{"id":135,"date":"2004-05-04T23:37:00","date_gmt":"2004-05-04T23:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/2004\/05\/define_fundamen.shtml"},"modified":"2021-05-29T02:48:44","modified_gmt":"2021-05-29T02:48:44","slug":"define_fundamen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/2004\/05\/define_fundamen.shtml","title":{"rendered":"Define ‘Fundamental’."},"content":{"rendered":"

I’m finally getting back to the subject of fundamentals that I started a while back. Reading back over my two<\/a> posts<\/a> and the associated comments, I’ve realized that I have some explaining to do. First is to give some back ground on why I feel the need to explore this topic. There’s a several month history behind this that I ought to articulate. Although I’ve touched on it a couple of times, I’ll save the complete story for another day.
\nThe second thing, and the subject of this post is to define ‘fundamental’. I realized that I threw the word out without really defining it in this context. I learned from radio talk show host Mark Scott<\/a> in Detroit that one of the things one must do in any debate is to define your terms. (Once on 1270 AM, Mark is now heard only on the internet. If you’re going to go listen, be forewarned – Mark is well right of center, unabashedly libertarian actually. I found his reasoning ability and methods excellent.) So when I said, ” We ought to fight for unity on the essentials and let the rest fall where it may. ” how do I define ‘essential’ or ‘fundamental’ or ‘foundational’?
\nFirst some dictionary definition excerpts from dictionary.com<\/a>:
\nEssential<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\nAdj.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Constituting or being part of the essence of something; inherent.<\/li>\n
  2. Basic or indispensable; necessary<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    n.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Something fundamental. <\/li>\n
    2. Something necessary or indispensable.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/blockquote>\n

      Fundamental<\/a>:<\/p>\n

      \nAdj.<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Of or relating to the foundation or base; elementary.<\/li>\n
      2. Forming or serving as an essential component of a system or structure; central<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        n.<\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Something that is an essential or necessary part of a system or object.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/blockquote>\n

          Foundational<\/a>:<\/p>\n

          \nAdjective form of Foundation:
          \nn.<\/p>\n

            \n
          1. The basis on which a thing stands, is founded, or is supported.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/blockquote>\n

            So the ‘foundations’ of Christianity would be, by definition, those things that make up it’s essence, that define it. They are inherent in it, indispensable and necessary. The implication is that if you take one of these things away, you may have something that looks like Christianity, but is not. It is missing part of the essence the thing. So if we’re to find the fundamentals, we need to be sure what we get is truly the essence. With out it, Christianity would be something different. They are “The basis on which [it] stands, is founded, or is supported.”
            \nHaving the definition doesn’t help us agree on what they are, although it should help us evaluate what we find. But even the search for ‘fundamentals’ can be problematic. My friend Virusdoc took minor offense (or at least displeasure) at the term ‘fundamental’, relating too closely to the fundamentalist movement in Christianity, which he is not too fond of. But I think that regardless of whether you acknowledge it or not, your Christianity is founded on something, some sort of fundamentals. So whether you choose to call yourself a ‘fundamentalist’ matters little, there is still something, some core that supports your faith.
            \nIn the comments here, he also challenged my use of the Bible as the only source for that foundation. He encouraged me to look at other sources as well. I’ll admit to a personal bias here, but that concept is hard to consider. While I’ve gotten much inspiration and knowledge from other sources – books, preachers, seminars, friends, blogs, forums – I have always compared those things to the Bible. Why is that? Part is upbringing. I was taught to do that. But there is also a principle at work here. Jesus spoke of how we build our spiritual house, He told us not to be careful of how we build the house itself, but to pay careful attention to the foundation. In Matthew 7:24-27 He says that to build your life on his words is to build on a secure foundation. To not build on his words is to build on sand. We find his words in the Bible (An interesting question that I’m not prepared to answer right now is, Should our fundamentals only come from Jesus’ words and not the rest of scripture? Perhaps so, but that’s a debate for another post.) The Bible is not subject to man’s whim. It is like bedrock: solid, secure, stable and unmovable. The opinions of men, even well thought out and agreed upon by many, are like sand, clay and dirt: they can shift and squirm. Today’s revelation or inspiration may be out of fashion tomorrow, but Jesus’ words will always be true.
            \nHopefully you can see the danger of adding in too much to the foundation. If everything is foundational, then you have nothing left to build the building. The Empire State Building, the Sears Tower, even your own home are mostly not<\/i> foundation. In fact the foundation is the least attractive part of most buildings. Who wants to live or work in the basement? Who enjoys getting down into a crawl space? But without it, the ‘attractive’ parts of the building would be in danger of collapse.
            \nHave you ever looked at the NYC skyline and wondered why there seems to be two ‘downtowns’ where the building heights soar, one at the tip of Manhattan and one about midway up the island? It has nothing to do with property values or social demographics and everything to do with bedrock. In these two areas the bedrock is much closer to the surface making it easier to get to and therefore easier and cheaper to build tall buildings. See, architects and civil engineers know that in order to build something great, you must look for the right foundation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            I’m finally getting back to the subject of fundamentals that I started a while back. Reading back over my two posts and the associated comments, I’ve realized that I haveRead More Define ‘Fundamental’.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nDefine 'Fundamental'. - salguod.net<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/2004\/05\/define_fundamen.shtml\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Define 'Fundamental'. - salguod.net\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I’m finally getting back to the subject of fundamentals that I started a while back. 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