Whenever I ask conservative evangelical Christians whether or not they are a fundamentalist, they often sidestep the issue by asking what I really mean by using that term. Christian fundamentalism is characterised by the strict and literal interpretation of Scripture. Adherents believe that Old and New Testaments contain the infallible word of God, and they oppose liberal interpretations which, for instance, might allows us to view Creation in conjunction with Evolution. Fundamentalists are ‘separated unto the Scriptures’, and so distrust ecumenicalism.
It boils down to one’s view of the provenance of the Bible. Is it actually an unerring word-for-word dictation from God? Or is it a set of writings inspired by God by His prophets over many centuries serving to lead us towards salvation and reunion with Him who ? From time to time more moderate Christians get accused by fundamentalists of attempting to fit the Scriptures to their own agenda, of liberal scholarship, of so-called ‘cut-and-paste-Christianity’. It is neither charitable nor correct.
