Unfundamentalist

Above All, Love

To oppose a negative is a positive

by in Christian Issues

A question we are sometimes asked is: “Why the name Unfundamentalist? Wouldn’t it be better to define yourself by what you’re for, rather than what you’re against?”

Christian fundamentalism—and fundamentalistm of other varieties—is defined by and vigorously promotes everywhere authoritarianism, the oppression of women, homophobia, xenophobia, the “danger” of education, corporal punishment, a literal and inerrant view of scripture, “all or nothing” thinking, and a God whose primary function is to judge and punish.

We are for none of those things, hence our name.

Also, there is nothing wrong with defining oneself by what one opposes, if what one opposes is prevalent and evil. Martin Luther defined himself by opposing the wrongs of the Catholic Church. Gandhi defined himself by opposing the British occupation of India. Martin Luther King, Jr. defined himself by opposing racism.

To state that you oppose a negative is a positive.

We are not, however, purely oppositional. What we stand for and believe in is here.

 

John Shore, advice columnist for the Asheville Citizen-Times (the major daily newspaper of Asheville, North Carolina) is the founder of Unfundamentalist.… [Read more…] about To oppose a negative is a positive

Young Earth Creationists make their point

by in Christian Issues

Our previous post, Dan Wilkinson’s “Creationist Ken Ham versus the Truth,” generated many comments from Young Earth Creationists eager to assert their conviction that, because the Bible is meant to be taken literally, the theory of evolution is not just factually but morally wrong.

Young Earth Creationists believe that approximately six thousand years ago God created the world and all of its creatures in six twenty-four hour days. They believe that dinosaurs co-existed with modern humans. When presented with the scientific facts that the universe is between 11 and 15 billion years old, that the earth is about 4.5 billion years old, and that life appeared on earth at least 2.5 billion years ago and subsequently evolved into many forms, Young Earth Creationists often respond with Ken Ham’s famous, “Were you there?”

Ken Ham is a prominent leader of the YEC movement. He is founder and president of Answers in Genesis (AiG), a “Christianity-defending ministry” that in 2007 opened the $27 million Creation Museum, paid for entirely through private donations to AiG. Located on 50 acres in Petersburg, Kentucky, the 70,000 square foot state of the art “museum” (for it is not accredited by the American Alliance of Museums) features “a time journey through a visual presentation of the ‘Seven C’s of History’ according to Scripture: Creation, Corruption, Catastrophe, Confusion, Christ, Cross and Consummation. … [Visitors] will also be challenged to consider how the first 11 chapters of… [Read more…] about Young Earth Creationists make their point

"But that's what the Bible says about hell." Stop that!

by Nicole Villacres in Christian Issues

(A great friend of Unfundamentalist Christians is a young woman named Nicole Villacres. I was recently poking about Nicole’s blog when I came across the piece below. I liked its honest, unpretentious heart; it has an old-school energy that I find refreshing and touching. So I asked Nicole if I could  share it here, and appreciate her saying yes. — John Shore)… [Read more…] about "But that's what the Bible says about hell." Stop that!

From an atheist married to a Christian

by in Christian Issues

A while back I ventured a few thoughts on some of the challenges inherent in interfaith marriages. In response an atheist friend of mine wrote and invited me to share with you the following letter:

I’m a bona fide marriage expert. Not because I have some fancy Ivy League degree hanging on my wall, nor because I’m a published marriage counselor—no, I’m a marriage expert because I’ve been married twice. I’m a big believer in the school of you-don’t-know-it-until-you’ve-done-it. Having done it twice, I now know it twice as well. Hence, marriage expert.

My first marriage was to a lovely woman of like-spirituality. We were both humanists (which is a fancy term for do-gooder atheists) of Jewish descent. That marriage failed when she realized that she didn’t love me. ME! How could she not love me? You probably don’t know me, but I am very lovable. I know this, because my second wife, an even more lovely Christian woman named Rachel, told me so. Rachel also told me that our marriage is a resounding success, and I believe her. We both have no doubt that we will be together until we die, at which point we will be separated. According to her, I will go to hell and she will go to heaven; in my version, we will both simply be dead. Either way, we won’t be together anymore, and that’s sad.

Rachel is a Christian and I am a heretical Jewish humanist. How can this marriage of ours really be a success? How can we fully be together when we don’t share the same spirituality?… [Read more…] about From an atheist married to a Christian

A love "bigger than two": one polyamorous relationship

by in Uncategorized

(A woman wrote to share with me that, in all ways but legally, she is equally married to both a man and a woman. I asked my new acquaintance if she would be willing to let me interview her about that. At first she was reticent—but, as she put it, “the opportunity to share with others a glimpse into our life is too good to pass up.” So here’s our interview.)… [Read more…] about A love "bigger than two": one polyamorous relationship