Do Fundamentalists lack a cogent vision?
Perhaps a more accurate title to the thread might be, “Do Fundamentalists lack a cogent vision?” since Johnson is contemplating whether or not fundie organizations/ministries have vision statements. Unquestionably “fundamentalism” has no cogent vision. “It” doesn’t have the cohesion to develop one.
Editor: Thread title changed.
Editor: Thread title changed.
It amazes me that for nearly 2,000 years, Christians got along without vision statements. Wonder how they managed?
What many do not realize is that unwritten perspectives have directed churches for centuries.
What many do not realize is that unwritten perspectives have directed churches for centuries.
"The Midrash Detective"
I keep coming back to the idea that people can have a vision or goal, but movements can’t. What makes up a movement is people with similar vision who find each other and organize toward their shared goals. There is a natural ebb and flow to movements, because needs and priorities change.
But a movement need not be made up of people who are in lockstep with each other on every issue. As a homeschooler, I have quite a bit in common with other homeschoolers, be they athiest, agnostic, Catholic… because on that one issue we have a shared interest and can get together to support each other. Otherwise, organizing homeschoolers is like herding cats- in just about every other avenue of life, I can’t hop on the same bus with my atheist/agnostic/Catholic homeschooling friends. We don’t even have the same educational methods and goals in common- just the simple idea that parents be free to educate their children as they see fit. A very, very simple idea that creates an amazingly strong bond.
I see Fundamentalism the same way. There is no necessity of overarching vision except those fundamental truths that folks have decided are paramount, and thus have gathered around and called themselves ‘Fundamentalists’. It’s probably fair to say that what separates Fundies from many other Christian ‘movements’ is the doctrine of separation, which is clearly taught in Scripture and conveniently ignored by many of the new groups coming down the pike.
So- if the vision that defines the Fundamentalist is separation from false doctrine and unrepentant sin, then I’ll take it, embrace it, and have it screen printed on a T-shirt.
But a movement need not be made up of people who are in lockstep with each other on every issue. As a homeschooler, I have quite a bit in common with other homeschoolers, be they athiest, agnostic, Catholic… because on that one issue we have a shared interest and can get together to support each other. Otherwise, organizing homeschoolers is like herding cats- in just about every other avenue of life, I can’t hop on the same bus with my atheist/agnostic/Catholic homeschooling friends. We don’t even have the same educational methods and goals in common- just the simple idea that parents be free to educate their children as they see fit. A very, very simple idea that creates an amazingly strong bond.
I see Fundamentalism the same way. There is no necessity of overarching vision except those fundamental truths that folks have decided are paramount, and thus have gathered around and called themselves ‘Fundamentalists’. It’s probably fair to say that what separates Fundies from many other Christian ‘movements’ is the doctrine of separation, which is clearly taught in Scripture and conveniently ignored by many of the new groups coming down the pike.
So- if the vision that defines the Fundamentalist is separation from false doctrine and unrepentant sin, then I’ll take it, embrace it, and have it screen printed on a T-shirt.
Interest in this thread may have waned, but for the record, I want to clarify something.
I am not asking or assuming that fundamentalism as a whole has a cogent vision. In my post, I am asking if it is so difficult to identify the vision of specific ministries and/or institutions.
If anyone wants to discuss the wider concept, go ahead, but what I am after is something quite different. FWIW.
I am not asking or assuming that fundamentalism as a whole has a cogent vision. In my post, I am asking if it is so difficult to identify the vision of specific ministries and/or institutions.
If anyone wants to discuss the wider concept, go ahead, but what I am after is something quite different. FWIW.
Maranatha!
Don Johnson
Jer 33.3
[URL=http://oxgoad.ca/2010/02/17/the-vision-thing/#comment-4957] can the average observer easily identify the basic vision of various well known conservative evangelical and fundamentalist ministries…[/URL]
The problem is that some folks are going to bring personal baggage into any assessment of the ministries you listed, while others have no knowledge of the origins or history of the Fundamentalist movement. Even within Fundamentalism there are ‘camps’ that have never even heard of each other.
I heartily agree with this statement- “I am antagonistic to the ‘corporate mindset’ that has heavily influenced modern Christianity. I think it is a lot of psycho-babble, with emphasis on the ‘psycho’.”
My first thoughts on reading your blog post were along the lines of the comment that [URL=http://oxgoad.ca/2010/02/17/the-vision-thing/#comment-4948] Dan[/URL] made, and would go so far as to say that your question is somewhat of a Rorschach test. Whatever ‘vision’ the casual observer easily identifies tells more about the observer than the ministry itself. There is no such thing, IMO, as true objectivity.
Hi Susan
I agree, my little exercise is pretty subjective. This is of course true of the broader exercise as suggested by this thread title. I only chimed in to clear up what it was I was after in my post.
I agree, my little exercise is pretty subjective. This is of course true of the broader exercise as suggested by this thread title. I only chimed in to clear up what it was I was after in my post.
Maranatha!
Don Johnson
Jer 33.3
[Don Johnson] Hi Susan
I agree, my little exercise is pretty subjective. This is of course true of the broader exercise as suggested by this thread title. I only chimed in to clear up what it was I was after in my post.
And I enjoyed your blog post and the subsequent comments. Good questions all around I think.
Discussion