What are the Fundamentals of God?
The word fundamental is used to imply the idea of "basic understanding" by those who identify with the term "Fundamental Christian" as a way of describing certain aspects of their approach to God. This of course is the polar opposite of Jehovah's Witnesses who are theologically liberal. They do not believe that there is a basic understanding of things in the bible but that people need to have things explained by them. Further they believe that those doctrinal explanations are flexible as the light gets brighter.
The media has used the term fundamental christian to describe a wide variety of folks who do not fit the definition. Let me give you a simple illustration of how fundamentalism and liberalism collide.
A liberal and a fundamental (conservative) sit down to enjoy some cool lemonade and a game of checkers. The fundamental moves first and then the liberal moves a back checker over his own piece two spaces and then laterally one space. Surprised, the fundie asks whats going on? The liberal says that he has been reading a book lately about chess and in particular the knight. Further, since the playing field is identical he sees no reason to limit his choices to the movements that the fudamentalist claims he requires.
The fundie objects thinking that there is some sort of punch line coming, but none comes. It's not funny. The liberal claims that his opponent is being narrow minded in his protests. All the explanations by the Fundamentalist about adhering to the fundamental elements of the game in order to play fall on deaf ears. Eventually, the liberal accuses his opponent of being insensitive, making inflammatory statements, and lets him know that he is hurting his feelings. He then starts crying.
Fundamentalists object to certain things not because they want to hurt someone's feelings..... but because they don't want to see anyone in hell, especially those that confess Jesus. Jesus sternly warned that one day the words "I never knew you" will forever ring in the ears of some who claim him....in hell. How is that possible?
Let's look for example at the fundamental division of the bible: Old Testament and New Testament. The fundamental meaning of the word "testament" is contract. Liberal churches no longer teach this simple fact.
The Old Contract contained an approved method for circumventing the penalty for sins committed by the Jews and gentile proselytes of both Adamic and personal guilt. The New Contract (Testament) does the same. Fundamentalists believe that these contracts can be understood by the common person. They believe that a person can be sure as to what seals the contract and what prohibits the certifying of the contract. Most fundamentalists believe that once the contract is certified by God as genuine, that it becomes a blood covenant.....in force to the death. They also believe that the blood, which cleanses us from sin, is only accessible through that new contract..... "This is the blood of the covenant".
My father one time called me and told me (after a previously verbal approval to come visit) , not to come. His exact words were that I couldn't come because I HATED him and my mother. The reason that my father believes that I hate him and my mother is because I have a contract exclusively with Jesus Christ and no other; as a devout Jehovah's Witness, he does not. This somehow hurts his feelings, personally.
Many liberals are not opposed to Jesus Christ..... they are opposed to the EXCLUSIVITY of Jesus Christ and the offices he holds.
The very existence of a Fundamental Christian is a threat to other forms of flexible relationships to Jesus. However, just as rules are inflexible to the nature of a board game, contracts are inflexible by nature as well. God himself is not inflexible, but his contracts are.
The first contract that God offered man was through Moses as mediator of that contract. Not only were the parties of Jehovah God and the nation of Israel (and proselytes) exclusive, but the office of mediator (held by Moses) was as well.
One example of violating the exclusiveness of God part of the contract, resulted in that agreement being voided for the 450 prophets of Baal when Elijah called down fire from heaven and consumed them. Much more than just their feelings were hurt.
The case of violating the exclusiveness of the mediator part of the contract was played out in Numbers Ch 16. When some Israelites tried to share Moses' position as mediator, Moses suggested that they burn incense before the Lord and see what his response was. The ground opened up and swallowed the rebels alive into the earth and took them to hell.
A short time thereafter when many in the general population again protested Moses' position, another fourteen thousand were consumed with a plague. They would all have died had not Moses through Aaron, as God's exclusive mediator, "stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed". Please read Numbers Ch. 16. A careful reading will reveal that Korah, Dathan and Abiram were not so much opposed to Moses and Aaron as they were opposed to the exclusivity of Moses and Aaron:
And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them - Num. 16:3
Although these prominent men had already been given responsibility in the house of God, they sought more than they were given. They "reasoned" that Moses needed some help as mediator between them and Jehovah God. Apparently they wanted some kind of democracy in this position. They clearly went against what God had purposed and received a swift and violent response from the Lord.
"And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, ...They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation."
Why were they taken alive down to hell? It is because they were sinners. When they sought to share with (and thus remove) God's exclusive mediator, God granted their request. Hence, there was nothing standing in between them (as guilty sinners) and the wrath of God that is demanded by justice. In other words, without Moses as exclusive mediator, the Law Covenant with it provisions to circumvent the death penalty through the vicarious punishment (sacrifice) of animals in their place was "off the table" so to speak. They were left to face God alone with only his justice. This was very foolish. But so what? How does this effect us today?
Referring specifically to this issue regarding the exclusivity of God's Mediator, God issues this strong warning for our day:
Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. - 1 Cor. 10: 10,11
This Old Testament (Contract) example shows how deadly serious God is about whom he chooses to mediate the circumvention of a death sentence. Never forget: All deserve to immediately die because of their sins.
But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our
righteousnesses are as filthy rags
- Isaiah 64: 6
The offer of a contract and a Mediator is a kindness from the Lord, not a right. Just as the exclusivity of Moses as Mediator foreshadowed the exclusivity of Jesus Christ as Mediator, God's intolerance for modifying the Mediatorship of Moses proves his intolerance for those that would modify Jesus' Mediatorship. Jesus' exclusive position as Mediator cannot be modified in any way without at the same time removing the provision for commutation of death sentence. This applies to those who try and modify it and their supporters, just as it did in the wilderness long ago.
The exclusiveness of the office of Mediator is clear in the New Testament:
Be it known unto you all... that by the name of Jesus Christ there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
- Acts 4: 10-12
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
-John 14: 6
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus
- 1 Tim. 2: 5
In spite of all this fundamental bible doctrine, the Watchtower makes this statement in the February 15, 1991 issue of the Watchtower, pgs. 15-20 paragraph 11:
11 Nevertheless, in a preliminary way, the great crowd have already "washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." (Revelation 7:14) Christ does not act as Mediator of the new covenant toward them, yet they benefit from this covenant through the work of God's Kingdom.
Did you notice the unsubstantiated double-speak? The Watchtower here is teaching that a person can be clean before God without Christ as their Mediator. They say sins are forgiven in some sort of "preliminary way" but fail to explain from the bible exactly what that way is. What is likely meant is in the last sentence of the quotation above: yet they benefit from this covenant through the work of God's Kingdom.
This is the single question that every Jehovah's Witness should be asked:
Since you are outside of the New Covenant evidenced by your rejection of the emblems at the Lord's Supper, and since Jesus is not your Mediator according to the WT; can you show me at least one scripture showing how your sins are forgiven?
Having asked this question to many elders and pioneers myself .... I can assure you that they cannot answer biblically.
On a recent thread here on JWD about Mariolatry (praying to Mary) I provided this official Catholic statement:
Catholic Catechism #969 "Therefore the Blessed Virgin is invoked in the Church under the titles of Advocate, Helper, Benefactress, and Mediatrix."
Instead of noticing the direct Salvific threat of believing on Mary as some sort of Mediator, I was accused of practicing fraud by not quoting another Catholic statement to support this one. It seems that universally, Fundamentalists are accused of intellectual dishonesty, practicers of fraud, insensitivity, and a whole host of other vitriolic names. But again, Fundamentalists like myself really don't mind the name calling if their witness will save even one person from hell fire.
Catholic Catachism #970 "Mary's function as mother of men in no way obscures or diminishes this unique mediation of Christ, but rather shows its power. But the Blessed Virgin's salutary influence on men . . . flows forth from the superabundance of the merits of Christ, rests on his mediation, depends entirely on it, and draws all its power from it." 513 "No creature could ever be counted along with the Incarnate Word and Redeemer; but just as the priesthood of Christ is shared in various ways both by his ministers and the faithful, and as the one goodness of God is radiated in different ways among his creatures, so also the unique mediation of the Redeemer does not exclude but rather gives rise to a manifold cooperation which is but a sharing in this one source." 514
I hope that people can see the double-speak here. In the same sentence you have the mutually exclusive words of "unique" on the one hand, and on the other hand you have words like "sharing" and "cooperation". Basically they say that the uniqueness of Jesus' Mediatorship does not exclude Mary! How can it be unique if it is shared? Scriptures please?
This kind of word game, hair splitting definition makes little difference to the common man praying to Mary as "Mediatrix" .... A title exclusive to Jesus. It is from the Devil. It's purpose is to cause the retraction/nullification/rejection of the New Contract (Testament), and to take the "believer" to hell to pay for his sins himself instead of having Jesus pay for them instead of him doing it.
"God will not be mocked"; just ask Korah, Dathan and Abiram who are in hell right now paying for their own sins since they chose to alter the exclusive mediatorship of Moses and thus nullify the contract of their salvation.
But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. - Galatians 1: 8