Reply #9: Many Christians reject Biblical fundamentalism

[Stunster]

For example, it is explicitly rejected by Catholicism (see below). If you have problems with fundamentalism, then why not try to look at some recent mainstream non-fundamentalist but still Christian approaches to Scripture? A good Catholic exegete is Raymond Brown (e.g. his magisterial INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW TESTAMENT).

http://www.catholicculture.org/docs/doc_view.cfm?recnum=5247

Pastoral Statement for Catholics on Biblical Fundamentalism

Archbishop John Whealon of Hartford, Connecticut, chaired the ad hoc Committee on Biblical Fundamentalism of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops which issued this statement on March 27, 1987. It is designed to assist Catholics in understanding the problems caused by fundamentalism. Here are some extracts:


This is a statement of concern to our Catholic brothers and sisters who may be attracted to biblical fundamentalism without realizing its serious weaknesses....

Fundamentalism indicates a person's general approach to life which is typified by unyielding adherence to rigid doctrinal and ideological positions -- an approach that affects the individual's social and political attitudes as well as religious ones. Fundamentalism in this sense is found in non-Christian religions and can be doctrinal as well as biblical. But in this statement we are speaking only of biblical fundamentalism, presently attractive to some Christians, including some Catholics.....

A further characteristic of biblical fundamentalism is that it tends to interpret the Bible as being always without error or as literally true in a way quite different from the Catholic Church's teaching on the inerrancy of the Bible. For some biblical fundamentalists, inerrancy extends even to scientific and historical matters. The Bible is presented without regard for its historical context and development....

We do not look upon the Bible as an authority for science or history. We see truth in the Bible as not to be reduced solely to literal truth, but also to include salvation truths expressed in varied literary forms.

We observed in biblical fundamentalism an effort to try to find in the Bible all the direct answers for living -- though the Bible itself nowhere claims such authority....

People of all ages yearn for answers. They look for sure, definite rules for living. And they are given answers --simplistic answers to complex issues -- in a confident and enthusiastic way in fundamentalist Bible groups.....

We need to educate -- to re-educate -- our people knowingly in the Bible so as to counteract the simplicities of biblical fundamentalism.