A Culture of Protection

As a result of breeding loud consciences, Fundamentalism has become so focused on protection that it has bred a watchdog culture. It operates via the assumption that the louder the conscience, the more spiritual the Christian. By implication, if my conscience is louder than yours, then I am both more spiritual than you and obligated to confront you about those areas where your conscience has said nothing. On occasion, Progressive Fundamentalism has made this reasoning more palatable by refraining from confronting these extraneous issues directly all the while passively endorsing the perception that they believe their stricter way of living is more pleasing to God. They may talk as though Evangelical churches (with their jeans, pop music, and large numbers) are "doing what they believe is right," but then they allow one another to tenaciously refuse to loosen their grip on those conservative preferences that set them apart even in circumstances when the Gospel is at stake (see Idolatry of Excellence).

Fundamentalism therefore has become a conformity culture out of a desire to protect its congregation from worldliness. The problem with this is that conformity is a threat to the unity of the Church. Additionally, protection by means of conformity insinuates that worldliness is an external issue. The problem with the Believers in the Corinthian church was not their love for alcohol, rock music, jeans, and movies. The Corinthian Believers were worldly because they betrayed affections that resembled their unredeemed Corinthian surroundings: a love for self by associating with an important person or showing off their gifts. Loving God and their neighbors was what set them apart from the world, but since they loved themselves, every gift God gave them became an opportunity to gorge and exalt themselves. They reflected an exact replica of the godless Greek culture wherein they existed, because they did not love God. Their worldly issues were internal and led to blatant infractions against the commandments of Christ. If worldliness were an external issue, then it could have been avoided in Corinth by closing the church off from all things questionable. If worldliness were an external issue, there would be little or no evangelization. If worldliness were an external issue, then there would be no regeneration or sanctification, only training workshops to change habits. Merely addressing externals never addresses the affections. A change of affections means a new identity and a new value system, which is why I Corinthians climaxes on the “love chapter” in chapter 13. A structured environment does not effectively address affections and is unable to cultivate an atmosphere that frees the Holy Spirit to produce fruit in our lives. The Gospel, however, cuts straight to affections and transforms us by the power of the Holy Spirit through the Word of God.

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