September 1925
THE K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S
390
T he B ap tis t Bible U n ion Seattle, W ashington, Ju n e 24-Ju ly .4, 1925
original documents of the Scripture, which, of course, we no longer possess, were in erran tly dictated to man a good deal as a man m ight d ictate to a stenographer; th a t wp m ust believe in a special theory of the atonement— th a t th e blood of our Lord, shed in a sub stitu tionary death, placates an alienated Deity and makes possible welcome for the retu rn in g sinner; and th a t we must believe in the sec ond coming of our Lord upon the clouds of heaven to set up a m illennium here, as the only way in which God can bring history to a worthy denouem en t;” and WHEREAS, The said Dr. Fosdick refers to the virgin b irth of Christ as being phrased in th e .New Testament “in term s of a biological m iracle th a t our modern m inds cannot accep t;” and WHEREAS, Dr. Fosdick in his latest book says: “ I find some of the m iracle n arrativ es of Scripture historically in cred ib le;” - “ I do not believe in th e resu rrection of th e flesh ;” “ I do not believe in the physical re tu rn of Je su s;” and WHEREAS, Dr. Fosdick’s record as a champion of Mod ernism , who denies all thé fundam entals of the Christian faith, is well known to the whole religious world; and WHEREAS, The said Dr. Fosdick by his anti-Christian teaching in the pulpit of the F irs t P resbyterian Church, New York, has for years disturbed th e peace and endeavored to subvert th e faith and thereby has tended to corrupt the life of the P resbyterian Denomination, and con tinued in th a t body as an unwelcome guest, resigning his
REPORT of the meeting of th e B aptist Bible Union which m et in Seattle, W ashington, Jun e 24 to Ju ly 4, is given in “The Gospel W itness“ edited by Dr. T. T. Shields, th e princely preacher of the Jarv is S treet Baptist Church of Toronto. We could wish th a t space would perm it us to p rin t th e en tire repo rt ver batim , bu t we do desire to give a few of the “ high ligh ts” of th is epoch-making gathering. The sessions were held in the F irs t P resbyterian Church of which Dr. Mark Matthews is th e pastor. The attendance was large and the messages of the finest quality. Over four hundred new members were enrolled, including many m in isters. The Finance. Comm ittee recommended th e raising of $30,000.00 to be used mainly in the distribution of lit eratu re. A million copies of the booklet containing the Confession, of F aith and other inform ation will be printed for wide distribution among th e B aptists of the country. Copies may be obtained for five cents a copy by addressing “Head Office, 340 Monon Bldg., 440 S. Dearborn Street, Chicago.” Contributions may also be sent to th e same office. Any Baptist friend reading this notice, who has funds for the L o rd ’s work, is cordially urged to contribute. This is a m issionary proposition which should appeal to all loyal Baptists. New Officers Executive Committee—Dr. W. B. Hinson, Portland, Ore.; Dr. O. W. Van Osdel, Grand Rapids, Mich.; Rev. John L in ton, Toronto, Ont.; Dr. Wm. L. P e ttin g ill,. Philadelphia, P a.; Rev. A rthu r Fowler, Hamburg, N. Y .; Rev. H. O. Meyers, Des Moines, Iowa. (Representatives fo r New York City and. California to he appointed la ter by the above Comm ittee). The Rockefeller-Fosdick Resolution The climax of the meeting was reached when th e Rocke feller-Fosdick resolution was subm itted. It was carried by a unanimous vote, w ith overwhelming enthusiasm , by the g rea t audience present, and is reproduced herew ith: WHEREAS, B aptists th roughou t th e ir history have believed the Bible to be sup ernatu rally inspired; th a t it has tr u th w ithout any adm ixture of erro r for its m atter; and th a t it therefo re is and shall rem ain to th e end of the age, th e only complete and final revelation of the will of God to m an; the tru e center of Christian union, and the supreme sta n d ard by which all human conduct, creeds and opinions, should be tried ; and WHEREAS, (Here follows a long clause covering a state-- m ent of belief in all the fundam ental d o c trin e s); and WHEREAS, We, th e members of th e Baptist Bible Union, also believe these g reat doctrines as essentials of the Chris tian faith ; and WHEREAS, Dr. H arry Emerson Fosdick, in his sermon preached in New York on May 21, 1922, entitled, “ Shall th e Fundam entalists W in?” protests ag ain st the F undam ental ists’ insistence on “ th e historicity of certain special m ir acles, pre-em inently the virgin b irth of our Lord; th a t we must believe in a special theory of inspiration— th a t the On recommendation of the Nom inating Committee, which was composed of repre sentatives of many states and provinces, the following officers were elected: P residen t—Dr. T. T. Shields, Toronto, Ont, V ice-President for N orthern Convention T erritory—-Dr. W. B. Riley, Minneapolis, Minn. V ice-President for Southern Convention T errito ry—Dr. J. F ra n k Norris, F o rt W orth, Texas.
position only when compelled to do so by the action of the General Assembly; an d WHEREAS, The P ark Avenue Baptist Church of New York City, being a member of th e N orthern B aptist Convention, has called to its pastorate th e said Dr. H arry Emerson Fosdick, and by so doing has openly allied itself w ith Modernism in its most extreme expression; and has taken the first step to introduce into th e life of the Baptist Denom ination the corrupting influence of which th e P resbyterian body has ju st purged itself; and WHEREAS, The said Dr. Fosdick has accepted the pasto rate of th e said church on condition of th e church’s compliance
S H A L L T H E NORTHERN BAPTIST CONVENT I ON RE MAIN TH E RELIG IOUS DEPARTMENT OP THE STANDARD O IL COMP A N Y ?
w ith his demands, which * * * involves th e proposal th a t persons who so desire may b e , received into the church w ithout any form called baptism ; and WHEREAS, In agreeing to Dr. Fosdick’s term s, the P ark Avenue B aptist Church has agreed to set aside a divinely in stitu ted ordinance of believer’s immersion, thu s repud iat ing centuries of B aptist testim ony to th e binding character of th a t which the Holy Scriptures enjoin; and WHEREAS, In the “ Statem ent on Behalf of th e Jo in t Board of Deacons and Trustees, read to the Congregational Meeting of th e P ark Avenue B aptist Church,” in reciting the difficulty in finding a suitable pastor, these words occur: “Advice and suggestions were sought from men holding responsible positions in in stitu tion s affiliated w ith th e denom ination. Dr. Fosdick was th e outstanding figure and was recommended to your officers by practically everyone consulted,” thus showing th a t many holding responsible positions in the denom ination advised th e P a rk Avenue B ap tist Church to call to its p asto rate one whose teaching was known to be destructive of everything fo r which B ap tists have historic ally stood; and WHEREAS, The action of the P a rk Avenue Baptist Church was approved hy a le tte r w ritten by Dr. Cornelius Woelfkin, in which he says:. “Some new movement in evangelical Christianity is imperative, and therefo re su re to come. No church ean und ertak e th a t action b etter th a n we,” revealing the fact th a t the action of the Church in calling Dr. Fosdick is intended as a new movement which shall exert an influence far beyond the bounds of the local church; and (Continued on page 412)
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