Henry - A History of Biola University Since 1908

2 /. he stated that the term had been made familiar by a series of books called The Fundamentals, published between 1909 and 1915 by the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, now Biola Uni versi_ty .- ·- --Althm.igh his statement attests to the significance of Biola's role in the histor i c battle between the liberals and fundamentalists, there remains some important questions, such as, where did the movement begin, where are its roots, and how is Biola University a part of the historic picture? After the end of World War I , there was a strong resurgence of conserv- ative theological beliefs in America . Although various attempts have been made to explain the reasons for this movement, the concensus seems to be that the internal tensions of that era, together with the inability of pol- . itical leaders to find a satisfactory solution for the world ' s problems, short of war, are largely responsible for this resurgence . Orthodox religion distrusts human nature which liberal theologians are prone to lean heavily upon to solve man's problems, and have no faith in the early twentieth cen- tury optimistic concept of the perfectability of man. Consequently, conserv- ative theologians clung to the doctrine of the depravity of man and his in- ability to reason his way to an acceptable solution to the problems which beset the human race . This theological difference constituted the basis for the battle between the liberals and fundamentalists, and the founders of Biola took the conservative position . Therefore, from its beginning, the Schoo l played an important role in the resurgence of orthodox Christianity : · However , it makes no claim to originating a new set of orthodox teachings . Rather, its role has been, and still is, that of propagating an historic faith which had been known for centuries. How the School came into possess- ion of these historic tenets is of extreme interest .

THE EUROPEAN SOURCES

Although Fundamentalism as a viable movement in America is relatively

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