As a young boy in Michigan, I grew up the son of a bartender, the grandson of a gangster. Not exactly what one would identify as a rich theological heritage.

God’s plan for reaching someone like me included the church-planting efforts of an independent, fundamental Baptist pastor and his family who felt led of God to plant a Baptist church in my hometown. Through the loving and biblical outreach of that family and church, I came to personal faith in Christ as a 16-year old boy. I have been grateful for my fundamental Baptist roots ever since.

Recently, I was asked to speak on the subject, "Fundamentalism: What’s In A Name?" As I reflected on that subject, several key ideas began to take shape in my mind:

First, The Critical Components.  For me, the mainstream of historic, biblical fundamentalism has always been marked by certain critical components. Each of them has ignited in me a desire to remain loyal to my fundamentalist roots.

1. Prophetic In Character. Fundamentalism has always been "prophet-like". In biblical times, prophets of God were charactered and courageous individuals who fearlessly proclaimed God’s Word. It might take the shape of a Nathan the prophet who could stand before David, the adulterous king and say: "Thou art the man" (2 Samuel 12:7). Or it might take the shape of a John the Baptist who could stand before Herod the king who had entered into an incestuous marriage with Herodias, and say: "It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife" (Mark 6:18) – even if it cost him his freedom in Herod’s prison and his head on Herodias’ platter. That is what prophetic ministry looks like – like Nathan, like John the Baptist. It courageously, fearlessly, uncompromisingly proclaims truth, no matter what the cost or danger. In its best moments, that is the shape historic, biblical fundamentalism has taken.
2. Apostolic In Belief. An authentic kind of fundamentalism is loyal to the prototypical model of the faith fleshed-out in the first church (Acts 2:40-47). The shape that first church took has always stimulated me (vv 42 & 47):
   
   
   • • It was committed to theology – "the apostles’ doctrine" (Truth Mattered).
     • It celebrated community – "fellowship" (Family Mattered).
     • It cherished Deity – "in the breaking of bread, and in prayers" (God Mattered).
     • It connected with humanity – people "were being saved" (The Lost Mattered).

   The heart of a genuine fundamentalist has always resonated with this model.

3. Christo-Centric In Spirit. Jesus was moral, merciful and missional in all that He did. In holy-love He connected with unholy and unlovable sinners with a view to rescuing and transforming them. It is an incredible balance and a phenomenal model, and it is something to which authentic fundamentalists have always aspired.

These are the critical components of historic, biblical fundamentalism which have ignited my soul and drawn me to it. They shaped the ministry which birthed me as a boy and they help to define the shape of our rich heritage and our current ministry at Central Seminary and Fourth Baptist Church.

Second, The Definitional Ingredient.  According to Webster’s, whatever is "fundamental" is basic, essential, foundational or visceral – deeply rooted in a person or thing. In terms of pure, dictionary definition the word "fundamental" describes a passionate loyalty to foundational and essential matters. Obviously, there is nothing at all wrong with the term itself.

The unfortunate reality is that in some ways the term has been tarnished, whether by the secular media with its broad-brushing tactic of lumping us together with radical Islamic fundamentalism, or by splintering groups within fundamentalism who have added all kinds of "qualifiers" to the name which were not originally there. But this is not unlike the terrible abuse which the name "Christian" has suffered. To me this is not a reason to discard rich biblical and theological verbiage. Rather, it is a reason to carefully define such terms and then lovingly and biblically model their content before the watching world.

The attachment of a theological connotation to the English word "fundamental" probably grows out of the publication of The Fundamentals in the early part of the 20^th century. These essays, which defended the absolutes of Scripture against liberal assault and unbelief were written by world-class intellectuals who were experts in their respective fields of thought. They wrote with a beautiful combination of grit, grace and scholarship. They spoke with grit because they were not about to take the trashing of the Bible by the hubris of the age lying down. They spoke with grace because there was no ugliness of disposition in their presentation of data. And they spoke with scholarship because it was the weight of their argument not the heat of the rhetoric which defined the discourse. Their words were doctrinally sound and dispositionally gracious. Both the truth and the love of the Holy Spirit shone through. This is a model which Spirit-filled fundamentalists should not find difficult to imitate since the Holy Spirit is "the Spirit of truth" (John 16:13) and His first fruit is "love" (Galatians 5:22).

Third, The Foundational Element.  For a few moments, I want to park by the element which I believe is most foundational to fundamentalism – the element of absolute truth. In the secular academy, in mainline Protestantism and in much of concessive evangelicalism, there is no unified or coherent view of truth. In the most basic sense, "truth" is that which corresponds to the divine nature, especially as that is revealed in the person of Christ and the full content of Scripture.

I believe it is proper to say that the story of this tragic 20^th century is the story of the battle for truth. The chronicling of its history is the chronicling of its truth-journey. Others have documented this battle and defined this journey as unfolding in three steps:

1. There was the traditional era where truth was mediated to the culture by the preacher out of the Bible.
2. There was the modern era where truth was mediated to the culture by scientific naturalists in their laboratory and by rationalistic philosophers in their logic.
3. Finally there came the postmodern era where truth is now mediated to the culture by rock musicians and where the MTV world-view reigns supreme.

First there was truth as defined by God – "true truth"; then there was truth as defined by man – temporal truth; and finally there was no truth – non-reason, nihilism, despair, the tragic loss of truth. This is a microcosm of the 20^th century’s philosophical and spiritual journey. In this kind of world, where truth is anything anybody wants it to be, passionate truth bases are absolutely indispensable. To me, that is what historic, biblical fundamentalist churches and agencies have always been.

Whenever I speak of "truth", I always affirm several critical axioms which relate to it:

1. Absolute truth is the fundamental moral category in the universe. Without it people perish (Proverbs 29:18 – where "vision" is "revelatory vision" or truth from God). Individuals, cultures and entire civilizations unravel at the seams when they are subjected to a truth-deprivation.
2. Absolute truth is marked by objectivity and knowability. We are neither agnostics nor Athenians. The Athenians, according to Luke, built an altar to "the unknown God" (Acts 17:22, 23). But the God of truth is not unknown or unknowable, because He has revealed Himself to us. And this is a revelation which is both objective – personified in Jesus (who has now gone to heaven) and deposited in Scripture (which we hold in our hands) – and knowable – through the quickening and illuminating influence of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:9-16) and the accurate exegesis of a text (2 Timothy 2:15).
3. Absolute truth matters profoundly to serious-minded, deeply-committed Christians. Such Christians pay attention to the epistolary mandates – all those commands in the New Testament epistles which require that we guard the gospel, hold fast the faithful word, continue steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and contend earnestly for the "once-for-all" delivered faith. More than that, serious-minded Christians are prepared to draw lines, set limits, erect boundaries and refuse concessions based solely on obedience to biblical absolutes.

And there, perhaps, is one of those unique responses which distinguishes fundamentalists from evangelicals, viz., separatism sourced in absolutes! In evangelicalism you often find belief in the fundamentals of the faith (i.e., its abstract doctrinal tenets), but it is generally unsupported by separatism. In historic, biblical fundamentalism you find not only belief in the fundamentals of the faith, but you find a readiness to support those fundamentals by a form of biblical separatism.

In the simplest sense separatism means the willingness and the moral courage to draw a line or set a limit beyond which we will not go based solely on a carefully defined, critically exegeted Bible absolute. While this is a teaching which should be warmly supported by the people of God, it has lost some of its luster in this part of the 20^th century due to a couple of responses which have served to tarnish it:

1. Dispositional Offensiveness. Unless we are extremely cautious, it is easy for us to take the shape of assaulting everybody who disagrees with us with the result that we end up projecting a very ugly disposition. Too often this looks much more like "the works of the flesh" than "the fruit of the Spirit" (Galatians 5:19-23). It is something which grieves the Holy Spirit.
2. Defective Lines. Unless we are committed to critical exegesis of the text of Scripture in its context, it becomes very easy for us to draw lines that are not anchored to Bible absolutes but personal preferences. New "qualifiers" which were not originally a part of the equation, and which are not sourced in Scripture, begin to reshape our definition of fundamentalism and unnecessarily alienate people from it.

Nevertheless, the fact remains that absolute truth matters deeply to committed and serious Christians, and they are prepared to draw lines and set limits on the basis of it. The biblical teaching on separatism is something which must be recovered and practiced in this generation or fundamentalists, too, will fall prey to the thinning of theology and the marginalizing of truth which is now well documented in huge segments of evangelicalism.

Of course, there is much more that could be said on this issue, but at rock-bottom historic, biblical fundamentalism is all about absolute loyalty to absolute truth. And that is why I celebrate and embrace it. For all its faults, the mainstream of historic biblical fundamentalism has struggled to honor, defend and proclaim truth. A fundamentalist church or school is a passionate truth base where God’s absolutes provide the rudder for life and ministry. Nothing is more important than that in a postmodern, anti-truth world.

Solomon was right to say: "Buy the truth and sell it not" (Proverbs 23:23). We need a whole new generation of believers who refuse to sell the truth, whomever the highest bidder may be. Whatever kingdom, empire or salary, whatever name or fame may be offered, we are responsible to affirm that truth is not for sale, and make certain that we hold tenaciously to it whatever the cost may be.

At Central Seminary our signature verse is Isaiah 8:20. It was selected by our founder and first president, Dr. Richard V. Clearwaters: "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them."

Our goal as a ministry is to "speak according to this word", and not only to speak it but to be absolutely loyal to it. Our hearts resonate with the need for truth and light in a deceived and darkened world. For us, the best place to do that is within the framework of historic, biblical fundamentalism.