The key is personal responsibility. We are responsible for our own actions, and it is up to us to make amends for any wrong we have done to another human. No amount of apologizing to an invisible man in the sky can replace actually apologizing to a person you have injured.

So the view of the bible is a pretty good dividing line, I think.

I see where you were going with this, but I am not too sure if I agree. I only say this because we are speaking about terms and concepts that are not only vague, but are terms that evolve over a very short period of time and vary from place to place (“evangelical,” “fundamentalist,” “pentecostal”).

The main reason I disagree with using the view of the Bible as a dividing line is that “authority,” “inerrant” and “inspired” are all themselves vague terms that every individual takes to mean wildly different things than others that classify themselves under the same Christian label. Not only this, two fundamentalist Christians might agree that the Bible is the “inerrant” word of God, yet neither even attempts to follow it as such (whatever that would mean). Additionally, I would place a bet that 80% of people in any of the three categories stated could not name the majority of the books in the New Testament.

What is a fundamentalist anyway? In my book, a fundamentalist is one who believes that the Bible is the divinely inspired, inerrant word of God, with eternal authority.

There are a lot of definitions, probably the most accurate being the person who holds to the fundamentals published in a booklet around the turn of the last century, when fundamentalism was born as a reaction to the higher criticism of the bible that began and flourished in the 19th century.

For my money, the best way to define a fundamentalist is as one who holds to an inerrant, literal reading of the bible. Many evangelicals fall into this category, certainly all/many Pentecostals do also.

More liberal Christians acknowledge that the bible is a product of people, perhaps inspired by god, but not inerrant and not to be taken literally (as in Genesis, Revelation, etc).

So the view of the bible is a pretty good dividing line, I think.

I am not “God,” and I am not claiming final authority in what I say. They’re just my opinions–but I am sticking with them.

I have never met a Pentecostal that wasn’t a fundamentalist, have you?

What is a fundamentalist anyway? In my book, a fundamentalist is one who believes that the Bible is the divinely inspired, inerrant word of God, with eternal authority.

A person who has Christ at the centre of their marriage is a fundamentalist, because it is a Bible-based doctrine.

That’s my opinion and my sticking with it.

Anybody who speaks about having Christ at the centre of their marriage IS a fundamentalist.

I don’t think that’s fair. I think a lot of evangelical, Pentecostal and other born-again Christians who are not technically fundamentalists would also say something like this.

I for one have not “hardened my heart” against Christ. (I really hate Christian jargon.) But I no longer believe that Christ is a living, supernatural being. He’s a mythological figure, perhaps based on a real human who lived around 2000 years ago.

I never would have chosen to leave my faith behind, but I outgrew it. And looking back, I find that the whole born-again experience stunted my growth and kept me in a very immature state. It was totally unhealthy. I think that’s true for many other born-again Christians although most can’t see it because they are sitting through self-brainwashing sessions every Sunday to keep them from exploring their doubts and growing through the process.

I have a great marriage and God has no part in it whatsoever. Sharing my love for my husband with God would not strengthen my marriage in any way.

Yes, you are the fundamentalist type, Laura. Anybody who speaks about having Christ at the centre of their marriage IS a fundamentalist.

Non-fundamentalist Christians use religion as a social club. Most don’t let the Bible, Jesus, or the church bother their marriages. The non-fundamentalists fall in the category of hypocrites, and you aren’t a hypocrite. You seem very sincere in and devoted to what you believe.

Certainly you can pray. We all understand that as well. Been there, done that. Just because we have left Christianity does not mean we are uncaring, unkind people. Just because we have left Christianity does not mean our marriages all of a sudden fall apart.

Throwing Christ in our face, as you put it, is nothing new either. I happens all the time and I dare say, a lot of us here would have done exactly what you have done here, when we were Christians. I certainly understand what you are saying and doing. And yes, all Christians are not alike.