Thursday, 22 March 2012
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Fundamentalism and Foundationalism
By Nic Don at TheopoliticalThese are two words thrown around a lot in Biblical studies. Fundamentalism is also a word thrown around a lot in the culture at large. Westboro Baptist Church is seen as a fundamentalist church; Al-Qaeda is seen as a fundamentalist Muslim group. In these cases, fundamentalist basically means “so conservative that they’re bad.” The underlying idea seems to be that to really, truly believe the tenets of Christianity or Islam is dangerous.
John Yoder, in his essay “A Theological Critique of Violence,” defines the terms this way.
I define fundamentalism as that form of theological culture that assumes there are no hermeneutical problems, since what I take to mean is what it has to mean. Foundationalism… makes a similar but opposite mistake. It assumes that since there are hermeneutical problems, we should and can resolve them before entering into the substance of the debate by making a ruling on how terms must be used.
In Yoder’s view, it would seem that fundamentalism isn’t a problem of how strongly or how conservatively we believe whatever we believe, but how adroit we are at engaging those who see the same things differently. What is important is not holding our own beliefs at arms’ length, but learning how to negotiate disagreement. As such, definitions become vitally important.
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Comments (3)
To me, fundamentalism "should" simply mean you define and confine yourself to the fundamentals of something: by which definition Westboro would actually be in opposition to the fundamentals of Christianity (since the fundamental element of Christianity is love, and the fruits of the spirit include love, patience, kindness, and brotherly love.
While I do believe that scripture has a definite transcultural meaning, I don't think I have a full revelation on every matter. I seek for a fuller revelation and hold fast to the "foundations" laid in Christ, and give mercy as I desire mercy to the best of my ability.
Overall, I'd love to see the perception of these terms changed since I think they're poorly defined to begin with, and that poor viewpoint causes many people to distance themselves from valuable elements simply out of reaction to not wanting to be associated with these theologies.
The difference between the two words is quite simple really.
Fundamentalism is belief based on a set of clearly defined dogma.
Foundationalism is a philosophical term and thus has a less determined but still very understandable meaning. It leads one to examine the family or school of philosophy that informs one's values, opinions and thought process.
I'd agree that it's got most to do with how you're thinking about the religion, which will impact how imperative you perceive your point of view to be. Critical thinking and engaged dialogue are best. It's the only way to learn and grow.