The Christian Fundamentalism-Liberalism Controversy of the Early 1900s (Ep. 29)

How did most of the so-called Protestant denominations
become the anti-Christian groups of progressives they are today? Where did all that start, and how did the evangelical denominations and groups of today get separated from the liberal mainline groups? What were their disagreements over
in the beginning, and how did Christian organizations even get to the point of embracing humanistic, naturalistic, and materialistic beliefs? You’ll find all that out in this episode.
Chris and Casey are back together to discuss the rise of biblical higher criticism, liberalism, evolutionism, and anti-supernaturalism within the most influential American Protestant groups of the early 1900s. Beginning with the influence of higher criticism in theological schools in the 19th century, they survey some of the main events in the infiltration of evangelical organizations with non-Christian ideas about the Bible, Jesus, and salvation. By the 1910s, American Protestant leaders and schools had gotten so bad, that there was a major effort on the part of the conservative "fundamentalists" to speak against this corruption of biblical Christianity.
The overview focuses on 3 main phases of this controversy:
1. The rise of Fundamentalism through the publishing of The Fundamentals, and the formation of fundamentalist societies, denominations, and schools. (1910s-1920)
2. The fight within denominations between the fundamentalists and liberals, especially within Presbyterianism, as well as the branching off of more progressive fundamentalists, who accused the movement of obsessing over doctrine at the expense of unity and evangelism. (1920-1930s)
3. The final split from Fundamentalism of a new movement of biblical Christians known as "neo-evangelicals" or later "evangelicals," most prominently through the leadership of Harold Ockenga and Charles Fuller, who founded Fuller Theological Seminary. (1940s)
Notable people mentioned for this period are Charles Briggs, Lyman Stewart, Harry Emerson Fosdick, J. Gresham Machen, Karl Barth, and Billy Sunday.
As usual, Chris and Casey end by discussing the contemporary relevance for Christians today, including being diligent Bible students, viewing pastors with a biblical perspective, and guarding against conforming our thinking and beliefs to the world's ideas.
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Resources Used for This Episode:
10 Key Events: Fundamentalism and Evangelicalism in 20th Century America (www.thegospelc...)
Liberal Theology - The Gospel Coalition (www.thegospelc...)
The Untold Story of The Fundamentals - Biola Magazine - Biola University (www.biola.edu/...)
Keep looking for the King's hand in everything, and proclaim His awesome deeds!