From: eje@irenaeus.mlo.dec.com (Eric James Ewanco)
Subject: The Five Points of Fundamentalism
Reply-To: ewanco@kalvin.enet.dec.com
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation
Date: Wed, 19 Aug 1992 18:36:25 GMT


From _Catholicism and Fundamentalism_ by Karl Keating (San Francisco:
Ignatius, 1988) chapter one:

"The basic elements of fundamentalism weere formulated almost exactly a
century ago at the Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, New Jersey,
by Benjamin B. Warfield, Charles Hodge, and their associates. [Gabriel
Hebert, _Fundamentalisim and the Church_ (Philadelphia: Westminster,
1957), 17] What they produced became known as Princeton thelogy, and it
appealed to conservative Protestants who were concerned with the Social
Gospel movement.
   "Between 1909 and 1915 the brothers Milton and Lyman Stewart, whose wealth
came from oil, underwrote _The Fundamentals_, a series of twelve paperback
books. . .
   "There were sixty-four contributors, including scholars such as C.I.
Scofield, compiler of the _Scofield Reference Bible_; W. J. Eerdman and his
son, Charles; H. C. G. Moule, Anglican bishop of Durham; James M. Gray,
dead of the Moody Bible Institute; and Warfield himself. . . .[Ibid]
   "The fundamentals identified in the series have been tallied variously,
some listing as many as fourteen points.  Most commentators agree on at
least these five: (1) The inspiration and infallibility of Scripture; (2)
the deity of Christ, including his Virgin Birth; (3) the substitutionary
[vicarious] atonement of his death; (4) his literal resurrection from the
dead; and (5) his literal return in the Second Coming.  [Jerry Falwell's
Thmas Road Baptist Church associate pastor Edward] Dobson writes, `Although
some have expanded this list to include such issues as a literal heaven and
hell, soulwinning, a personal Satan, and the local church, nevertheless the
doctrinal character of fundamentalism still centers around the give
fundamentals listed. [Edward Dobson, `Fundamentalism -- Its Roots', _New
Catholic World_, January/Feburary 1985, 9]"

The word was coined by Curtis Lee Law, writing an editorial for the New
York _Watchman-Examiner_ (1 July 1920), who defined "fundamentalists" as
those "who mean to do battle for the fundamentals" [Hebert,
_Fundamentalism_, 9].

Of course, by these definitions, then any orthodox Catholic is a
fundamentalist, because Catholicism firmly embraces each of those five
points.  Naturally, though, definitions change as times go by, and this is
certainly true of "fundamentalism".  Unfortunately there are so many
different understandings of the term today, it is hard to know which one is
accurate. 

Eric
--
/=============================================================================\
| Eric Ewanco - Software Engineer     For the rash and outrageous opinions ex-|
| Digital Equipment Corp, Maynard MA  pressed herein I alone am responsible;  |
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\==============================- 2 Th 2:15 -==================================/
    "...[T]he greatest and most ancient Church known to all, founded and
    organized at Rome by [] Peter and Paul, [is] that Church which has the
    tradition and faith which comes down to us after having been announced
    to men by the Apostles.  For with this Church, because of its superior
    origin, all Churches must agree ...  and it is in her that the
    faithful everywhere have maintained the Apostolic tradition."
       -- St. Irenaeus, Against Heresies, c. 180 A.D., 3,3,3.

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