Have you ever wondered whether fundamentalism of any kind might be driven by fear of modernity? You would be right. For instance, many people fear the knowledge of how we got the Bible. They instead claim it is straight from God and should be taken literally (or cherry-picked for truths, while ignoring contradictions). When I began writing my memoir, I wanted to bring to the foreground the fundamentalist aspect of the group I was in, The Way International. Why? Is something wrong with fundamentalism? I say “yes.” My story shows serious drawbacks in its approach to Scripture and its detrimental effects on adherents.
Below, I’ll give you a link to a recent article about the rich man in L.A. who pushed fundamentalism to new heights and changed the character of Christianity in the U.S.
Fundamentalist Fridays
My new plan: publish blogs about fundamentalism on Fridays. We’ll see how long I do this, but fundamentalism is a hot topic, and I’d like to offer more of what I’ve learned about it over the years. As author James Barr points out in his book Fundamentalism, there is no succinct definition for fundamentalism, but we can explore its aspects and by comparing it to “mainstream Christianity” and other world views, I think we can get some clarity.
Aside: Strangely, a few ex-Way followers have argued that The Way International is not fundamentalist, but rather a destructive cult that promotes a patchwork of plagiarized teachings that Victor Paul Wierwille (1916 – 1985) put together. I agree that Wierwille did that and that he was a controlling cult leader, but I’m here to say that the foundation of what The Way calls its biblical research (even to this day) is absolutely fundamentalist. Inerrancy of the Scriptures (the assertion it contains no contradictions or errors) is a non-negotiable Way belief and is a cornerstone of Christian fundamentalism. Here is a bit from The Way’s website:
” … over the course of time, translational errors have crept into the Bible, and cultural misunderstandings have made parts of it unclear or cloudy. But as we get back to the original Word as God first gave it to holy men by revelation, we can get back to the full integrity of the Word. It is absolutely perfect.”
Really? They can get back to the original? I worked in The Way’s research department and never saw any research that shows how “the Word,” as they call the original text(s), “… is absolutely perfect.” That “perfection” amounts to an interpretation. Also, notice The Way does not refer to which version of the Bible they’re talking about. They are only using clichés to describe a complex field of academic study. And they have never listed their credentials for doing research.
Anyway, you might find it odd, but while I was in The Way (1970 – 1987), I was unaware that I was even in a fundamentalist group! I just thought that I had “the truth.” It is said that knowledge is power. I would add that ignorance can also be powerful … in its own twisted way.
Lyman Stewart and his money
Many good books are available on the topic of fundamentalism, but a quick overview is in an article I came across this week that gives the background about The Fundamentals, a series of pamphlets distributed by a man named Lyman Stewart from Los Angeles in the early 1900s. Stewart took Christian fundamentalism to a new level in the U.S.
The Fundamentals in large measure changed the course of Christianity in this country. As a result, it also changed the course of my own life and many others like me. From the report:
“Between 1908 and 1923, Lyman poured millions of dollars – mostly from his Union Oil holdings, but also from the Stewart Citrus Association orange groves in Ontario – into making Los Angeles a world center of the fundamentalist movement.”
Click the following link to that article, a most important and relevant-to-our times report: The Fundamentals.
My past blogs on fundamentalism
You can use the Search feature at the bottom of the Home page on this site to find them. Here are two:
Europe Says Defeat Fundamentalism
I hope you join me on more Fundamentalist Fridays.
Your writer on the wing,
Charlene
Marjorie Patton
Have you ever read Holy Terror by Flo Conway and Jim Seigleman? It was written in the early 1980s and gives a good overview of how fundamentalism progressed into politics.
Charlene L. Edge
Haven’t read that one yet. Will check it out. I read their book, Snapping and was in touch with them about Undertow while writing it. Thanks, Marj.
Cliff Wall
Hi Charlene, I just finished reading “Undertow”. It is awesome on a number of levels, but on a very personal one for me. Like your daughter, I was born in June 1975. I went to ECU in 1993. I got involved in TWI there in 1995. It literally took a miracle to get me and my wife and family out in 2006. I met some of the folks you mentioned in the book, such as the Moynihans, and I’m sure I know many others you you knew as well. My wife grew up in TWI and her parents were Way Corp. I’m a Methodist minister now. Thank you for your book. It filled in some gaps for me and helped explain some of the history leading up to my experience with TWI. It was very helpful for me. I know it will be for many others too.
Charlene L. Edge
Dear Cliff,
Thank you so much for sharing your response to Undertow here. What an amazing story you have! I’m so grateful you found the book and that it helped you so much. That is my intention with the story.
Warmest wishes,
Charlene