The Sermon That Derailed American Christianity

[Matthew6:33]

Quick American Church History Lesson:

20 minute teaching on an early 20th century sermon "Shall the Fundamentalists Win?" by Harry Emerson Fosdick that changed the landscape of the American Church by opening the doors to compromise.

If you are a "fundamentalist" and you believe in the inspiration of scripture, virgin birth, blood atonement, 2nd coming, and Diety of Christ, you need to watch this.

The Sermon That Derailed American Christianity

 

[mattfivefour]

In point 3 of his sermon Shall The Fundamentalists Win? Reverend Fossick says, in reference to the fundamentalists: "Doubtless there have been among them reckless radicals gifted with intellectual ingenuity but lacking spiritual depth." To me this is pure irony, in that it is Reverend Fosdick who was lacking true spiritual depth. He chose to jettison the faith once delivered and replaced it with a faith that compromised with those of other views. His version of the faith was not anchored on scripture, but rather balanced upon human views.

That all said, I'm not sure I agree that this sermon derailed American Christianity. Rather I think it merely gave voice to the rebellion against God's Word that already existed in America at that time. Rather than being the cause of what has happened in American "Christianity" since, I think Reverend Fosdick's sermon was merely a billboard for it. It became the banner for those who felt compromise with the world's views and standards was necessary for Christianity to flourish. It was the answer of those without true spiritual depth who thought that ancient Bible truths could not stand in the light of modern scientific knowledge.

 

[Matthew6:33]

He chose to jettison the faith once delivered and replaced it with a faith that compromised with those of other views.​

He was a heretic. His early belief in evolution, "theistic evolution" caused him to turn from the sufficiency of scripture and the Truth of the Bible as the Word of God.

I will let his own words from the 7th paragraph in Shall the Fundamentalists Win? speak for itself:
​

It is interesting to note where the Fundamentalists are driving in their stakes to mark out the deadline of doctrine around the church, across which no one is to pass except on terms of agreement. They insist that we must all believe in the historicity of certain special miracles, preeminently the virgin birth of our Lord; that we must believe in a special theory of inspiration—that the original documents of the Scripture, which of course we no longer possess, were inerrantly dictated to men a good deal as a man might dictate to a stenographer; that we must believe in a special theory of the Atonement—that the blood of our Lord, shed in a substitutionary death, placates an alienated Deity and makes possible welcome for the returning sinner; and that we must believe in the second coming of our Lord upon the clouds of heaven to set up a millennium here, as the only way in which God can bring history to a worthy denouement. Such are some of the stakes which are being driven to mark a deadline of doctrine around the church.​

I find it interesting at the end of the paragraph he states "our lord" because all of this is definitely not the doctrine of the Lord Jesus Christ or His Word. This is the doctrine of the antichrist.

​

 

[Growing in Grace]

Quick American Church History Lesson:

20 minute teaching on an early 20th century sermon "Shall the Fundamentalists Win?" by Harry Emerson Fosdick that changed the landscape of the American Church by opening the doors to compromise.

If you are a "fundamentalist" and you believe in the inspiration of scripture, virgin birth, blood atonement, 2nd coming, and Diety of Christ, you need to watch this.

The Sermon That Derailed American Christianity

I LOVE this bit of American church history, thanks for posting this!

Now we're known as 'fundamentalists' and here's roughly a list of the Five Fundamentals:
"The five Fundamental points are:

1. The inerrancy of the Bible
2. The virgin birth of Christ
3. Christ’s substitutionary atonement
4. Christ’s bodily resurrection
5. The authenticity of Christ’s miracles

Other Christian groups adapted the five points with point two often becoming the deity of Christ rather than his virgin birth.

Many lists ended with Christ’s premillennial second coming, instead of his miracles, as the fifth point.

By the 1920s the five points had become called the five fundamentals and had become a rallying cry for conservative Christians across a broad spectrum."
Source:Harry Emerson Fosdick – Old Life

I'm digging into my memory on some facts related to this big church split. The fundamentals were required for admission into the Ivy League Presbyterian Universities and for pastors.

In the late 1800s the Presbyterian church had committed to donating to new buildings, churches, allowing them to centralize and amass donations. Initially is was a tremendous help for rural communities, and a very practical way to bring European architecture to the rugged US. Also in the late 1800s we had two heresies emerge in Europe: Darwinism and Higher criticism.

Two big fans of Fosdick were Pearl Buck (she denied Jesus' virgin birth) and the Rockefeller family. They helped the firestorm that Fosdick started to cause a substantial split where 'fundamentalists' would eventually lose all universities, churches, and property.

 

[Batman]

I've asked several fundamentalists what the 5 fundamentals are and they cannot tell me. I probably was in that group many years ago and even now I can rattle them off and accident miss one.

 

[Everlasting Life]

Also in the late 1800s we had two heresies emerge in Europe: Darwinism and Higher criticism.

Yes, and that was imported from Europe that went through its heresies in the late 1700's and early 1800's.

In the late 1800's was the start of seminaries gradually going south as well. Shows the longterm effects of decisions and moving away from good theology.

Thankfully, along the way God's been faithfull to continue to raise up other entities to continue in sharing His Truth.