This booklet is mainly a treatise of a book I purchased at the Catholic bookstore. It is entitled, Fundamentalism: A Pastoral Concern. Their attack of fundamentalism is premised on the most unfair arguments possible. Please note the following reasons they give for anyone being a fundamentalist Christian:

"Fundamentalism is a social problem." (Fundamentalism, A Pastoral Concern by Eugene LaVerdiere, published by The Liturgical Press, p. 12.)

In the face of "social instability, cultural transformations, demographic dislocations, and sweeping changes ... a large segment of the human population is bound to suffer from enormous insecurity." (Ibid., p. 13.)

"Unable to cope with such instability, many turn to the absolute authority of a divine Word that they grasp in a fundamentalist way." (Ibid.)

"Second, we note that fundamentalism is most rampant among the poor, in depressed areas, and among those who have seen nearly every fact of life change and who find themselves struggling to find a stable footing in life." (Ibid.)

"It should not surprise us to find fundamentalists in populations of poor immigrants for whom church structures in the land to which they have immigrated are inadequate." (Ibid.)

If that is not enough to insult you beyond measure then go buy this book at your local Catholic bookstore. Some of the most intelligent, well-adjusted human beings in the world are Bible-believing fundamental Christians. To use that kind of rhetoric is insulting, degrading, and evil. This gives you a picture of what Roman Catholicism thinks about anyone that is not under their wings of control. This is the spirit that prompted the death and martyrdom of hundreds of thousands of godly saints during the unchecked reign of the Catholic Church over several hundred years.

A Catholic Description of Fundamentalists
The author of this attack against fundamentalists gives a very accurate description of what we believe and why we reject their doctrines of additions and their mystics and the mysticism they have added to the Roman Catholic Church. Look at these descriptions quoted directly from this book,

"Fundamentalism is a theological challenge. To understand the theological nature of Christian fundamentalism and to situate its challenge, it is important first to describe it theologically.

First, it should be pointed out that for fundamentalists the biblical word is seen as an absolute, as a reality in itself whose statement is clear and unchanging. It is not relative to the understanding of those who hear it in varying cultural and historical contexts. As a result, it does not require interpretation. In a sense fundamentalism is not a kind of interpretation but a denial of the need and legitimacy of interpretation. It presupposes that the word can be immediately grasped by all." (Ibid., pp. 8-9.)

"Second, the fundamentalist views the biblical word as the absolute point of departure for knowing the truth in faith. The Scriptures, however, both in their origins and in their traditional role in the Church, presuppose a life experience of God and faith. Life and faith come first. For the Israelites and the early Christians, the Scriptures formulated life and faith and inspired those who share them to grow religiously as they faced history's challenges. The same has been true in the Church's tradition, and this is how the Church presents the Scriptures today. For the fundamentalist, the biblical word comes first. Life and faith follow. This approach leaves little or no room for development in revelation. For fundamentalists the scriptural word does not represent a quest for understanding in which faith reaches for God and progressively opens itself to revelation." (Ibid., p. 9.)

"Third, a fundamentalist stance views the biblical word as a divine word, which it is. It also stresses the divinity of Jesus as the Son of God. In doing so, however, it practically denies the humanity of the word and has no emphasis on Jesus' humanity. Like Jesus, the biblical word is both fully human and fully divine . . . Failure to appreciate the humanity of the divine word sometimes has terrible consequences, as we see today in some parts of the Moslem world, which also has its fundamentalists. When human beings act on a word that they judge to be purely divine, they may engage in actions which common sense and decency label as inhuman. With a lopsided view of the divinity of the word, we can easily think of ourselves as divine, and our divine word becomes an inhuman word." (Ibid., pp. 9-10.)

"Fourth, fundamentalist interpretation is often associated with an apocalyptic view of history. This is so often the case that fundamentalism and apocalyptic attitudes are almost inseparable in the mind of many. Contemporary apocalyptic attitudes find little or no hope in the created world. So permeated by evil, the world is not redeemable. It consequently focuses sharply on the cataclysmic end of the world in divine judgment." (Ibid., pp. 10-11.)

What a wonderful picture of us fundamentalist Christians. Let me respond to each of these assertions individually. If you need to, please go back and read their statements before you read my assertions. These four solid principles show how far apart Catholicism is from fundamentalism and why fundamentalism is authentic Christianity.

First: This author gave as their first problem with fundamentalists the following, "It should be pointed out that for fundamentalists the biblical word is seen as an absolute, as a reality in itself whose statement is clear and unchanging." (Ibid., p. 8.) What a marvelous statement about Bible-believing Christians! I stand accused with joy and great delight. The Bible is the final word. No one has the right to depart from Scripture or to teach one word as truth that is not totally true to the whole Word of God. John the Revelator settled this, "For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book." (Revelation 22:18-19)

This forever settles that Roman Catholicism is nothing but the traditions of apostate popes, mystical nuns, and doctrines of devils. Who can prove one of these strange ideas and document that they came from the Holy Spirit's revelations? The ideas that are about the Virgin Mary are so far from Biblical facts and completely in harmony with the Babylonian goddesses. One has but to study the doctrines of Inanna, Isis, Diana, or one of the many other goddesses that descended from Inanna to see the same systems of thought.

Second: The second problem this author gives for their understanding of fundamentalism is very closely connected to the first. Mr. LaVerdiere wrote, "The fundamentalist views the biblical word as the absolute point of departure for knowing the truth in faith." (Ibid., p. 9.) He then makes his case for the Bible being only a foundation of partial truth from which the church voices have perfect right to interpret, add to, and perfect. It's easy to see that the one real difference between Bible-believers and the Roman Catholic Church is the question, "What is truth?" Does the Roman Catholic Church have truth or does the Bible have truth?

This cannot be a hard question. The history of the Roman Catholic Church is the best source to answer their question. There is not one strange doctrine in the Word of God. The Word of God produced a pure church for over two hundred years. They literally changed the face of the earth in a beautiful fashion. When the early church was hijacked by the Roman government and merged with Babylonian concepts, it became a vicious institution of whoredom, murder, greed, and sorrow. To say less would be an untruth. Read "Book of Martyrs" by John Foxe or "A Woman Rides the Beast" by Dave Hunt.

Third: Again, the problem is our view of the Word of God vs. Catholic doctrines. Mr. LaVerdiere said, "A fundamentalist stance views the biblical word as a divine word, which it is. It also stresses the divinity of Jesus as the Son of God. In doing so, however, it practically denies the humanity of the word and has no emphasis on Jesus' humanity." (Ibid., p. 9.) To the Catholic mind, the Bible is reduced in the same way they see the humanity of Jesus. Jesus, according to the Catholics, had to have a co-redeemer in Mary because His humanity was less than the Bible-believers know Him to have been. To the Catholic mind, Jesus' humanity was almost void of divinity, and they believe that even His body was actually put back piece by piece by Mary and angels that she commanded. To a Bible-believer, this is blasphemy.

That view of Mary is carried over to the Word of God. To a Catholic, the Word of God is human instead of absolute. If it is human, then it is imperfect; and the Catholic popes, priests, and nuns can interpret, perfect, add to, take away from the Word of God at their own whim. And one major problem is when a pope declares any idea as official, no other pope can later deny one word because the pope, even those that were homosexuals or had secret wives and/or children, could not be less than perfect in every word they officially declared. What a system to have to defend!

Fourth: The last problem addressed about fundamentalism also connects to the authority of Scripture. Mr. LaVerdiere stated, "Fundamentalist interpretation is often associated with an apocalyptic view of history." (Ibid., p. 10.) The problem here is our view of the End Times, such as the Rapture, the Seven Years of Tribulation, and Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ on this earth. The Catholic doctrines have preempted the kingdom away from Jesus Christ, and they have declared themselves the source of the kingdom. From the early days of the Roman Catholic Church, they developed a theology of Kingdom Now or an earthly kingdom under the powers of the Church. This same deception has carried over into much of Protestantism because Martin Luther, John Calvin, and other Protestants never completely broke with some Catholic beliefs.

Fundamentalists take every part of Scripture as being pure and absolute. The Biblical teaching of prophecy is just as absolute as every other Word of Scripture. The church is a spiritual entity, with a local and a worldwide responsibility. It is not a government over the secular governments of the world. The Catholic Church believes that they and they alone have the right to police and rule the world and have often done so to the sorrow of the people under their feet. They will do this one more time, but it will be their last. The coming One World Order will have its religious One World Religion and the powers of Rome will be at the top.

Conclusion
It's thrilling to know that the Word of God was not and is not a human book. The Holy Ghost gave every word, and it was perfect and complete from the beginning. "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." (II Timothy 3:16) "For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven." (Psalm 119:89). "Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." (II Peter 1:21)

The one difference between fundamentalists and Catholics is the Holy Bible. Their Bible is human and can be corrected and enlarged; and it has been many, many times. Every strange doctrine of the Catholic Church is part of their human Bible that they have enlarged and even corrected. Bible-believers are committed to the absolute Word of God that is pure and perfect. No one has the right to add to or subtract from it one word. Remember, you will be judged by this Book that is forever settled in Heaven. At the judgment, if you present your earthly Bible as your argument you will be found guilty. The rest will be tears and sorrow forever.