The other day on another blog Andrea asked me a question. One that I have been struggling with myself for several months. Her question was simple but the answer itself is not.
“Eaglewood, you seem like such a good husband and father, so I wonder why you're trying to hang in there and use the word fundamentalist to describe yourself. I can think of absolutely nothing positive associated with that word. They seem to have no respect for freedom, unlike yourself. There just has to be a better word, because they've ruined that one.”
You see by the very basic definition of Christian Fundamentalist I am one. I have a specific set of core beliefs that are unwavering. These comprise who I am, how I think, and determine what I do. The problem even goes deeper when you understand I also am a prophet. There is a certain stigma to being a prophet even in Christian circles. Everyone has a set preconception on what a prophet is (myself included). I had to open my eyes to the fact there is more to than I originally thought. Consequently, I have been struggling with the direction my ministry needs to go including this blog.
On one hand I want people to be aware of the dangerous heresies being taught by certain prominent preachers, yet I think that if I stop there it does a great disservice to Yeshua and His gospel. We need to be about the business of preaching His Word, telling those who have ears to hear the news of why it is that He came and died on that cross over 2000 years ago. I also want people to understand the very nature of G_d is complex and cannot be nailed down, boxed or whatever you want to do to try to limit Him. We are often guilty of trying to condense His message to our world view. In order to even begin to understand Him we need to realize He is bigger than our own ideas and conceptions. Whether it is the liberal Christian preaching about the loving kindness and compassion of Christ, or the fire and brimstone preacher of repentance from sin, we miss the boat when we focus on one aspect of His nature, and ignore the fact that, like His creation, He is a wondrous and complex Creator, and I think it would behoove us find out more about who He really is.
The question still stands as to why I have doggedly stuck with being called a fundamentalist. Well to be honest in a conversation with Birdie she reminded me it is only in the blogesphere that I even represent myself that way. I think that I will move a way from that label. While I have fundamental beliefs, I have them not because I am a fundamentalist, but because they are simple fundamental truths. While I would love to see the day that the word “fundamentalist” loses its negative connotations, I think it is time to move on from this label. I like the term used by Serena and her family. We are simply the redeemed. There is no other aspect of the our faith more fundamental than Yeshua's redemptive work. So I think that for now on I will be who I am, one of His redeemed and one of His called prophets for this age. Nothing more nothing less.
Labels: Christian Life
