July 1925
TH E K I N G ’S BU S I NE S S '
299
Tke Seventh Annual Convention of tke j^o r ld ’s Ckristian. Fundamentals Association £^ vvv > v J vh -^> Memphis, Tennessee, May 3 to 10, 1925
As one live periodical puts it, the “pot is boiling in Tennessee” and the secular press is devoting large space to news regarding the spectacular battle being waged there to decide whether or not the voters have the right to say whether or not their children shall be taught the theory of evolution in the public schools. This lends peculiar interest to the fact that Memphis*was chosen as the place for the meeting of the World’s Christian Fundamental Association, a brief account of which has been furnished us by one of the principal speakers.
Sixth Convention of the Association met last r in Minneapolis, in the splendid new First stist Church of which Dr. W. B. Riley (the anizer of the Christian Fundamentals Asso
another address Dr. Norris told his hearers that the “church is facing the greatest crisis since Pentecost and all hell has declared war on the Bible.” “A Divided House” During the course of the proceedings, a voluminous and ringing statement was issued under the above caption show ing clearly that ,the issue in the present conflict between Modernism and Fundamentalism centers around the Word of God, and that this issue must be squarely met by those who are loyal to Jesus Christ and His Word. This manifesto will appear in the August issue of The King’s Business. Christian Education a Vital Matter The stand of the Conference with reference to the matter of Christian education is evidenced in the following strong, definite resolution which was unanimously adopted: “The World’s Christian Fundamentals Association in annual session hereby reaffirms its former deliverances on the supreme importance of Christian education. It is a mat ter of history that the great institutions of learning were the outgrowth of Christianity and were founded by Chris tian educators^—Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Brown and the like. The great Head of the Church, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, was a master teacher and the church He founded has been the exponent and supporter of education in all ages. “It is with genuine joy that we commend those faithful, self-sacrificing and heroic educa’tors who are loyal to the Constitution, to the home and to the Bible, who teach in our state and denominational* institutions of learning, and those secondary Bible schools and colleges and seminaries that are standing for the faith, and we commend them to your prayers and financial aid. “In view of the fact that the home and the church have delegated the education of our youth in a large measure to the schools of the land, it becomes increasingly a more vital matter that concerns every citizen as to the character of the teaching in these schools. The greatest tragedy of this hour is the collapse of society due to the pernicious materialistic philosophy being disseminated in our schools, undermining faith in the Word of God, undermining authority in govern ment and imperilling the most sacred of all our institutions — the home; all of which imposes upon the faithful teachers in our schools a new and added responsibility in their sacred profession. “We are deeply grieved in this hour of crisis over the loss to historic Christianity of many of the leading educa-' tional institutions which were founded and endowed by Christian money. We call upon our fellow-Christians everywhere who adhere to historic Christianity to encourage and support all who are faithfully teaching, training and guiding the youth of this present generation in the Chris-- tian life, and urge Christian parents to rebuild broken family altars and to maintain Christian instruction in the home, life’s first schoolroom.” J. Frank Norris, Chairman Stewart P. MacLennan Howard A. Banks. Bryan vs. Fosdick A resolution was also passed commending the students of various well known universities and colleges for inviting some of the outstanding Fundamentalists to appear before them and present truth from an orthodox standpoint. Chief among these speakers has been William Jennings Bryan, who has rendered signal service for the cause of Christ in
ciation) is pastor. At that time it was voted to meet this year in the new Moody Church in Chicago, but as their great auditorium was not yet completed, it was necessary to hold the convention elsewhere, and Mem phis was chosen. Because of the change in the place of meeting, the attendance from a distance was not so large as last year. However, on Sundays the audiencer,ranged from 3000 to 10,000. William Jennings Bryan headed the list of speak ers, giving addresses on such themes as “Evolution; or a Universe without a God;” “They Have Taken Away My Lord” (See page 297). Albert Sidney Johnston of Char lotte, N. C., spoke on “The Educational Crisis;” T. T. Shields, of Toronto, on “The Origin of Modernism;;” : Leander S. Keyser, of Wittenberg College, Ohio, on “Why the Son of God Came in Human Form;” Stewart P. Mac- Lennan, of California, on “The Pre-Incarnate Christ;” P. W. Philpott, of Chicago, on “A Bible Revival;” L. W. Mun- hall, Philadelphia, on “The Bible, a Spiritual Revelation;” Charles A. Blanchard, of Wheaton College, Illinois, on “Who is Jesus Christ?” ; J. Frank Norris, Ft. Worth, on “How I Built my Church;,| W. L; Pettingill, of Philadelphia, on “The Promise of His Coming.” Memphis “Full of Fundamentalists.” Memphis was “full of Fundamentalists” during May, for following the Fundamentals Convention occurred the meet ing of the Baptist Bible Union of America, May 11 and 12, and the Southern Baptist Convention, May 13 to 24, many of the Fundamentalist speakers having a part in the pro grams of these two Baptist gatherings, in which many momentous questions affecting the Baptist churches were discussed and decided. The Memphis daily papers gave unusual space, editorials and cartoons to all of these assemblies. Dr. Riley Delivers Broadside at Opening Session The opening session of the convention was held Sunday afternoon, May 3, in the City Auditorium, when Dr. Riley spoke on “Evolution; or Shall we Accept the Natural or the Supernatural?” in which he issued the following challenge to those who would, while keeping the Bible out of the pub lic schools, teach the theory of evolution: • “If there is no inharmony between evolution and the Bible, why keep ‘the Genesis counter-story’ out since the latter has more dignity a thousand fold and is a million times more in harmony with every known scientific fact?” Ten Thousand Hear Story of Norris’ Church Sunday evening, a vast audience of ten thousand people applauded and laughed and wept when Dr. Norris touched the “high spots” of some of his experiences in building a church where, as he expressed it, “the poorest and humblest citizen as well as the millionaire would feel at home.” In
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