Fundamentalism is an

Autoimmune Disease
July 8, 2020 by geoff holsclaw

Christian Fundamentalism is like an autoimmune disease.

I know it sounds harsh. And I was raised Fundamentalist, and

I’ve suffered under its effects.

So let me explain.

An autoimmune disease is when the immune system

attacks the body it is meant to protect.

This is what Fundamentalism has been doing to the

Evangelical body for the last 100 years—it started off as
something necessary, but now it’s a nasty disease harming
the church.

The Rise of Fundamentalism:

Fundamentalism developed in the West in the late 19th and

early 20th century. It developed to fight off modernist and
liberal Christian theology. The rise of Fundamentalism was
meant to restore the health of orthodoxy from the
debilitating effects of theological modernism and liberalism.
But what started as a restoration to
health from an external attack turned
and started attacking the
Evangelicalism that it claimed to be
protecting—destroying the body it
was supposed to help.

This is why I call Fundamentalism an

autoimmune disease, taking a healthy
response to protect orthodoxy to an
Free Download of the Forgotten
extreme and destructive level. History of Evangelicalism

The Spread of Fundamentalism:

While Christian Fundamentalism (in the US) spread silently

though Evangelicalism for 40 years, Evangelicalism tried to
re-establish itself in the 1950s. But long-term damage had
already been done to Evangelicalism, shifting from a “whole”
gospel (of spiritual revival and social reform) to a “soul”
gospel (of individual salvation).

Fundamentalist in America emerged again in the 1980s and

engaged in politics more forcefully.

This Fundamentalism even rebrand itself as the true

“Evangelicalism.”

Now the autoimmune disease of Fundamentalism was

pretending to be the picture of true health—even while it
engaged in a destructive “cultural war” with those inside and
outside the church.

The Reign of Fundamentalism:

As it now stands, everyone who is a conservative Christian in

the US is called an Evangelical. And no one wants to be
called a Fundamentalist. And the news media makes no
distinctions either, happy to group everyone together,
casting a big net and only reporting on the ugliest of fish.

Books on the history of Evangelicalism often fail to

distinguish the rise of Fundamentalism as a corruption of
historic Evangelicalism.

People just think that Fundamentalism is Evangelicalism.

But Evangelicalism is broader and richer [link to my ebook]

than the Fundamentalist autoimmune disease.

And Fundamentalists who are thoroughly taken over by this

disease are actually little more than “cultural Christians” who
use words like “God”, the “gopsel”, and “Jesus” with little
understanding or faithfulness.

Evangelicals are Not Fundamentalists:

So we need to make some distinctions about

Evangelicals and Fundamentalists, even if the
mainstream media never does.

And truth be told, I haven’t always lived by these

distinctions. And in the process I’ve offended people that I
meant to encourage, and distanced people I was trying to
draw near. In my Open Letter to White Christians I should
have called Robert Jeffress a Fundamentalist rather than
just a conservative.

Truth:

Evangelicals stand for the truth—like all Christians should.

Fundamentalist feel like they need to fight others over the
truth.

Transformation:

Evangelicals work for the transformation of society.

Fundamentalists work to transform society by warring
against anyone that doesn’t agree with them.

Culture:

Evangelicals want to see the salvation of culture.

Fundamentalists are in a war with culture.

Disagreements:

Evangelicals will work with people they disagree with.

Fundamentalist fight against those they disagree with.

Revival and Reform:

Evangelicals long for spiritual revival and social reform.

Fundamentalists see social reform as a betrayal of spiritual
revival.

You Might Be a Fundamentalist If:

No one wants to be called a Fundamentalist these days.

But the truth is that most conservatives and moderate

Christians are fighting the autoimmune disease of
Fundamentalism, sometimes more successfully and
sometime less.

You might be succumbing to this Fundamentalist

disease if:

• You can’t respectfully and patiently disagree with other

Christians.

• You see winning souls as disconnected from changing

society.

• You see changing “hearts and minds” as the solution to

most problems.
• You know a couple biblical proof texts about hot topic
issues, but haven’t really tried to follow the life of Jesus
(Matt. 5-7).

• You are quick with platitudes and criticism, and slow on

pity or compassion for all people.

• You are more worried about big ideas destroying our

culture (marxism, socialism, racism, fascism) than the actual
people in your neighborhood.

• You are more afraid of what is happening in the world, or

afraid of what is happening to the church, than you are filled
with hope and joy in God.

So, how to move forward?

If you sense any of these Fundamentalist tendencies in

yourself, then there is still hope.

1) Read through Matthew 5-7 (the Sermon on the Mount)

and start doing some of it—like really doing it.

2) Read through the Gospel of Mark and how Jesus treated

people—people that were in power (Pharisees, Scribes, High
Priest) and how he treated those without access to power
(lepers, tax collectors, sinners).
3) Or slightly more advanced, start reading through the Old
Testament Prophets like Hosea, Joel, or Amos, and ask,
“What is God really concerned about? How is God
responding to Israel and why?

If you would like coaching or spiritual direction around this or

other spiritual issues, please contact Cyd Holsclaw