What do people mean by christian fundamentalist

I don't actually understand the OP. Would anyone, however stupid, define a Christian fundamentalist as being someone who "doesn't stick to what is in the Bible"?

I still fail to see the point of the thread, the reason behind starting it with a facile question, and then going round in ever decreasing circles.
I think we all have a pretty shrewd idea of what we understand by Christian fundamentalist and my goodness, we are seeing it put into practice.
This has not been a true conversation but a series of preconceived ideas, prejudices and cliches and the sort of verbal stonewalling I have experienced when trying to have a genuine conversation about belief with doorstep evangelists.

Ana It isn't like Islam, where I think there is a set form of words for a convert to say. It is what you believe, as the verses say.

Lilygran, I did say in another post that if you act as a Christian, then you are one.

Perhaps you should be addressing your post to soontobe...

Ana it is not accepted doctrine in the CoE or the RCC that you are a Christian if you act as though you were. There are many people of all faiths and none who live 'like Christians', not surprisingly since the ethical and moral teaching is broadly similar across all respectable religions. You have to believe as well. The clue is in the name!

I'm well aware of the distinction, Lilygran.

But why does a person who believes in Christ have to be officially sanctioned by a ceremony before he or she can be classified as a Christian?

I thought birthdays were mentioned in the bible. Didn't John the Baptist have his head served up on a platter to Salome on Herod's birthday?

Being a member of a Christian community is one aspect of being Christian. If you can't be part of a Christian group of some kind, that doesn't mean you can't be a Christian. The ceremony is just a formal recognition of joining the community.

Just a small aside here in response to the discussion about young people being bribed to go through the confirmation process. A good friend who is a Canon in the Church of England and was our vicar feel strongly that Church attendance varies at different times of life. He's no problem with the way some members of his congregation miss periods of attendance then return, as they often do.

I've never met a fundamentalist Methodist

Lilygran- my dad was excommunicated because he married a Protestant divorcee. He was a true, sincere, baptized and confirmed Catholic, attended mass every Sunday and confession regularly, and was an exemplary and true Christian. Now that was in the mid 40s- but there are still many Christian Churches that will only recognize' their' type of Christian. Not the case here where Oecumenism is very much the order of the day in a 50/50 situation and in order to survive. Not quite the same in the UK, and certainly still very much segregated in parts of Africa, etc.
'Being a Christian' is a very loose term.

That is a very sad story, granjura. I can't imagine how painful it must be for a devout person to be refused communion. Your mother and father must have loved each other very deeply to take on the RCC. I'm not sure what you mean by your last sentence. Different sects and churches create membership rules, it's true but as I said above, some people like very firm boundaries. Some people only feel they belong by excluding others. That isn't Christianity, it's church.

I am beginning to think "fundamentalist" is another way of saying " narrow minded" or "I'm right, you're wrong, and somehow I will find an obscure Bible passage to prove it".

Agreed Lillygran- but you know very well that it is not long ago that Christians of different denominations were torturing, burning, drawing and quartering each other- and not accepting any kind of Christianity than their own 'brand'. My dad's family were actually originally Huguenots who escaped torture in France and would not renounce their faith. I am currently trying to research how, when and why their did turn coats and become staunch Catholics!!! (oh the irony!?). The reason is probably that Huguenots were only accepted into the Swiss Canton of Jura, which was Catholic, if they agreed to rent from the Diocese of Basel, very poor and unproductive lands above 1000 metres, and of course could not ever marry a Catholic or access education or any kind of better trade or job. I imagine that after a few generations- some said ' stuff this for a game of soldiers' I am converting to Catholicism (people had to convert- not just switch- as Protestants did not consider Catholics as Christians, and vice versa). And truly that was not that long ago. My Cathollic cousins here- when they were very much a small minority in our area (now 50/50 due to large immigration from Italy, Spain and Portugal from the 50s onwards) - all had arranged marriages to ensure they would remain Catholic and have Catholic children- again not that far back, in the 50s and 60s.

My dad carried in his wallet on his person all his life, the letter from his favourite sister, saying that although they all loved my mother and found her a wonderful woman, and could totally understand how he fell in love with her- but that he should never ever sacrifice the true faith for love.
None of them came to the wedding- they got married in the Anglican Church 50 miles away. I found the letter in his breast pocket when he died- still got it in the little bureau in front of me. He did have a proper Catholic funeral, and public apologies at the funeral by the Priest, for the hurt and damage done to such a good man.

His favourite sister committed suicide in her late 30s. She always knew she was different, and found out quite late that it meant she was attracted to women and not men. As a good Christian, she chose to be celibate- but when she really fell in love and the temptation was too great, she chose to die. If this is what religion is about- forgive me for opting out.

OH's grandfather was the first British convert to Islam- in the late 19C. You can well imagine how well it went down with his CofE family! In my experience, religion was and is still a great divider of people. We have Muslim family all over the world. OH's personal close family was very mixed and had to escape South Africa due to Apartheid- religion was never a feature from then on (pheeew).

Follow that if you can. (And I don't mean understand )

I wouldn't want to be a fundamentalist anything.

I've just checked the English Soutra. Could have done with splitting into 2 paragraphs perhaps, but it is very clear- albeit perhaps very un-usual. Both OH and I come from very mixed religious, cultural and ethnic backgrounds- perhaps hard to imagine if you don't.

I can think of one or two fundamentalist atheists.

Next time I'll write in French jingl- just to make sure it is perfectly clear, ok, lol ;)

So can I, petallus. Although I am a Humanist, I do sometimes feel queasy at the level of intolerance shown on the Dawkins Face Book page.

I do wonder though- whether those atheist who are so virulent, are not those who have suffered greatly in the past from all sorts of abuse or extreme intolerance, from religious people or perhaps 'religion'? Does not excuse it, but it might make it more understandable.

Some people can only feel they belong by excluding or attacking others.

I really don't think Richard Dawkins is one of those who have suffered persecution for his unbelief.

Neither do I Anno- was responding to Petallus's post. The most virulent atheists I know were sent to Catholic boarding school - they never recovered (although I do not think either were sexually abused btw). My fil also was, due to the Dutch Reformed Church being the Church of the apartheid perpetrators, and his Muslim upbringing- he hated both with a vengeance (after being a doctor on the battle fields during WW2 too).