Fundamentalist Christians follow traditional Christian beliefs that include a literal interpretation of the Bible. The fundamentalist movement has evolved since its beginnings in the 19th century with downfalls and revivals over time.
Fundamentalist Christians come from a variety of denominations, including Presbyterians, Methodists, Episcopalians and fallen Catholics.
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Here are six events that led to the development of the fundamentalist movement:
1. Traditional Christians began noticing what they perceived as a liberalizing or secularizing of the gospel in the late 19th century. Modern teachings from ministers and theologians tended to shift the responsibility of improvement to the world on human beings rather than God.
2. The idea of reshaping the environment through scientific knowledge and technology of the time was boosted after the publication of
"The Origin of Species" in 1859 by Charles Darwin. Darwinism, which also spread throughout the U.S. and Europe during the late 19th century, focused on evolution and natural selection, challenging the word of the Scriptures.
3. The rise of modernism, which seemed to evade the teachings of the Bible in favor of technological progress, led to the popularity of the Second Coming of Christ theology. Movements such as the Plymouth Brethren in Britain emphasized the last days of earth and the return of Christ, which many fundamentalist Christians would embrace in what would become known as the fundamentalist movement.
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4. In 1909, religious scholars at Princeton Theological Seminary began the task of producing 12 volumes of "The Fundamentals" to spread the conservative message of Protestantism to churches, missions and schools throughout the world. The project was underwritten by wealthy sponsors and included the work of Biblical scholars, Presbyterian ministers, Episcopalian bishops and Methodist evangelists.
5. Following the distribution of three million copies of the series, a liberal theologian wrote an article in The Christian Century, using the term "fundamentalists" to describe Christians who adhered to the principles of the work.
6. The doctrine put forward by the authors of "The Fundamentals" was adopted by followers of the fundamentalist movement. The tenets included the literal truth of the Bible, Christ as both God and man, the atonement of Christ's death that involves salvation for people only through God's grace, the bodily resurrection of Christ on the third day after His crucifixion, and Christ's return.
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