Am I A Fundamentalist?

Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry coming to you from Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston. No Compromise Radio is a program dedicated to the ongoing proclamation of Jesus Christ. Based on the theme in Galatians 2 verse 5, where the Apostle Paul said, but we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.

In short, if you like smooth, watered down words to make you simply feel good, this show isn't for you. By purpose, we are first biblical, but we can also be controversial. Stay tuned for the next 25 minutes as we're called by the divine trumpet to summon the troops for the honor and glory of her King.

Here's our host, Pastor Mike Abendroth.

Why the Atheist's Top Ten List Misses the Mark

Greetings, welcome to No Compromise Radio. It is Tuesday. I'm the Tuesday guy, Steve Cooley. I'm on the air for the vacationing Mike Abendroth and I'm doing my very best radio voice. Well, hey, how do you know it's me?

Well, you know it's me for a couple of reasons. One is I'm again gonna tell you about the disgusting coffee and mold growing in Mike's do notbesurprised .com coffee mug, but you'll also know it's me because who else would be here, you know, on a Monday doing a Tuesday show?

So here I am. My topic today, I was doing some research for something else and I came across this top 10 list by an atheist. And this top 10 list is called Top 10 Signs You're a Fundamentalist Christian.

And I thought the way he wrote this was unusual and maybe worthy of discussion. So my topic today or my title today is am I a fundee? Am I Steve Cooley, Tuesday guy, a fundee? And I don't know by his standards, I don't know if I am or not.

Denying False Gods, Evolution, and Polytheism

Number 10 on this top 10 list, you vigorously deny the existence of thousands of gods claimed by other religions, but feel outraged when someone denies the existence of yours. I don't know how many Christians he knows, but that's not me.

I would honestly, I would rather somebody deny the existence of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit than pretend that they're a Christian and then live as if they're an atheist or live as if in some way other than what a disciple of Christ ought to live like.

So this is not me. And do I deny the existence of thousands of gods? Well, I deny the existence of them in the sense that they are what their supporters would profess them to be. But are there fake gods?

Well, yeah, I think there are. And do they have some power? Well, yes, because Satan and the demons are behind them. So when we talk about spiritual warfare, so often there's this idea of angels and demons.

Well, it's really competing ideas, but make no mistake about it. Demons, Satan, inhabit these false religions, these false gods. They use them for their own ends and to deceive people and to be deceived.

But do I deny their existence? Well, again, only in the sense that I don't think that there's a Zeus as he's portrayed in mythology, or I don't believe that there's a Allah as he's portrayed by Islam or, I don't know, what other fake gods should I talk about?

But so I would deny that, but I don't deny the existence of either these ideas or that they may have some spiritual power behind them. I just deny that they are exactly what their followers would say that they are.

Number nine, you feel insulted and dehumanized when scientists say that people evolve from other life forms, but you have no problem with the biblical claim that we were created from dirt. Again, I just don't, I don't know, how many Christians he actually knows.

I don't get upset by this. And I mean, I hope you don't either because unbelievers unbelieve. That's why they're unbelievers. If they weren't unbelievers, then they wouldn't act like unbelievers. I expect an unbeliever to say, make claims like this or to feel like it's dehumanizing that we were created from dirt, I guess is another way of saying what he's saying.

But the Bible says in Genesis two, that God formed Adam of the dirt. I don't have any problem with that because what happens when we die? We return back to the dirt. This is what we turn into, our physical bodies, but our lives are not measured by our physical bodies but by our spirits.

Now, am I insulted and dehumanized when scientists claim that people evolve from other life forms? No. I am not insulted. If I have any anger whatsoever, it's because they're blaspheming God. They're speaking things about nature that are not true.

And here's the thing, I say this fairly often and I firmly believe this. Evolution is the cutting edge of scientific discovery now, right? But I wonder and ask anyone, ask any unbeliever if they think that a thousand years from now, scientists will hold the truth to themselves that they will hold to evolution exactly as they do now, that they will believe exactly what they believe right now.

And the answer is no, of course they're not going to because they're going to make new discoveries. My guess is personally at some point, they'll recognize that evolution is not sustainable and so they'll jettison it, but be that as it may, one way or another, they're going to explain away the existence of God and try to explain that life is all one big chance.

And aren't we lucky that we even exist and all those kinds of things. But I don't get insulted, I'm not upset. It's not a personal insult at me. So I just think he's wrong. Number eight, you laugh at polytheists, but you have no problem believing in a triune God.

In other words, is the Trinity a contradiction of the idea that there's more than one God or what have you? Do I laugh at polytheists first of all? No, I don't laugh at them. When there's anyone who's an unbeliever, which polytheists are, I don't laugh at them.

I'm not mocking them. I have compassion for them because I think, you know what? If it weren't for the grace of God, I'd be you. In fact, it wasn't so long ago that I was you and I'm not better than you.

I'm just changed by the power of God, not anything in me. So I think this whole idea, first of all, that I would laugh at a polytheist or think that they're stupid because they wanna worship, I don't know, trees or 10 ,000 gods or whatever they wanna believe, that doesn't really bother me.

Now, the Trinity, you know, is it hard to explain? Well, I suppose so, you know, but that doesn't mean it's not true. If the Bible says, and it does, that the Father is God, the Son is God, Jesus Christ is fully God, and the Spirit is God, being a person, having emotions, having a will, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, then I don't have any problem saying that all three are God and then the Bible says that there's one God.

Well, those two truths have to be reconciled and that's where we develop the doctrine of the Trinity. There's one God existing in three persons. So no, not a problem for me. Number seven, your face turns purple when you hear of the, quote, atrocities attributed to Allah, but you don't even flinch when hearing about how God Jehovah slaughtered all the babies of Egypt in the Exodus and ordered the elimination of entire ethnic groups in Joshua, including women, children, and trees.

Well, you know, I don't really think of trees as ethnic groups, but I, you know, there I'm kind of picking at nits. Let's get to the gist of it. I have no problem, I don't even flinch when I hear about how God slaughtered all the babies of Egypt.

Well, is that what happened? I don't remember it quite that way. Yes, it was the angel of the Lord. Yes, God did that. But what happened all the way before that? It was warning after warning, sign after sign to Pharaoh.

And finally, something had to touch Pharaoh. Something had to motivate him to do the right thing, to let the people of Israel go. They weren't supposed to be slaves in Egypt. In other words, supposed to be by virtue of anything that the Pharaoh had done, he hadn't conquered them or anything, they'd come in there.

And over time, they had become enslaved. And this was not God's will. God determined to deliver his people. And again, through Moses, he gave ample warning to Pharaoh. At any point, Pharaoh could have stopped it all.

But what does scripture say? He hardened his heart. It was Pharaoh's doing. God continually upped the ante because Pharaoh would not relent. Pharaoh would not change his mind. So there's that. And then what about eliminating the entire ethnic groups in the promised land of the book of Joshua?

Well, that is true. Why is that? Well, because God had promised this land to the people of Israel. And guess what? If you leave people in the land, then what happens? You're gonna have nonstop warfare.

So I suppose if all the people left, but they didn't do that, you know, so is this ethnic cleansing? Is God guilty of genocide? And here's my brief answer to that. I mean, I plan on eventually doing a sermon on, you know, is God a genocidal maniac?

Of course, the answer is no. But is God guilty of genocide? Well, I think we have to take a step back and look at it this way. Mankind is guilty of deicide. That is putting God to death, not only in the person of Jesus Christ, but trying to kill, you know, it's attempted murder of God every single day.

We deny his existence. We try to put him out of existence. We hate him. And you say, well, I don't hate God. Well, if you're an unbeliever, if you're not a Christian, the Bible says that you're God's enemy.

And it says that he is your enemy. And there's a real problem there. So, you know, if in fact, some people were put to physical death to maintain a promise kept or made by God, is that genocide? Well, every single man, woman, and child on this earth deserves death, why?

Because we're all sinners. See, and that's the constant stream of thought that is missing from all this, because he's an atheist. He doesn't understand sin. He has no concept of there being a universal morality.

He thinks that we all individually get to decide our own morality. And when you are down to that, then it's pretty easy to kind of point the finger at God and go, God is not right. He's not just because he doesn't live up to my standard.

Well, that's flipping things upside down. It's not a question of does God live up to my standards, but do we live up to his? We are the creation. He's the creator. And of course, if you suppress that truth and unrighteousness, if you deny the existence of God, you're gonna flip everything upside down.

You're gonna say, you know what? I'm gonna stand in judgment of God. And all I can say to this person is, who are you, oh man, who answers back to God? You wanna tell God how to run his world, I think you've got another thing coming.

And I don't mean to be mean about it, but I mean, it's presumption of the first order. Okay, number six. We're talking about Am I a Fundy on NoCompromiseRadio .com. Number six, Am I a Fundy? You laugh at Hindu beliefs that deify humans and Greek claims about God sleeping with women, but you have no problem believing that the Holy Spirit impregnated Mary, who then gave birth to a God-man or a man-God who got killed, came back to life, and then ascended to the sky.

Well, this is what we call a caricature. That is, it's a demeaning representation of Jesus, but that's okay. I mean, again, what do I expect from unbelievers? Do I laugh at Hindu beliefs? No, I'm sorry that there are so many ensnared in them.

Second Timothy two commands me not to be combative, but I really do have compassion. I wanna tell people the truth. And the truth is that we're all sinners in need of a savior. And a savior came here in the person of Jesus Christ who isn't, as he says there, created by the Holy Spirit impregnating Mary.

We're not exactly told. We're told that a miraculous creative work was wrought upon Mary, but I don't believe that we would use the term the Holy Spirit impregnated Mary. The Holy Spirit overcame Mary, came upon Mary, and I would suggest that it is an internal working in Mary by which the entire natural processes were bypassed so that she might be with child without the taint of human DNA, that is from Adam, which contained the sin, the sin nature, so that Jesus might be born without a sin nature, that he might live a perfect life, and then die a substitutionary death.

I mean, if Jesus had a sin nature just like us and he went to the cross, well, his death would have no effect. I can't die for someone else. You know, if I sacrificially give up my life, I don't atone for anyone else's sins.

Jesus had to be sinless, and his life had to have infinite worth, which he could only have if he was in fact God, and that's why he came to life. So this whole idea of a man God who got killed, well, he wasn't just killed, he was murdered.

He was innocent. He was wrongly convicted, put to death, and he didn't come back to life. The scripture says the Father raised him, the Spirit raised him, he raised himself. All those things are true.

By the power of the triune God, he came back to life and he didn't ascend to the sky. He returned to the throne to which he rightly belonged. Okay, number five. These are, I mean, these are just so insulting.

You are willing to spend your life looking for little loopholes in the scientifically established age of Earth, few billion years, but you find nothing wrong with believing dates recorded by Bronze Age tribesmen sitting in their tents and guessing that the Earth is a few generations old.

Well, first of all, that's not what the Bible does. It never guesses at the age of the Earth. You know, looking at things, we're able to guess that it's somewhere between six and 10 ,000 years old. I happen to think it's closer to 6 ,000 years.

And, you know, the scientific community wants to dispute that by saying it's billions of years old, but there are all kinds of problems. And these aren't loopholes. These are just holes in the scientific record.

You know, you want to just paint a, with a broad brush and say science has all the answers. Well, it doesn't. And anyone who says that they do doesn't know science. Science is, you know, it's a search for the truth, but by far they've not arrived at the truth.

But this is not something, listen to it again, you are willing to spend your life looking for little loopholes. No, I'm not. I don't really care what unbelievers have to say. This is not something that consumes my life.

If a scientist thinks that I'm an idiot for believing, you know, the gospel of Jesus Christ, well, that's exactly what 1 Corinthians says, right? The gospel is what? Foolishness to those who are perishing.

They don't look at me and think, oh, well, that Steve's a really smart guy. No, they think, well, Steve's got a certain raw amount of intelligence, but he's an idiot because he believes in the cross of Jesus Christ.

This is 1 Corinthians 1 .18. They're too smart for the gospel. They know better. You know, God has nothing on these people according to their thinking. So it's not that I'm looking for loopholes. It's just that I have, by virtue of the Holy Spirit, by virtue of the Father working in me, I've come to faith and I've come to believe the Bible.

And there are no bronze age tribesmen sitting in their tents guessing as to the age of the earth in the Bible. That doesn't appear anywhere in scripture. That is, again, a caricature. Number four, you believe that the entire population of this planet, with the exception of those who share your beliefs, though excluding those in all rival sects, I presume he must mean like Presbyterians or Lutherans or whatever, will spend eternity in an infinite hell of suffering.

And yet you consider your religion the most tolerant and loving. Well, again, it's a caricature. And I don't think that anyone has to believe exactly like I do. I think there are some fundamentals that one must believe because scripture teaches this.

I've just been studying through John chapter six and there's no way that you can tell me that there's some other way of eternal life when Jesus Christ says, you know, unless you eat of my flesh and drink of my blood, there's no life in you.

Well, what does that mean? What does that mean? It means it has to all be of Christ. That's when he speaks of life, he's not talking about physical life, he's talking about spiritual life. Well, we must be consumed by the life, the death, the resurrection, everything to do with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now, is my religion the most tolerant and loving? Well, I don't know about that, but I do know this, that Christians should be the most tolerant and loving because we should be understanding. We should know that we're not any better than anyone else.

I am, you know, there is nothing good in me. When I, what is grace? Grace is an understanding. It is the demerited favor of God. In other words, I don't deserve his love or his grace or his mercy, but I get it anyway.

And when I understand grace rightly, when I see myself for who I really am, I don't think I'm better than anyone. And I'm amazed that God would save me. And I don't get any joy at all in the fact that many people, Jesus said, what?

That many are on the broad road that leads to destruction. I get no joy out of that, but I also can't lie to people and say, well, Jesus said it, but it's not true. It is true. Number three, am I a fundie?

You know, my examination here. Am I a fundie? Well, modern science, history, geology, biology, and physics, stack in the deck, have failed to convince you otherwise. Some idiot rolling around on the floor and speaking in tongues may be all the evidence you need to prove Christianity.

Well, first of all, speaking in tongues, rolling around on the floor, that is not an evidence of Christianity. You know, the way the gifts are practiced now, I don't even understand it. And I'm not here to teach about the gifts.

What I will say is I think they're often evidence of demonic activity and having nothing to do with Christianity. But that said, modern science, history, geology, biology, and physics all convince you or all convince me of the truth of scripture.

There is no contradiction between true science and the Bible. And when there are contradictions or apparent contradictions, I'm gonna believe the Bible. Why? Because it is the inerrant, infallible inspiration or inspired word of God.

And science is so often guesswork. What do I mean by that? Well, for example, many scientists, many atheists, many evolutionists believe in the Big Bang Theory. Well, here's a little problem. First of all, nobody was there.

Secondly, contra-scientific theory, there's no way to reproduce it. There's no way to test the theory. You just have to blurt the theory out and believe it. And they can say whatever they want, but there is absolutely no way to falsify or to test this theory.

One can't testify or test that theory. Now, do I wanna prove Christianity? Do I have a mountain of evidence by which I can prove Christianity? No. Here's what I do. I proclaim the gospel. I proclaim a risen savior.

I proclaim one who can save you from your sins. And if God is working in you and drawing you and he unstops your ear so that you can hear that message and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, that's all I want.

I'm not out to prove anything to you because here's what I know. And I know this just by virtue of studying the gospel of John. I know that people saw miracles. I mean, think about Judas. Think about all that Judas saw.

In fact, I was just talking about this the other day. Judas was in the boat when Jesus came walking across the Sea of Galilee. They were all terrified. Judas saw this. Judas saw the multiplying of loaves.

Judas saw miracle after miracle after miracle. Did he believe? No. And in fact, when he was disappointed enough, when he knew that he wasn't gonna get what he wanted out of the deal, what did he do? He sold Jesus out.

He betrayed him. Why do I bring that all up? Because I understand that evidence cannot make someone believe. It's only by the power of God that someone comes to believe. Okay, number two. You define 0 .01 as a high success rate when it comes to answered prayers.

Well, I don't know where he gets that number. Here's what I do know. Every prayer of a believer is answered. Sometimes the answer is no. Now, does that mean my answer, my prayer was not answered? No, I think of my dear brother Mark Westcott who recently went to be with the Lord and praying with him.

And it got to be so obvious that he was sick and that he was not going to die or he was not gonna live apart from a miracle that I just prayed that the Lord would take him quickly. And the Lord answered that prayer.

He gave him relief. He took him out of this life and into his presence. So that was an answer to prayer even if it wasn't what I humanly wanted. My prayer was answered. Many prayers were answered there.

You know, this is again, just caricature. This is what atheists are left to. You know, they think that you're or I am stupid and they don't understand the Bible. That's why they think I'm a moron and that's okay.

The Bible, Grace, and the Meaning of Salvation

Number one, top 10 list of why. Top 10 signs you're a fundamentalist Christian. And I asked myself, am I a fundie? Steve Cooley on nocompromisedradio .com, WVNE. Number one, you actually know a lot less than many atheists and agnostics do about the Bible, Christianity and church history, but you still call yourself a Christian.

Well, I hope that's not true. I hope that it's not true that I know less about the Bible than many so-called or many so-called atheists because there are no atheists. There are just people who suppress the truth and unrighteousness.

I mean, when you look at the world and you just go, aren't we lucky? Isn't it wonderful that we're not trees or that trees don't fly through the air and hit us or that we have gravity or that dogs don't beget cats or, you know, all these things, aren't we lucky?

Well, there's an order and a structure to things and you just have to ask yourself, well, is there any reason for there to be order and structure for things? Well, you can either believe in luck or you can believe in laws of physics and science that are not written by anybody that just happened to pop up or you can believe in a sovereign God, a God who's portrayed in scripture, a God who's ordering everything, ordaining everything.

And I choose to believe that because God caused me to believe. He caused me to be born again. Am I a fundamentalist? Well, if you mean a fundamentalist in that I believe in the inspiration of scripture, that is, it is literally breathed out by God, then yeah, I'm a fundamentalist.

Do I believe in the deity of Christ? Yes, but I'm not a fundamentalist in any of these ways. You need to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved and that is a fundamental truth and I'll stand on that.

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