Increasingly people who believe the Bible are being categorized as 'Fundamentalists.' Its not a bad thing except the phrase has negative connotations. The inability to even have a conversation about doctrine and belief has harmed the 'fundamentalist' label. As the pun goes, ' if you take the fun out of a fundamentalist you just get da mentalist.' That said, if you are a person who insists on the Bible being God's word in its original languages you are on the right track.
Taking the Bible seriously is exactly what the Lord wants us to do. Yet in this age of so called 'reason,' believers feel they have to apologize for God's outrageous stories. For example, I read Jonah and struggle to picture the fish swallowing him and then chucking him up on a beach. However, because the Bible is the word of God I choose to believe this happened. There is no indication to say the story is anything but literal so I choose to get on board.
Because of this so called 'blind faith' some categorize me into the 'fundamentalist' box. From my position I would rather stand before the Lord having believed his word than be asked why I allowed mans reason to cloud my view of Holy Scripture. After all, if God didn't put outlandish miracles in the Bible we could accuse him of being a bit of a rubbish God who 'can't do the impossible.'
On this issue there is a rather large 'elephant in the room.' Believers who shun me because of taking the entire Bible seriously must have believed the biggest and most ridiculous miracle of all. To be a believer you have to take on board that a human being was very dead but then became very alive! This 'sign of Jonah' (Matt 12:38-45) is a requirement for salvation and it is first fruits of the resurrection for all who believe. Think about it... thousands of funerals will take place and many hearts will mourn for their lost loved ones today. The available data is that death is still in action all over the world, every day. No-one has come alive again since the Apostles! Yet believers can get on board with someone who spontaneously came alive again over a fish puking a man up on a beach!
I wonder if the reluctance to be more literal about the Bible is to do with needing to be seen as reasonable? Can it be that people get saved with good intent then slip into a world where they are not seen as 'stupid?' The pain of rejection and being the odd ball is a hard thing. However this was Jesus' walk and if we are following Him we should expect similar response from the religious and the unbeliever. "But it's hard!"
So were the nails.
Gary Ward
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