Reddit reviews The Battle for God: A History of Fundamentalism (Ballantine Reader's Circle)

Luther was not a fundamentalist; he was the founder of Protestantism. Fundamentalism arose later from Protestantism and Catholicism, in the 1900s. There's an excellent history of the movement if you'd like to take the time to read it: https://www.amazon.com/Battle-God-History-Fundamentalism-Ballantine-ebook/dp/B005DB6NCA The first Fundamentalist was Sister Aimee Semple who had a storefront church in LA in the early twentieth century.

Fundamentalists look down on both mainstream Protestants and Catholics alike, as well as Jews, Muslims, Bahais, etc.., etc.. They believe that they communicate directly with God and that God acts in their lives and they have "the gifts of the Spirit" and can create miracles in their every day life. God talks to them directly (and I mean this quite literally for many of them; some of them, including my father, will tell you that God speaks out loud to them).

IBLP is a special, weird little sect/cult based on one man, Bill Gothard, but a lot of their beliefs (woman submits to man, women must dress ultra modestly, remove yourself from the world and only concern yourself with Godly things, etc.) are common in fundamentalism.

Juan Cole is a good place to start.

An old one, but VERY useful is Sir John Bagot Glubb's A Short History of the Arab Peoples. He lived among the bedouin of the Arabian Peninsula and became fluent in Arabic. Plus he is a good writer. https://www.amazon.com/Short-History-Arab-Peoples/dp/0880292261/ref=sr_1_4?crid=14EK2682K6QSK&keywords=john+glubb&qid=1558423559&s=books&sprefix=john+glubb%2Caps%2C309&sr=1-4

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I would also recommend Karen Armstrong - anything by her. But The Battle for God: A History of Fundamentalism is fascinating. https://www.amazon.com/Battle-God-History-Fundamentalism-Ballantine-ebook/dp/B005DB6NCA/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=battle+for+god&qid=1558423715&s=books&sr=1-1

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Best of luck! Hope this helps.

In The Battle for God the author points out that the virgin birth was one of the five fundamental beliefs described by the Evangelical preachers to say what a person must believe in order to be a Christian.