I've struggled for some time to find the right term for a true Christian to be distinct from other so called Christians of various beliefs (non-creationists, etc.) and faiths (eg, Catholics, etc.). I've thought of the term Nazarene Christian since it reflects the early Christians that are most closely aligned to the true teachings of Christ due to their proximity in time and location. Now that I've seen you refer to the phrase "Bible believing Christian", I'll use that term as it's more palatable in today’s culture. After all, the Bible is our only written and visible authoritative source of the truth. Thank you.

Jack C's comment implying that all Catholics believe in evolution is wrong, as I am a Catholic and like many of my fellow Catholics, are committed Creationists who are trying to uphold the traditional teachings of the Church, which clearly accepts the biblical account of Creation. We as Catholics, like the various Protestant denominations, have a great divide between traditional and liberal beliefs and at the moment the liberals tend to hold the upper hand in what is taught and preached to the members of the Church. Hopefully with the invaluable work done by CMI and other Creationist ministries we can overtime present to the World the Truth of God’s Word.

A godly term for the faith that is God-breathed and approved by Him --"the faith once for all entrusted to the saints" (Jude 3) by our Lord Jesus Christ and His apostles -- is "your most holy faith" (Jude 20)!

YOUR MOST HOLY FAITH, Christendom, like the One who gave it through ones Jesus personally trained, most of whom died for it, is "the same, yesterday, today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8)!

Excellent article. I am perfectly happy to describe myself - and other Christians who accept the entire Bible to be the flawless Word of God - as "Bible-believing Christians". I would, however, wish to make some additional points.

(1) Not all of the articles in the "The Fundamentals" were written specially for the series. At least one was republished from other sources. I refer to an article by the first Anglican Bishop of Liverpool in England, the Right Rev. John Charles Ryle (1820?-1900, the title of one of whose books explains itself: "KNOTS UNTIED, being plain statements on disputed points in religion from the standpoint of an Evangelical Churchman." [I quote the title from memory, but it had a massive impact on my thinking in my teens and twenties, c. 1960-1970)].

(2) Another correspondent - who also seems satified with the term "Bible believing Christian" - said he had been thinking of using the term "Nazarene Christian". He may not be aware of the fact that there is a denomination called "the Church of the Nazarene", sometimes referred to as "the Nazarene Church". I have friends in that Church and do not wish to criticise it; I merely make the point that this is one of many terms for all Christians which are no longer suitable to describe all believers due to a near monopoly established by some one denomination.

(3)I agree that the term "fundamentalist"

seems to have become unsuited as a general term for "Bible believing Christians", but there may still be a place for it IF it can be carefully defined. I suggest that it may still be the best term for a minority of Bible believing Christians, whom I would describe - for want of a better definition - as "strict ultra-conservative Evangelical Protestants." Writing in the 1980s from a Pentecostal-Charismatic position (in his book POWER EVANGELISM?), the late Pastor John Wimber described four types of North American Evangelicals:(a)Pentecostals, who belong to denominations holding certain views of the work and Gifts of the Holy Spirit; (b)Charismatics, who hold broadly similar views but who belong to non-Pentecostal denominations; (c) Conservative Evangelicals, who tend to be open-minded on the Spiritual Gifts;

(d)Fundamentalists,(properly so-called) who normally regard Spiritual Gifts as "not for today" and therefore possibly as demonic.

I understand that similar divisions between these four groups may exist on other questions: e.g. Pentecostals and Charismatics often feel quite at home in the company of "Catholic Charismatics", whereas the "Fundamentalists" regard any appearance of fellowship with Roman Catholics as Satanic. The Conservative Evangelicals would again be divided on how far to go in such matters. (Pentecostals and Charismatics often take the view that where there are signs of the Spirit at work in other individual Christians of any denomination those other Christians must be regarded as their brothers and sisters, even if non-Charismatics of that other denomination might not be so regarded.)

Whatever my own views, I think I have tried to present fairly the views of each of these four types of Evangelicals. I would add that, since Wimber wrote, other types of Evangelicals may have emerged that do not fit neatly into these four: e.g. some would consider Messianic Jews as a fifth category!

May the Lord bless the work of CMI and other creationist organisations,

Yours in Jesus the Messiah,

R. Seathrún Mac Éin

Thank you Russel for an excellent revelation on how the term "fundementalist" has become something of an expletive these days. I think Christians who do not enjoy everything written in Holy Scripture have also helped to turn this designation into an expletive. I loved my brother's term "Nazarene Christian" and Bible believing Christian says it as it is! I personally use Holy Scripture believing Christian. There may be many alternative terms for us but I think the only term for those who do not believe the truth of Holy Scripture is blasphemy

Doesn't Hugh Ross of Reasons to Believe, a progressive creationist, consider himself and his followers "Bible-believing Christians"? What is lacking in the teaching of Christ and His prophets and apostles? Do we really have to come up with something new? Paul says there is but "one faith" (Ephesians 4:5). Jude urges us "to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints" (Jude 3) which he identifies as "your most holy faith" (Jude 20). Such is the faith of the Word of God, which "is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens" (Psalm 119:89).