“To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man
knowledge and discretion.
A wise man will hear, and will increase learning.” Proverbs 1:4-5
“It is necessary to affix right ideas to words.” Thomas Paine
One of the difficulties with inheriting a movement such
as fundamentalism is the vocabulary that is assumed by its members. And since the vocabulary was
originally meant to define the positions of the movement, the terms became
rallying cries for its leaders (e.g. separated, fundamental, etc.)
Unfortunately, current leaders are often lax in explaining what they mean by
the catchphrases they continue to use.
Whereas the original leaders were creating distinctions between
themselves and others with their terminology, subsequent generations often
adopt those words as labels, with very little time spent defining them. To make matters worse, as the controversy or
culture that gave context to those terms changes or disappears the words
themselves become more and more obscure.
This lack of precision in language was, ironically
enough, the strength of the liberal movement.
By using traditional Christian language, yet attaching different
meanings, and carefully avoiding drawing clear lines on what they had changed,
they were able to infiltrate the churches and schools of conservative
denominations. Yet fundamentalists,
despite their origins as a reaction to these same liberals, have
begun to slouch toward this same practice.
Preachers and leaders trumpet this word or that phrase as a cry for
biblical faithfulness, yet never stop to carefully explain the content of their
message.
While the liberals had a sinister intent, many
modern fundamentalists are simply unwilling or unable to avoid their
mistakes. Almost the entire ministry of
a Christian leader is to communicate biblical truth to the next generation, yet
our leaders have simply latched on to simple slogans that summarize their
position or belief. Whatever happened to
edification, teaching, or simply clear communication? Rather that define their terms or explain the
biblical content of their labels, these leaders simply repeat them over and over,
assuming all know what they mean, and denouncing all those who would fail to
rally around them. There is a serious
lack of awareness of the difference between compromising the truth,
and hesitating to adopt a truncated summary of the truth. We may believe the same, but that does not
mean I have to use the same words as you.
And if you refuse to tell me what you mean by the things you say, you
have failed to prove yourself trustworthy, either as a leader or as an authentic
torchbearer for our tradition. If the
leaders of our movement (or any other movement) wish to see the next generation
follow their beliefs, they had better stop talking and explain themselves.
