78 which the Board agreed. All these efforts did nothing to stern the tide of criticism and relieve the pressure on the Board. Instead, the protests in- creased in volume as reviews of the book were published in various Christian publications. Biola had been engulfed in a hurricane of protests which had become national in scope, and there seemed little it could do to calm the storm. Immediately after the publication of the various reviews of Macinnis' book, attacks began to pour in en masse frofl across the Nation. Perhaps the severest of the criticis was Dr. w. B. Riley, President of the North- west Bible School in Minneapolis, a leader of national prominence in funda~ mental circles and Editor of The Christian Fundamentalist. He had been a close friend and supporter of Biola from its beginning, ~Bving spoken on numerous occasions at both the School and the Church of the Open Door, and knew the School's doctrinal position quite well. This close personal re- lationship prompted the Board to send him a copy of Peter, the Fisherman Philosopher, as soon as it came off the press, requesting that he wirte a review of it. After reading the book, Riley wrote to the Chairman of the Board, "I finished reading the book at midnight, and did not sleep much after that. To me it is a denial of the fundamental doctrines of the faith." He with- held preparing an official Review until he could ascertain whether or not the Board was in agreement with the book. However, he expressed his private opinion to the Chairman of the Board, "It denies the verbal inspiration. It does not even claim plenary inspiration; it makes the atonement a sac- rifice, but not substitutionary; it flatly denies the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ; and it surreptitiously advocates the evolutionary theory, at least so far as a social evolution is concerned, and by implication, the whole sujbect of evolution. I believe this book will do you untold harm." ATTACKS FROM WITHOUT
Made with FlippingBook Online newsletter