John D. Woodbridge was my academic advisor back when I was a student at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. That was primarily due to the fact that within the Master of Divinity program, I had an emphasis in Church History, and he is "research professor of Church History and the History of Christian Thought" at TEDS. He is a gracious man and a brilliant scholar.Last week I read an interview with him in the latest edition of Trinity Magazine, and I was dismayed that it wasn't available yet on the web to link to it. Well, now it's here (via the link below), and I am unashamedly going to pass along another blogger's summary to entice you to read the article.
The subtitle of this evenhanded interview captures its theme: “We regularly hear people from different religious backgrounds referred to as ‘fundamentalist.’ Is this labeling appropriate?”
Woodbridge responds to nine questions and statements:
1. What do you think the word “fundamentalist” means to people today?
2. Where did this concept of “world fundamentalisms” come from?
3. Were there any other significant contributing factors?
4. Is it legitimate to use the word “fundamentalist” for Muslims?
5. How does this usage misunderstand actual American fundamentalism as well?
6. I think what happens in the media is that they end up thinking about the kind of people who bomb abortion clinics, then assume that that’s really where this type of Christianity leads.
7. What can happen because of this popular misusage of “fundamentalism”?
8. Has anyone challenged the assumptions of Fundamentalisms Comprehended?
9. There is a challenge in all this for us as evangelical Christians as well.
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