In the “My View” article in the October 2008 Issue of
The Lutheran, the Rev. Andrew E. Carlsson accused former Bishop Paull Spring and the organization Lutheran CORE of “selective fundamentalism” by arguing that they selectively apply certain passages of Scripture to our life as Christians and not others. If that is “
selective fundamentalism,” then it follows that Pastor Carlsson must define “fundamentalism” as believing that Scripture as a whole applies to our life as Christians.
As in Carlsson’s article, it is strange to see how often the highly charged and negatively-connoted word “fundamentalism” is used among ELCA Lutherans to describe
any desire to apply God’s Word to the Christian life. Are those who quote Amos 5:24 (“Let justice flow down like waters …”) also
selective fundamentalists, because they believe this verse says something about the life of faith?
The ELCA Confession of Faith states that our church affirms “the canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the inspired Word of God and the authoritative norm of its proclamation, faith, and life.” This means that we as a church believe that the Bible
does apply — to our teaching, faith, and individual lives. Simply put, this is what Lutheran CORE also believes about the Scriptures. In the years since the ELCA Constitution was written, has this now become what we consider
fundamentalism?
Pastor Steven E. King
Maple Lake, Minnesota
This nine-session Bible study, written by the Rev. Lisa Lewton, was meant for use by women's groups and small group fellowships, teaching what it means to serve God and seek his will for our lives.
