Immigrants and Fundamental Christianity

Thoughts from a friend. Musician #2.


Fundamental Christianity


The article that I wrote this morning tries to understand how America slowly went from loving immigrants to hating them. I point the finger straight at Fundamental Christianity.


Between 1910 and 1915, a set of 90 essays called The Fundamentals were published by wealthy conservative Protestants. These writings were distributed for free to pastors and churches across the U.S. They were a reaction against what the authors saw as threats from modern science, biblical criticism, and social change. The essays defended certain “essential” doctrines as the non-negotiable core of Christianity. From these, the movement we now call fundamentalism emerged.


1. The inerrancy of the Bible (no errors, literally true) 


2. The virgin birth of Jesus 


3. The substitutionary atonement (Jesus died to pay for human sin in a legal sense) 


4. The bodily resurrection of Jesus 

5. The authenticity of miracles


These became known as “the five fundamentals.”


Why Some See This as a Turn Away from the Teachings of Christ

When compared with the Gospels, critics say The Fundamentals shifted the center of gravity of Christianity away from the lived example and teachings of Jesus toward rigid doctrine and boundary-policing.


Legalism vs. Love 
Jesus emphasized love of God and neighbor, mercy, forgiveness, and inclusion of outcasts. The tone of The Fundamentals often leaned toward defining “true” vs. “false” believers and drawing hard lines of exclusion—something Jesus regularly challenged in the Pharisees.


Faith as Intellectual Assent vs. Faith as Discipleship 
The essays made belief in certain doctrines the test of being Christian. But Jesus often highlighted action—feeding the hungry, forgiving enemies, caring for the poor—as the fruit of faith. In Matthew 25, the criteria for judgment are acts of compassion, not doctrinal precision.


Fear and Defense vs. Trust and Openness 
The movement was born out of fear—fear of science, modernity, and new ideas. But Jesus repeatedly told his followers, “Do not be afraid,” and showed openness to those outside his tradition (Samaritans, Romans, Gentiles). Fundamentalism’s defensive posture can foster hostility rather than hospitality.


Substitutionary Atonement as the Only Lens 
While the New Testament offers multiple ways of understanding the meaning of Jesus’ death (liberation, reconciliation, self-giving love), The Fundamentals elevated substitutionary atonement as the essential meaning. That can obscure Jesus’ broader teaching: that God’s kingdom is already breaking into the world through justice, healing, and love.


Exclusivity vs. Inclusivity 
Jesus consistently broke boundaries—eating with sinners, elevating women, healing outsiders. Fundamentalism often emphasized boundaries—who’s in and who’s out. This exclusivity can distort the radical openness of Jesus’ ministry.


In Short

The Fundamentals reframed Christianity around defending a set of propositions, while Jesus centered his teaching on lived love of God and neighbor. That shift—from a relational, lived faith to a doctrinal, guarded faith—is what many see as the “dark turn.”

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