Catholic Fundamentalism - what is it?

[imark2013]

I have found all the posts on this topic previously really helpful. Recently I have been challenged by members of an “Evangelist” group in our Cathedral who will not even discuss the questions posed by The Holy Father for the forthcoming Family Synod. .Their view is that questions should not be asked, we should be told what to do! I was taken aback by the ferocity of their responses, as I consider my self a thinking Catholic taking 20 years from conversion to reception into the church.

It seems the right time to raise the question again in view of the first ever consultation of its kind from The Vatican. .

 

[Dorine_Houston]

Unfortunately, the refusal to think or allow others to think cuts across all fundamentalist groups, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim… You cannot be an intelligent, thinking person and a fundamentalist in any religion. Blind, unquestioning acceptance is required of fundamentalist stances.

Do not misunderstand one thing, however. It is perfectly compatible to be a thinking believer and a conservative one. Conservatives accept traditional doctrines, but they do so on the basis of intelligent consideration of the issues and the sources for the ideas.

I am a seriously thinking person, and have chosen to believe in the Virgin Birth, for example. This belief in the seemingly irrational occurrence is based on an even greater belief in the power of God to perform miracles.

 

[imark2013]

Thanks for that thoughtful reply Dorine. It really helps me to keep my senses together when challenged for thinking. I do realize that there can be acceptance through faith of things which cannot be explained. At the same time aggressive Evangelisation will not bring the lapsed Catholics back or attract new ones.

 

[edwest2]

Here, across the pond, I was there over the last four decades as the dissidents inside and outside the Church sowed confusion, and did it well. There is no such thing as “Catholic Fundamentalism.” All there is are attempts by dissidents who seek to divide us. We are all Catholics. I heard the “unthinking or blindly accepting” thing about Catholics since the late 1960s as the infection spread. The Church consistently presents the truth. Yes, some of the documents are lengthy but the details are necessary. The encounter with the Divine happens in both aspects of our being: the spiritual and the material mind/brain.

The Bible is not silent about this:

biblehub.com/proverbs/4-7.htm

Peace,
Ed

 

[livingwordunity]

The is no such thing as “Catholic fundamentalism”. In Catholicism, there is only orthodox (truth) and heterodox (error).

 

[imark2013]

If I believed a lot fo this stuff I could not be a Catholic. Thank God that Faith and “The Church” are not the same.

 

[The_Walrus_1]

The is no such thing as “Catholic fundamentalism”. In Catholicism, there is only orthodox (truth) and heterodox (error).

Agree.

Let’s distinguish two senses in which the term “fundamentalism” is used.

1. The term given to a protestant theological movement from the 19th century that objected to the increasing popularity of modernist theology and insisted on non-figurative interpretations of scripture.
2. An “f-word” used by heretics to dismiss anyone consistently adheres to the teachings of the prophets.

 

[Stephen_Korsman]

I have found all the posts on this topic previously really helpful. Recently I have been challenged by members of an “Evangelist” group in our Cathedral who will not even discuss the questions posed by The Holy Father for the forthcoming Family Synod. .Their view is that questions should not be asked, we should be told what to do! I was taken aback by the ferocity of their responses, as I consider my self a thinking Catholic taking 20 years from conversion to reception into the church.

It seems the right time to raise the question again in view of the first ever consultation of its kind from The Vatican. .

There is a good blog post on the topic at the blog Catholic In The Ozarks that deals with one form of Catholic fundamentalism:

Catholic Traditionalism verses Fundamentalism

 

[Origen52]

If I believed a lot fo this stuff I could not be a Catholic. Thank God that Faith and “The Church” are not the same.

Could you explain what you mean by “faith and the church are not the same thing”?