Christian 'fundamentalism' is self-coined
Who are Christian fundamentalists, or what is Christian fundamentalism? Perhaps I should have answered these questions before I wrote my previous articles on Christian fundamentalism. The reason I did not do so earlier is that I did not expect many Christian fundamentalists in Malaysia not to know what Christian fundamentalists are!
COMMENT Who are Christian fundamentalists, or what is Christian fundamentalism? Perhaps I should have answered these questions before I wrote my previous articles on Christian fundamentalism. The reason I did not do so earlier is that I did not expect many Christian fundamentalists in Malaysia not to know what Christian fundamentalists are! 
Some of them have emailed me and accused me of labelling them as fundamentalists, because according to them, the term “fundamentalism” has a negative connotation and should be restricted to the Islamic religion, and should not be associated with Christianity. I have to say that I am flabbergasted, again, by their ignorance of history, as well as by their prejudice against the Islamic faith.
Chinese-speaking Christians who have read my books and articles in the Chinese language regarding Christian fundamentalism have said the same thing, but in a different, perhaps more hilarious, way.
The term ‘fundamentalism’ was coined in the United States in the early twentieth century, and has been translated into Chinese either as yuan jiao zhi zhu yi or ji yao zhu yi. Personally, I prefer the former, because it has been widely used in the reference to Islamic fundamentalists by the Chinese media.
Many Chinese-speaking Christians have protested against my use of the former Chinese translation and say that I should have translated it as ji yao zhu yi when I referred to Christian fundamentalism. They fail, however, to see that either yuan jiao zhi zhu yi or ji yao zhu yi are both translations of the same word, namely, fundamentalism, in English. In other words, they reject the translation of the term yet embrace the central beliefs of fundamentalism.
Christian fundamentalists in Asia need to know that ‘fundamentalist’ is not a label liberal Christians and atheists imposed upon them. It is a term that was coined by Christian fundamentalists in the United States who proudly self-identify as fundamentalists. 
In the late nineteenth century, many conservative Protestant Christians in the United States saw that their faith in traditional beliefs was being challenged by the values of enlightenment and modernity, namely, science and human reason. One of the most acute examples is their belief in creationism, which was under attack by evolutionism.
In order to defend their beliefs, they produced a number of publications, the most important being a series essays entitled “The Fundamentals.” The editor of the Northern Baptist newspaper The Watchman Examiner, Curtis Lee Laws, explicitly wrote in 1920 that a 'fundamentalist' is a Christian who is willing to do battle royal for the fundamentals of the faith.
This is how fundamentalists got their name; it was not given by people who disagreed with them, but it was what they chose to call themselves.
By the book, literally
What are some fundamental beliefs of Christian fundamentalists? There are at least two.
The first is evangelism. Fundamentalists believe that they are only the ones saved and that all others will go straight to hell simply because they do not believe in Jesus and the Bible. Therefore, they see it as their mission to convert every human being in the world. Everyone must become a Christian in order to be saved. According to them, all other religions are either evil or ignorant; bluntly put, they have no truth. 
The second one is the inerrancy of the Bible. The Bible is not only inspired by God, it is God's word and it should be read literally. Everything recorded in the Bible, according to fundamentalists, is truth and a historical fact that should be believed at face value.
A true Christian is a Christian who believes everything in the Bible literally. The Bible should be treated with utmost respect and as the sole authority, not only for morality and religion, but also for science and history. When the Bible says God created the world in six days, it is taken as a historical fact.
When the Bible says God approves slavery, it means slavery is good. When the Bible says that Jesus is the only saviour, this is the absolute Truth. When the Bible says homosexuality is wrong, they simply believe it to be so, regardless of the reason.
Because reason is never important; what matters is what the Bible says. Their standard answer to any “why” question is, “because the Bible tells us so.” Period.
Of course, those who are relatively intelligent will try to appear to be more reasonable by bolstering their answer with arguments. Their answer, however, is always presupposes the Bible.
They sometimes appeal to science not because they believe in scientific values or research, but because science can promote their agenda. Once the Bible says so, the verdict is in, and no scientific investigation or debate is needed; what is needed is to defend the “truth” by all means.
The uncomfortable truth
Christian fundamentalists, thus, are not afraid to discriminate, simply because, if it is taught by the Bible as they understand it, discrimination is no longer discrimination, it is a legitimate truth.
If the Bible says homosexuality is wrong, it does not matter what natural or social scientific research have to say. As such, homophobia or heterosexism simply do not exist in their view. It is why the Church and many Christians in the past supported the institution of slavery and condemned Christians who advocated its abolition.
Ironically, many Christian fundamentalists in Malaysia do not like the label of “fundamentalism” and yet they embrace the essential beliefs of fundamentalism. One of the reasons, perhaps, is that they recognise how foolish and unreasonable other religious fundamentalists are; they do not like what they see and yet they fail to see that they are just like what they hate to see.
REV O YOUNG is an ordained Christian minister at MCC New York. He holds two masters degrees, in sociology and theology. He lives in New York city and teaches sociology at St Peter's College. He has published 20 books on sociology, theology and sexuality and is also a columnist for Sin Chew Daily. He is currently finishing his doctoral degrees in sociology and theology.
