Henry - A History of Biola University Since 1908

10 church, which kingdom, which /. salvation, which consummation, are the Christian church, the Christian salvation, the Christian consummation? The future will tell." This ·then is the picture as it appeared in the first quarter of the twentieth century. This was the reason for the battle between these two groups, and it was this situation that gave rise to the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, the predecessor of Biola University. During the last quarter of the nineteenth century and the first quarter of the twentieth, two major influences militated against orthodoxy in the Protestant churches in America; secularism and liberal theology. Because fundamentalists had failed completely in their efforts to eliminate these influences from their churches and denominations, a spirit of frustration prevailed throughout their camp, which reached its peak in the first decade of the twentieth century. All efforts to unite fundamentalists had been spasmodic, fragmented, and disorganized. Many left their denominations for one of two reasons: either they could not tolerate the theological changes taking place, or they were forced to leave because they refused to remain silent about the matter. As a result, those who left their church bodies found themselves on the outside looking in. They were lonely men, like sheep without a shepherd, who desperately needed fellowship with others of like mind. This need manifested itself in various ways, and in due time resulted in a concerted effort on their part to take corrective action. One of the first sparks to light the fire of unification among the funda · mentalists was the publication of the twelve-volume set of books known as The Fundrnentals. The publication of these books, according to one historian, "Was the first orgainzed protest against modernism." Another historian re- ferred to the porject as the first "real orthodox manifesto," and as "a test THE RISE OF FUNDAMENTALISM

Made with FlippingBook Online newsletter