Is subscription to Biblical inerrency fundamentalist ? : the use and abuse of American Lutheran history

Ever since the rise of American Fundamentalism early in this century, there has been a tendency to attribute to that Fundamentalism all beliefs which correspond to its principles. In particular, it has become common-place to identify belief in the inerrancy of Scripture as Fundamentalist. This tendency has characterized the critics of Evangelical Protestantism generally. It has also characterized the critics of conservative American Lutheranism. Now, it is true that Fundamentalism had an influence on all of American Protestantism, as both conservative and liberal elements of each church body reacted to Fundamentalist teachings. And it is also true that conservative Lutherans were distinctly sympathetic to the Fundamentalist insistence on Biblical inerrancy. But what is at issue is the accuracy of repeatedly attributing to Fundamentalism all contemporary subscriptions to the inerrancy of the Bible. To a degree this is a debate about terminology and to another degree it is a debate about doctrine. But in either case it is a debate about the use and abuse of church history