Programming Note

We have company coming today and then we embark on a short trip with my brother and his family. Needless to say I won’t be able to post anything, or comment much at all until at least Thursday night. I do, however, still hope some discussion takes place here regarding my recent post desiring a “re-run of original fundamentalism”.

Also, I want you to know that I have not abandoned my controversial post. It is not finished yet, though it is well on its way. I had hoped to finish it by now, but alas this has been a crazy week. I’ll have to keep you all waiting!

Until I post again, you might find the following links worthwhile. (This is not a full fledged Bobspotted Blogroll post. I won’t comment at all on these links: I’ll just give them to you.)

 

Links of note

 


∼striving for the unity of the faith for the glory of God∼ Eph. 4:3,13 “¢ Rom. 15:5-7

Prepare to Be Challenged!

Go over to The World From Our Window and get challenged! Don Fields just posted the 6th part in a series entitled “De-Programming the Church”. He has argued for less sermons per week, less music practice, less evangelistic programs, less bureaucracy, and now less age-graded segregation in teaching.  

All of these ideas are radical, and some might make you think Don is off his rocker. He is, but that is besides the point. All of his posts have sound Scriptural motivation, and while I might not want to be so extreme, I appreciate what he is saying and why.  

At the least these posts will make you think—and not just think, but think outside the box. And thinking is good! I encourage you to go check the series out. Just click on this link, where you will see the 6th part and also links to all of the previous 5 parts in the series.

These posts are prompting me to post on a radical position of my own. So stay tuned as I should get that radical post done sometime tomorrow. I hope it will add to the encouragement for us all to think outside of the box—outside of the traditions we all take so much for granted.


∼striving for the unity of the faith for the glory of God∼ Eph. 4:3,13 • Rom. 15:5-7

Labor Day Away

Note to all:

Thanks for all the recent comments and discussion. It has been great. Unfortunately, I must bow out for a time. Today we are getting ready to leave for a brief trip tomorrow. We will be heading to Des Moines, to see my cousin Amber get married. Then we head for Yankton, SD to spend Labor Day with Carolyn’s folks. We won’t be back until Wed. so don’t expect a new post until then or later.

You all take care. And if you are interested, you could check out  my family  photo blog which has three new posts with pictures.

God bless you all. Have a great Labor Day.  


∼striving for the unity of the faith for the glory of God∼ Eph. 4:3,13 “¢ Rom. 15:5-7

A New and Improved "About This Blog"

I am finished editing the “About” page for this blog, so feel free to check it out. That basically finishes my editing work for now. The move to WordPress is now complete!

I have decided to post the “About this blog” section as a separate post below. I think it is my clearest attempt yet, at being specific in my critique of fundamentalism. It also discusses IFBx*—the label I give to the branch of fundamentalism I came out of.

About This Blog

This blog, being about me, is the place where my thoughts and views are expressed. But you already knew that.

Okay, so let’s begin with my blog’s name. Maybe that will clue you in as to what my blog is about.

Fundamentally Reformed. It means I am a reformed fundamentalist, as in no longer in the fundamentalist movement. It also means that I am one who now embraces reformed theology. In fact, my blog’s subtitle is “reforming fundamentalism (IFB) through reformed theology”, and so yes, I believe that reformed theology could reform many in fundamentalism.

Right about now it is important to define some terms. First, when I speak of fundamentalism I speak of independent Baptist fundamentalism (IFB). Some equate the term with Muslim extremism, while others with evangelical theology or Christianity in general. Neither of those definitions work.

Secondly, I need to give some of my background so you know from what “branch” of fundamentalism I came from. The fundamentalism I came from is often termed IFBx (extreme fundamentalism). I think the definition fits, although I tend to think an asterisk is called for. My alma mater, for instance, is not into the blatant man worship and ultra traditionalism which permeates those who rightfully own the IFBx label. They find Scriptural reasons (using sound hermeneutical methods, for the most part) for the standards and positions they adhere to. In fact, I am thankful for the emphasis on Scripture and a serious devotion to Christ that I inherited from this branch of fundamentalism.

It is the positions they hold and how tenaciously they hold them, which makes that branch of fundamentalism extreme. Some of the positions they hold, such as KJV onlyism and the teaching that women should not wear pants are extreme in the sense that there is so little clear teaching in Scripture which demands these positions. The few verses claimed to support them have other obvious interpretations available. Yet only one interpretation is allowed. Other positions which may have a larger Scriptural support, are held in such a way as to say that only their own interpretation is correct. If one is not pre-trib rapture, or if they hold to less than conservative music style, or if they hold to any form of Calvinism, they are not only wrong, but worthy of censure and separation. The broader movement of fundamentalism might limit fellowship to some degree over these issues, but they do not “write off” those who hold differing views to the extreme degree that IFBx fundamentalists do.

A further consideration here comes with regard to the extreme emphasis on loyalty and allegiance to personalities. IFBx fundamentalists view any departure from their list of required positions as compromise and disloyalty. This sector of fundamentalism also places an undue emphasis on authority. Any questioning of a position, however sincere and non threatening, is viewed as an attack and a threat to the leader’s ministry. Such a situation begs a complicit adherence to the authority’s list of do’s and don’ts and facilitates an unhealthy separation of external conformity and internal heart worship. With such a stress on outward conformity, it is easy to seek to gain acceptance by men while neglecting the matters of the heart. While the particular circles of fundamentalism I came from were not as extreme in this regard as other IFBx groups, they still hold an undue emphasis on loyalty and conformity, which again puts them as IFBx* in my book.

Within this branch of fundamentalism, there is no liberty to contemplate changing one’s positon on a point or two. Any capitulation from any small point is seen as a departure from fundamentalism en toto, and in reality a departure from the faith! Thus, any break from this branch of fundamentalism (at least a break made by someone who was whole-heartedly embracing all of the points to begin with) is necessarily very dramatic and often final. It also results in much pain in the one leaving. When one emerges from extreme fundamentalism, they do so with a lot of disorientation and a feeling that they will never fit in anywhere ever again! More than doctrinal positions and standards are left behind, one’s very identity is left behind. In a lot of ways, it is very similar to leaving a cult.

So having experienced all the difficulty and agony involved in contemplating leaving and actually leaving, including problems with family and friends, I wanted to hear of other’s experiences on the web, or to connect with some people to help me through this situation. I did not find much out there that dealt with this at all! So I started this blog to provide a place to deal with such issues, personally (by chronicling my journey and putting my rambling thoughts on all these issues down on paper), and to hopefully help others. I wanted to facilitate those who suspect that there are problems with fundamentalism but do not know where to look in Scripture for answers with a forum discussing the shortfalls of fundamentalism.

This blog, then, aims to help others who are in their own journey within fundamentalism. The blog may help some leave fundamentalism totally. And it may give some needed help and support to those who already have left (or who choose to). It might also give others some perspective and help in leaving the more extreme corners of fundamentalism and settling into a more balanced wing of the movement. Let me be clear, I do not necessarily want to get everyone out of fundamentalism. I think the movement still has some value and there are many who are doing a great job in calling for reform. Sharper Iron, for instance, represents many different strands of reasonable fundamentalists who share a balanced perspective, a wariness of traditionalism, and a desire to save the movement.

So with all the above having been said, let me briefly mention some of the topics this blog discusses. I don’t harp on fundamentalism with each post. I discuss reformed theology, Calvinism, and covenantal theology often, and I include some devotional and general interest posts. I do discuss fundamentalism, separation/unity, standards, as well as specific issues like KJV Onlyism, and Music. And I like to highlight some of the newer music written today which has great and Christ-glorifying lyrics. While I like to practice armchair theology and talk about books and recommended articles and such, many times I merely reminisce about my own past or peculiar eccentricities of fundamentalism. I also share family and church news. In short, my blog contains a wide array of interesting topics. (Hey, I think what I write about is interesting, doesn’t everybody?)

Finally, let me link to a few posts from the past which can help you get a sense of the mission and direction of this blog, and of my particular take on fundamentalism. But before I do, let me state one more obvious thing. The best way to learn about this blog, is to read it!

  • This post gives an introduction to blogging for the uninitiated
  • This post lays out my commenting policy
  • This post highlights my ultimate aim in all of my blogging
  • This post and this post clarify my critique of fundamentalism
  • This post explains my motto (“Striving for the Unity of the Faith for the Glory of God”)
  • And finally, this post is my original “about this blog”, kept for posterity’s sake.

∼striving for the unity of the faith for the glory of God∼ Eph. 4:3,13 “¢ Rom. 15:5-7

Fundamental Reformers: A New Aggregate Feed

Update: Due to problems with Blogdigger not being able to read some of the feeds properly, I have switched to using just the Xfruits.com aggregator/aggregate feed. I like the look of this aggregator the best, anyway. The only drawback is that sometimes when you click on a link from the RSS listing on my sidebar (under the section “Fundamental Reformers”), you do not get to the post listed. Other than that the aggregator works great and updates very quickly (faster than Blogdigger did).

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

RSS & WordPress

RSS = Really Simple Syndication, click to learn more from WikipediaOne of the great features that WordPress.com offers is the ability to have RSS feeds listed on your sidebar. You can display up to 10 entries at a time for up to 9 different RSS feeds. This makes it possible for you to design your blog as a great one-stop place for information: the blog functioning as both a blog and a mini RSS reader.

I have incorporated this feature into my blog by providing the latest posts from Sharper Iron’s filings (General Christian web news), Between 2 Worlds (Reformed web news), and Reformation Theology(great Reformed articles). But I have been looking for some way to also include an RSS feed which draws from the posts of several blogs which would be more directly related to the overall theme of my blog. After much searching, I have finally found a way to do this–and it’s free!

I have actually found two solutions. Xfruits.com was my first discovery, and then this made me think of Blogdigger Groups. Xfruits.com allows you to consolidate multiple RSS feeds into one single RSS feed, and Blogdigger allows you to create a group of blogs and provides you with a RSS feed from that group. Xfruits.com presents all the posts in their entirety (the last 100 of them), while Blogdigger gives the posts in an excerpt format. Of the two, Blogdigger seems the most usable for the reader, although the other is more pleasing to the eye. Either service now allows me to create my own aggregate feeds.

My New Aggregator (& Aggregate Feed)

So without further ado, let me announce my new aggregate feed: Fundamental Reformers. This feed incorporates my own posts along with those of 10 other blogs which are reforming fundamentalism (see list below). Obviously the views of each blog and author are not identical, and I am sure each of the 10 blogs disagrees with some of my views as I do theirs. But each of these blogs has contributed toward reforming fundamentalism in my opinion. And each of them produce worthwhile posts. My point in providing this aggregator is to bring attention to the good posts that are often written on these blogs which would be of interest to me and my readers. For anyone who is struggling with certain aspects of fundamentalism, or for those looking for some kind of direction or help, and for others who want to continue to interact with what others are writing, this aggregator will prove a great source of information with everything all in one place.

How it works

Before I list the blogs included, let me point out how you can use this aggregator. To do that I must first explain how it works. The aggregator takes all of the feeds from the blogs and lists them in chronological order just as a RSS Reader (like Bloglines or Google Reader) would. It gives an excerpt of the entire post, points out who the author is and links to the actual post and its blog. The aggregator lists the last 200 or so posts from all these blogs.

Using the aggregator is as simple as going to it and reading it. You can also link to it from your blog. You can even use this button for it: Fundamental Reformers--the blogs reforming fundamentalism (just right click it and save it, then use it!) You can also subscribe to the aggregator feed from a RSS reader (again, like Bloglines, Google Reader, Feedburner, etc.). Now I must note that since I am using primarily Blogdigger’s service, there is one link for the aggregator and a separate link which is the actual RSS feed for the aggregator. If you prefer to try Xfruits.com‘s feed which shows the last 100 posts in their entirety (and acts more like a good RSS reader than an aggregator) you can use this link. The Xfruit.com feed is more pleasing to the eye while the Blogdigger feed is more user friendly for navigating through the feed. Each has its benefits, but at the end of the day I’ll go with Blogdigger and let you all pick which you want to use. They are both free for me, so I’ll keep them both updated as the list of blogs grows (if it does).

As for my blog, I am using the button to link to the Blogdigger page from the “About Me” and “Buttons & Etc.” sections of the sidebar. I am also linking to it from the “Bobspotted Blogs” section. And you can find the last 10 entries from the blogs in the list (minus my own blog, of course) in the “Fundamental Reformers” section. Just below that in the “Subscriptions & Feeds” section you find links to the RSS feed from Blogdigger for the group as well s the Xfruit.com version of the feed.

The List

Now finally, let me list the blogs. I may add more blogs in the future, so if you have any suggestions, feel free to pass them on.


∼striving for the unity of the faith for the glory of God∼ Eph. 4:3,13 “¢ Rom. 15:5-7