Christainity today is dominated by two opposing poles, liberalism
and fundamentalism. Actually these two poles were not originally
very far apart. First, lets explain meaning and history of these
two elements of chrisitanity.
Protestant liberalism originated in the 17th century as a reaction to the oppressive religious conditions in Europe where christianity had become a tool of politics and government. In the tradition of ancient Israel the monarchies of Europe justified their hold on power by a philosophy of divine appointment. This made religion and politics inseperable, marrying religious belief to national loyalty. The result was that any deviations from the approved expression of christian devotion was ruthlessly squashed. Meawhile the play of dirty politics which subverted spiritual interests for political reasons and the growing absurdity of the interference by the church in the development of the science, led to a complete loss of confidence in the divine authority of both the church and the whole system of monarchy.
Fundamentalism is a recurring trend in christianity which calls believers back to an emphasis on what is considered the fundamentals of Christianity. The most universal of these fundamentals are the emphasis on the authority of the Bible and the atoning sacrifice of Christ. Fundamentalist movements arise when the body of christianity comes to feel that its leadership has been led so far astray that the Bible and the role of Christ is no longer taken seriously. The most recent of these fundamentalist trends was brought about by the acceptance of the “theory of evolution” and its growing impact on both philosophy and theology. However, the Protestant revolution itself exhibits the characteristics of a fundamentalist movement.
The basic idea behind christian minimalism, as I am defining it, is that what we truly and honestly know for certain is very little indeed and most what we believe is simply idle opion and speculation that we certainly wouldn't "stake our salvation on," or to put it another way, we would hardly argue face to face with the living God if he contradicted us concerning the majority of our beliefs. Acknowledging this fact the christian minimalist commits himself only to those tenets of christianity which express the root of his own faith, and in everything else, hedges his opinions with a plea of ignorance.
The motivation for defining this approach to christianity stems largely from an understanding and deep respect for both trends of liberalism and fundamentalism in christianity. In liberalism we see the willingness to find new expressions of our christian ideas and commitments in a changing world so that christianity remains effective, alive and relevant. In fundamentalism we see the commitment to keep the core essential message and inspiration of christianity from its beginnings alive. However each has its darker side which repels the other. Liberalism too often goes to the extreme of saying that anything goes and that christianity means whatever we want it to mean, which eventually means that it loses any meaning altogether. Fundamentalism too often becomes so conservative that its endless repetitions of Biblical phrases sounds like the brainwashed drone of marching zombies. Yet, liberalism is essential because as sinful human beings we are often unable to correctly distinguish between religious conservatism, which protects the real meaning of christianity, and cultural conservatism which is responsible for endless instances of injustice. But, fundamentalism is also essential because as sinful human beings we have the habit of altering the truth to justify all of our other sinful habits. I believe that the stark separation of these two poles has been quite harmful to both sides. I think that liberal christianity has lost most of its inspiration and that fundamental christianity has become "out of place" in the free society in which we live.
As a christian I feel myself a bit torn between these two poles
myself. On the one hand I feel committed to more liberal christian
ideas and attitudes in society at large, on the other hand only fundamentalist
style worship fulfills my spiritual needs. Thus I have been forced
to find reconcilliation in the approach which I have called "Christian
Minimalism." My own minimalism is an adherence to the "fundamentals"
of christianity in the sole authority of the bible and the atoning sacrifice
of Jesus (for elaboration see "What I see in Christianity" in alt.religion.christianity),
while puting all my other beliefs including everything concerning the interpretation
of the Bible and views concerning evolution in the opinion category.