Henry - A History of Biola University Since 1908

14 Because of the new spirit emerging within fundamental circles, many leaders and institutions; Biola among them, rose to challenge the liberally conceived teaching of that day. state in the Union and Canada met at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, for the purpose of studying what was considered "neglected truths and their bearing on the apostate church." This Conference acted as a needed stimulus to the new movement. As a result, additional conferences were held in other major cities, such as New York and Philadelphia. The spirit and momentum generated by these conferences is summed up by Rev. Courtland Myers in a statement, "We ought to make war, stre.rJ!uous war, and fight to the finish, against foreign innovations into our religious world. Go back to the fount~ ain head, and you will find that our crimson stream has its source in the rank German theology that has been forcing its way into the veins and arter- ies of all our religious life." As a result of this new spirit, another group met in Montrose, Pennsylv- ania, in 1916, and concluded that the time had come for concerted action and a consolidation of the orthodox conservative forces yet found within the churches. From the spirit generated at this meeting came the World Christian Fundamentals Association, an organization which came on the scene before any of its sister societies and the one which played a major role in the fundamental-liberal controversy. It survived long after many similar organizations had fallen by the wayside. During the next two years this Association attracted great men of kindred spirit, including Dr. R. A. Torrey, Dean of Biola; and, Dr. William Bell Riley, a prominent fundantental- ist of Minneapolis, Minnesota, who became its President. Another meeting of this Association was held in Philadelphia in 1918. Approximately five thousand delegates concentrated on two main themes: Mil- lennialism and the great threat of liberalism to orthodox Christianity. They issued a pamphlet entitled "Light and Prophecy," which emphasized the return

Made with FlippingBook Online newsletter