what is the difference

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MaryandJoseph

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What is the difference between a Fundamental and an Evangilical Protestant Christian?
 
MaryandJoseph said:
What is the difference between a Fundamental and an Evangilical Protestant Christian?
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Hi.

I have some links to articles that might help explain. It’s complicated and appears less an issue of religiosity than interpretation based on socio-political norms in the US.

Mark Brumley of Ignatius Press and a regular CAL apologist, tackles this difference in the very first issue of This Rock magazine, in this article. You might also want to pick up Karl Keating’s (President of Catholic Answers) seminal book in the topic, Catholicism and Fundamentalism.

This article from a UK apologetics site appears to also answer the differences. This last link is from PBS from a past program about Christ, evangelicals and fundementalists from a rather secular POV.
 
MaryandJoseph said:
What is the difference between a Fundamental and an Evangilical Protestant Christian?
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From the horse’s mouth:
The fundamentalism of the 1920s looked very different than modern fundamentalists. It included many denominations (including Episcopal) who argued incessantly over WHAT those fundamentals were.* The Presbyterians wished to include Calvinism. Others wished to include a new theology called Dispensationalism, still others argued over the Millennial Reign of Christ. It became so fractured that by the 1960s only Fundamental Baptists accepted the term. Today, only a few Presbyterian denominations refer to themselves as ‘fundamentalists’, most would prefer the term ‘evangelical’.
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*“In Pursuit of Purity”, Bob Jones University Press.
 
Thanks for the information.

It seems that if They cannot fully agree on the terms then this simple Catholic does not stand a chance.

It just seems that with all the evils of the world increasing in strength daily, that ALL Christians, Catholics and Protestants alike, could come together under the gospels of Jesus Christ. But if the protestant side of Christianity can’t agree with each other, things are looking very bleak indeed.

Dispite unfaithful priests and bishops(not most of them, just the bad ones get all the press), I will remain Catholic.👍
 
Well my church is called the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Despite the word “Evangelical” in its name it’s not evangelical it’s mainline.
 
😛 cause I am curious

But also because I live in a very anti-Catholic part of the country and an trying to understand from which perspective my protestant friends are coming from in terms of doctrine and biblical interpretations when dialoging with them.
 
MaryandJoseph said:
😛 cause I am curious

But also because I live in a very anti-Catholic part of the country and an trying to understand from which perspective my protestant friends are coming from in terms of doctrine and biblical interpretations when dialoging with them.
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For most non catholics doctrine is sola scriptura and sola fide. Its been my experience that few non catholic christians of any stripe are open to any catholic interepretation of scripture since they see it as based on man and not scripture. Its an uphill battle in most cases
 
Many use the two terms interchangably. All fundamentalists should be considered evangelicals, but not vice versa.
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To begin with, many mainline Protestants, who definitely are not fundamentalists, would argue that they are evangelical. Even the largest Lutheran denomination is officially the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. 

In Latin countries, it is common to refer to all Protestants as evangelicals, rather than use the word Protestant.

To narrow it down, there are many moderate-to-conservative Protestants who would see themselves as evangelical but not as fundamentalists. Fundamentalists would dismiss evolution as anti-Biblical, for example, while many evangelicals might see evolution as the way God chose to develop creation, etc. Many Methodists and Presbyterians would be evangelical but not fundamentalists. True, too, among Baptists. There are even evangelical Congregational congregations and evangelical Episcopalians. 

 Confusing? Yes. In many mainline churches you will find both liberals and evangelicals. The main point would be that they rarely focus on theological differences. Now and then they do - and, voila, maybe another denomination! 

 Frankly, most religion breaks down to forms of tribalism. Millions of Catholics and Protestants hardly know the fine points of their particular faiths, but they belong to this or that tribe and they 'agree' with that tribe. Much bigotry has resulted from this mixture of ignorance and tribal loyalty.
 
Roy5 said:
Many use the two terms interchangably. All fundamentalists should be considered evangelicals, but not vice versa.
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To begin with, many mainline Protestants, who definitely are not fundamentalists, would argue that they are evangelical. Even the largest Lutheran denomination is officially the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. 

In Latin countries, it is common to refer to all Protestants as evangelicals, rather than use the word Protestant.

To narrow it down, there are many moderate-to-conservative Protestants who would see themselves as evangelical but not as fundamentalists. Fundamentalists would dismiss evolution as anti-Biblical, for example, while many evangelicals might see evolution as the way God chose to develop creation, etc. Many Methodists and Presbyterians would be evangelical but not fundamentalists. True, too, among Baptists. There are even evangelical Congregational congregations and evangelical Episcopalians. 

 Confusing? Yes. In many mainline churches you will find both liberals and evangelicals. The main point would be that they rarely focus on theological differences. Now and then they do - and, voila, maybe another denomination! 

 Frankly, most religion breaks down to forms of tribalism. Millions of Catholics and Protestants hardly know the fine points of their particular faiths, but they belong to this or that tribe and they 'agree' with that tribe. Much bigotry has resulted from this mixture of ignorance and tribal loyalty.
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Very well stated. But the point is they would all disagree with catholic teaching for the reasons I presented.
 
We tend to be more
dispensational
literal 6 day creation
soul winning
KJV using
stricter lifestyles. For example many fundamentalists eschew birth control, television, dancing, movies, and television
Pre tribulation rapture
No women preachers
Quite a few differences actually
 
MaryandJoseph said:
😛 cause I am curious

But also because I live in a very anti-Catholic part of the country and an trying to understand from which perspective my protestant friends are coming from in terms of doctrine and biblical interpretations when dialoging with them.
Click to expand...
👍

My, . . . how sad the vitriol between some Protestants and Catholics; unfortunately, they both have forgotten Luke 10:27.

The study of Catholicism and Protestantism, each, could easily occupy several lifetimes, of course.

How much does each of us understand his/her own teachings?

And yet, we " think " we are postioned to comment [read judge] about another?

Yup, . . . quite sad.

🙂
 
Rightlydivide said:
We tend to be more
dispensational
literal 6 day creation
soul winning
KJV using
stricter lifestyles. For example many fundamentalists eschew birth control, television, dancing, movies, and television
Pre tribulation rapture
No women preachers
Quite a few differences actually
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And we could debate these points for YEARS
 
JaredM said:
Well my church is called the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Despite the word “Evangelical” in its name it’s not evangelical it’s mainline.
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Can you help me understand what it is about being “mainline” that keeps it from being “evangelical”?
 
MaryandJoseph said:
What is the difference between a Fundamental and an Evangilical Protestant Christian?
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The word “Evangelical” can be defined Biblically, historically, and theologically.

Biblically, the “evangel” is the Gospel. (Evangel means gospel, or Good News). So an Evangelical is just someone who believes the Gospel of Jesus Christ- His death and His resurrection for the forgiveness of sins and for the hope of eternal life.

Historically, I believe it first came into use in the course of the Reformation. At that time, the term was used to differentiate between Reformers and Catholics. More recently, however (and in a way that’s more specific to America), it’s been used in order to differentiate between (infallible, inerrant) Bible centered Christianity and, on the one hand, liberal Christianity and on the other hand, fundamentalist Christianity which is more separatist, at times militant, and founded on the distinction of anti-modernism. This anti-modernism has survived pretty much intact. Evangelicals in America have historically sought more of a more interactive and redeeming/transformative role in society and culture.

Theologically, an Evangelical is someone who is committed to the Bible as the Word of God, who believes the Scripture of the Old and New Testaments are the inerrant and infallible Word of God, someone who believes the Gospel of Jesus Christ, His virgin birth, His divine and human nature, His perfect life, His atoning and substitutionary death for sinners, His resurrection from the grave, His triumphant return at the Second Coming…these are the main points theologically.

Fundamentalist Christians share in the roots of the Reformation, but two groups became distinguishable when some Evangelicals reacted strongly against modernism in the mid-late 19th century. Against the attacks (real or perceived) of modernism, the Five Fundamentals were enumerated and the battle lines were drawn:
  • The inerrancy of the Bible
  • The literal nature of the Biblical accounts, especially regarding Christ’s miracles, and the Creation account in Genesis.
  • The Virgin Birth of Christ
  • The bodily resurrection of Christ
  • The substitutionary atonement of Christ on the cross
These are the Fundamentals that Fundamentalism refers to. Apart from a tendency toward differing perspectives on the creation account (YEC for the fundamentalists and a tendency toward acceptance of an old earth among Evangelicals), the main difference is in the way each group interacts with people who don’t believe these things. The fundamentalist mostly withdraws from such people except to air grievances. Evangelicals, on the other hand, are more inclined toward practicing something that Catholics refer to as “charity.” It’s not a word that we’d typically use in this way, but that’s probably what it is. The doctrinal beliefs and even the praxis that you’ll see in any given church service is virtually identical, but the primary difference is found in the way that each group presents themselves to the world around them.

It’s not the sort of difference that is readily noticeable or even really important among the laypeople of each respective group; for all intents and purposes, they are interchangeable. Differentiation between one group and another really only means something when you’re talking about leadership and representation for various church bodies. As far as the laypeople go, there are far more differences within each group than there is between each group, and much of their history is shared between the two. It’s mostly a leadership thing on the issue of interacting with modernism that even allows you to see something that looks like two separate groups.
 
Roy5 said:
To begin with, many mainline Protestants, who definitely are not fundamentalists, would argue that they are evangelical. Even the largest Lutheran denomination is officially the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America.
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In Latin countries, it is common to refer to all Protestants as evangelicals, rather than use the word Protestant.
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That’s how Luther wanted it. His preference was for the title “Evangelical” rather than “Lutheran.” In modern USA parlance, though, the term is usually tied more closely to the 19th-century difference of approach between Evangelicals and Fundamentalists. (Although I guess it does depend on who you talk to).
 
It’s important to remember that Protestantism is inclined to be individualistic. In other words, among mainline Protestants especially there is a feeling that one can interpret the scriptures in diverse ways and still be a good Christian and in the same church. Doctrinal conformity is not demanded. Attend a Bible study in such churches and different opinions will be voiced without charges of heresy.
Take some of the atrocity stories in the Old Testament. Did God really order Joshua to slaughter all the inhabitants of Jericho and demand that Saul kill every living Amalekite, even infants (as specified in scripture)? Many mainline Protestants would reject such stories as invalid because their emphasis would be upon the love of God rather than any vengeance. Yet, many of these same Protestants might class themselves as evangelicals. Fundamentalists, of course, would justify these and other atrocities as "if it's in the Bible, just believe it!"
 
Roy5 said:
. Fundamentalists, of course, would justify these and other atrocities as “if it’s in the Bible, just believe it!”
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Amen to that. What you see is what you get. You either believe all of it or not. Good luck on picking the parts that are not from God is what I will often say.
 
Rightlydivide said:
Amen to that. What you see is what you get. You either believe all of it or not. Good luck on picking the parts that are not from God is what I will often say.
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👍

In Matthew 18:9, did Jesus mean the eye should actually be dislodged from the person?

🙂
 
Don’t most people understand the difference between hyperbole and discounting the historicity of entire sections of the Bible? I thought so…
 
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