Henry - A History of Biola University Since 1908

103 Torrey, Dean of Biola and pastor of the Church of the Open Door. Also, in the four years Dr. Sutherland became acquainted with Biola, which was in the same building with the Church. ~--- .. -~--~ยท- After graduation from Occidental College Dr. Sutherland worked for one year in the Pasadena YMCA Boys Division, and then entered Princeton Seminary in the fall of 1924. During the formative years of his Princeton period he had two important experiences which provided a doctrinal foundation for the life-long career in the ministry . One of these meaningful experiences came as he was exposed to the teaching of some of the outstanding theolog- ians of his day, including Drs. J. Greshem Machen, Robert Dick Wilson, John Davis, Casper Hodge, and others. Such teaching played a major role in Sam Sutherland's theological ministry as did the inten~e battle over the issue of modernism versus fundamentalism. Modernism, which embraced the false theology being taught in the European universities and seminaries, denied the basic doctrines of the faith on which most of the old-line denominations had been built. As a result many denominational churches, refusing to accept this modern theology, but desiring fundamental training for their young people, turned to another movement which was sweeping across America, the Bible Institute movement. Among those schools were :Moody, Biola, and others, designed to equip young people as ministers and for other.: Christian service. When Dr. Sutherland was caught up in the theological war of the 1920's and 1930's, he cast his lot with the fundamentalists, for one reason because he was influenced by Dr. G. Greshem Machen, who, without doubt, was one of America's outstanding Greek scholars of that day and a strong leader in the funda~entalist camp . Dr. Machen deserves credit for recruiting many young theological scholars, like Dr. Sutherland, to continue the battle. Besides these events, another important one which played a most import- ant role in Dr. Sutherland's life occurred in his senior year at Princeton Seminary. In the fall of 1925, a friend and classmate brought his cousin,

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