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Nbvember 1926
T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
6«J1
3; | 4 - C * ‘now Fosdick Was Forced Into the Open By a Missions) y Correspondent
The missionary sending this message to The King a Business is well known to us and is perfectly reliable. His story is unique, and a familiar one to all of us who are acquainted with the methods of ecclesiastical trickery.
gentleman with white hair came out and spoke very cor dially; I begged his pardon, b u t.explained that we were missionaries who were passing through New York and were especially anxious to get inside of the church, if possible, as we were particularly wanting to hear Dr. Fosdick’s ser mon that morning. The elder very graciously replied, “ Why, yes, my friend is away for the summer and his pew is usually not occupied when he is away, but I am sure that In this case he would be willing to allow you to sit In it, so I will just take you in through this back door and seat you in his pew.” I will admit that it gave one a strange sensation to follow that millionaire elder into the church auditorium and be ushered by him into one of the front pews, which was prac tically the only vacant spot in the church, and to be con scious of all eyes being turned upon the two insignificant looking young men being ushered into the reserved pew of the millionaire. One’s feelings can be better imagined than described under such circumstances. My friend’s face was almost the color of vermilion and I was thankful I could not see my own. However, as soon as we got settled comfortably in the elaborately cushioned pew, we picked up the church cal endar and began to read it through, as is my custom when ever entering a strange church, as one can usually sense the spiritual condition of a church by the notices on the cal endar. Known By Their Fruits The first item which attracted my eye was the following: "A SPRING DANCE will be given by the Senior Sorority on Friday evening. May 26th, at 7 West 11th Street. ALL THE YOUNG PEOPLE OF THE CONGREGATION ARE COR DIALLY INVITED TO BE PRESENT.” This was the first time I had ever seen a notice of a church dance on a calen dar, and it was a great shock. My first thought was, “ Is this the fruit of the Modernist preaching of Fosdick?” The wonderful organ music and the singing of the choir was most impressive, and one’s whole being was thrilled as the great congregaflon arose and Joined in singing one of the grand old hymns of the church; then the aged senior pastor of the First Church offered a most comprehensive “ long prayer” in the course of which he prayed very fer vently, while the tears streamed down his face and his voice trembled with emotion, pleading with the Lord to draw the younger members of the congregation and the older ones into close unity and cause the older ones to real ize that they needed the younger ones, with their freshness and vigor and with their new ideas of science and philoso phy, which their parents in their young days had not known, etc. It seemed to me that the prayer of this veteran and honored senior pastor, of whom I had heard for so many years as the chairman of the Presbyterian Board of For eign Missions, and one of the most outstanding leaders in the Assembly, was one of the most pathetic utterances to which I had ever listened. It was evident that he was greatly burdened and that he was anxious to prepare the 11 b -
LL the world knows that a sermon entitled, "Shall the. Fundamentalists Win” , was jpreached on 8un- .day morning May 21, 1922, in the First Presby terian Church, New York City, and that the pub lication of that sermon and the publicity given to It after wards resulted in the expulsion of the famous Modernist preacher from the pulpit of the Presbyterian Church, as a sequel to a strenuous debate in the General Assembly. What is not generally known is the bit of history which shall now be revealed in this article for the first time to the public, showing why Dr. Fosdick published this famous ser mon after admitting that he did not intend to do so. Many of Fosdick’s friends who are zealous for the cause of Mod ernism felt that he made a great mistake in ever preaching such a plain sermon, and they were more amazed that he should have published and circulated It in pamphlet form, and to this day multitudes are questioning, “ Why did such a wise man do such a foolish thing?” So concerned were some of his friends about the matter that they actually published a large edition of a “ revised version” of the sermon, giving it a less objectionable title and modifying some of the bold sentiments, which they sent out to thousands of ministers and others all over the United States. Dr. Fosdick says that he did not do this, but admits that a certain friend informed him that they were doing if. Multitude Seeking—What? Having been engaged in a strenuous campaign of depu tation work in the city of New York for some weeks, the writer of this article had reserved Sunday, May 21, 1922, as a day free froth engagements, in order to attend some of the New York churches. On looking at the church notices in the paper, I was struck by the sermon title announced for the First Presbyterian Church, "Shall the Fundamental ists Win?” , to be preached by Rev Harry Emerson Fosdick, D.D., and I felt at once that it was surely providential that I was free on that particular Lord’s day. So I suggested to another missionary that we should go early to the church to make sure of getting a seat. When we arrived more than half an hour before the time for service, we found a queue of people extending half way down the block and were informed that the church was already filled. My friend suggested that it was no use to wait, as it was evident that we would be unable to get inside, but I told him that I felt very strongly that it was intended that I should hear that sermon, and I asked him to follow me through a side gate to a back door, where I beckoned to one of the ushers, who assured us that there was not a seat available. Having experienced in London the magic power of a card with some Chinese characters on the back of it (when I gained admission to the funeral of the late General Booth, while tens of thousands of Salvationists and others were kept outside), I took onevof my calling cards out of my pocket and pointed to the Chinese characters on the back of It, and asked the usher to kindly hand it to one of the elders of the church and request him to come to the door and speak to me for a moment. Presently, a handsome old
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