The Fundamentalists

The Fundamentalist movement began in the early 1900's as a reaction against modernism or liberalism.  The name came from a group of booklets called The Fundamentals.  The Fundamentalists set out to defend historic Christian doctrines that were under attack by the liberals.  Belief in the supernatural was no longer considered viable by the liberals. 

Among the doctrines defended by the Fundamentalists were the virgin birth, the deity of Christ, the substitutionary atonement, the bodily resurrection of Christ, the second coming of Christ, and the inerrancy of Scripture. 

In it's early days Fundamentalism was a good movement.  J. Gresham Machen was a notable figure in the movement although he never called himself a Fundamentalist.  Machen was a New Testament scholar who wrote the excellent book "Christianity and Liberalism".  Unfortunately Machen was forced out of Princeton Seminary and his own denomination because he stood strong for Biblical Christianity. 

The Fundamentalist movement began to decline especially after the Scopes trial in 1925. The trial was an embarrassment for the Fundamentalists.  Clarence Darrow argued the case for teaching evolution while William Jennings Bryan made the case for creationism.  Bryan was not the best person to represent the Fundamentalists side.  Darrow was able to win the public relations aspect of the trial even though the actual case was won by Bryan. 

Fundamentalism became characterized by being anti-intellectual, separatist, legalistic, and having little social concern. They tried not to be of the world but also withdrew from the world.  They would not be involved in politics for example.  In some cases the proclamation of truth was not joined with love. At times the Fundamentalists did not come across that well to people, seeming to lack grace. 

The movement is characterized by dispensationalism (the belief in a pre tribulation rapture), acceptance of the King James Version of the Bible only, and Arminian theology (as opposed to Calvinist theology).  Often the focus of the movement has been morality instead of theology.  Morality must be based on theology because when the Christian theology falls the Christian morality will soon follow.  The movement has also been characterized by emotionalism, lacking robust intellectual thought. 

Fundamentalism started out as a fine movement that was in line with historic, Biblical Christianity.  But it eventually declined and drifted away from it at least somewhat.