/Kidzone, The Musician),technical writer and CD-ROM author in corps program (mission development), senior review editor (Warcry) and editor (On Fire). He currently works as a social program and policy consultant (writer/researcher) for the social program department.

6 Comments to I was a teenage fundamentalist

1. Hallelujah!!!! I couldn’t agree more.

   I can resonate with everything you say - including being an extreme fundamentalist in my teens, even preaching at various revivalist campaigns at my Uni.

   Now…… well, all you have to do is read my responses throughout this forum to realise my views are considerably different.

   Thankyou for being brave enough to wade into this battle with your thoughts. You have my full support.

   Yours in Christ,
   Graeme.
Graeme Randall on October 6th, 2009

2. Lots of food for thought there Barry. Thanks for your honesty.

   I suppose we are well and truly conditioned to shun doubt (what’s that weird old song ‘Never entertain a Doubt’?) and while that might make a bunch of the reigning neo-conservatives smile, it is not a smart longterm strategy.

   I for one look forward to seeing what else you have to say on these pages in the future.

   God Bless You.

   Pete
Peter B on October 7th, 2009

3. Thanks for your article - appreciated.

   Does the fact that such a statement about scripture doesn’t feature in the Nicene Creed http://www.creeds.net/ancient/nicene.htm suggest that we might be making an essential out of a non-essential?

   Having said that I feel that the central biblical mandate to “love God and love others” (Luke 10:27ff) is one we can’t ignore. (ps - not suggesting you are saying ignore it!)

   Thanks again

   DR
David R on October 7th, 2009

4. I find today more and more a vagueness about what people believe.

   I am a conservative in politics and in my theology but still not closed to learning and open to others ideas and opinions. What disturbs me sometimes is an open-all inclusive-believe whatever without accountability.

   As time passes by I think that this will continue to present itself and Scripture will be challenged in more ways. I must say that some of the doctrines that people believe neither gains nor denies eternal life, but there are a few “fundamentals” that should not be avoided. Jesus Christ is the “only way” to heaven. Having the gift of eternal life through Jesus in my opinion surpasses all other belief.

   What comes next from some as a question is how does that take place and what is eternal life? One on one evangelism should be next and becoming a friend to the seeker.

   Bob
RobertDeidrick on October 7th, 2009

5. Barry,

   I appreciate your pursuit of truth. I am not in complete agreement with what you’ve said, because I can’t get past the claim of John 14:6, which I don’t think is misinterpreted. And, because I believe in a triune God and have accepted the deity of Christ, I can’t snuggle up to any other means of salvation. The incarnation of God himself is too huge…why would he do it if other paths would suffice? And how could any other path hope to compete with the incarnation and self-sacrifice of God himself?

   Here’s where I do resonate with you, however: Over the past few years I have tried to shed myself of myths that have been taught to me over the years in church and in my K-12 Christian schools. This is quite uncomfortable, as there were things I had always embraced and I had to realize they weren’t true. What I mean is that many things I had been taught as Scriptural were not - they were misinterpretations, as you have pointed out. I am no great authority, but have engaged myself in a fair bit of study in pursuit of truth. Surely I am wrong on many counts, but I am really trying to find what is true. I’m afraid I sound arrogant, as though I am the great discerner of truth. I don’t mean that at all. I just mean that trying to get a grasp on the biblical languages, ancient culture, textual criticism, etc. has opened my eyes to the fact that the Sunday school stories were whitewashed, and many promises of God are misunderstood.

   I may misunderstand you, but I think where you and I differ is that I believe that all Scripture is truth, when properly understood and interpreted (barring insignificant, time-wasting discrepancies, like when Paul did and did not go to Jerusalem, depending on if you’re reading Acts or Paul’s epistles). I’m understanding you to say, however, that all of Scripture may not be accurate, even when properly understood. Is that right? If so, you must find it nerve wracking, as there would be no concrete measuring stick for truth, I think.

   I wish some spiritual genius could come along and properly interpret the whole Bible for us. (Some seem to think Eugene Peterson has done so!) I think, however, we were meant to struggle with it. For me personally, if it weren’t for the struggle to understand it, I wouldn’t spend as much time with it.

   Thank you for your thoughts.
   Amy
Amy Reardon on October 8th, 2009

6. Hi Barry, I’m not understanding how you can remain a senior soldier of the SA and not agree 100% with all of the doctrines, as this is a requirement of soldiership.

   I was a soldier until about a few years ago, when I decided I could not agree with all of the doctrines, nor all of the position statements.

   But I can see an advantage in remaining a soldier, and attempting to highlight that the army needs to have a re-think on doctrines and positional statements.

   I look forward in reading the rest of the blog.

   JD
John Duthie on May 4th, 2010

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