Andy Naselli

Thoughts on Theology

fundamentalism

Bob Jones Jr. on Reading Evangelicals

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Jenni and I are visiting family in Greenville, South Carolina, and this afternoon I guided one of my brothers on a tour of the Jerusalem Chamber at Bob Jones University‘s library. On our way out, I showed him the seminary building, which includes several interactive kiosks, one of which contains video testimonials from faculty, pastors, and graduates attempting to convince prospective students to come to BJU Seminary. That kiosk includes a letter on BJU letterhead with this explanation: “In 1994 a young man preparing for the ministry wrote to Dr. Bob Jones Jr. asking for his advice to someone who is called to preach. The following is Dr. Jones’ reply.”

Bob Jones Jr.

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Dave Doran on Fundamentalism

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Last Friday I referenced Collin Hansen’s CT article “The Crisis of Modern Fundamentalism.” This led to an interesting exchange in the comments section, particularly seven posts by Dr. Dave Doran (“Dave” in the comments) as he interacted with Tim Baylor.

  1. Dr. Dave Doran is president of Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary and senior pastor of Inter-City Baptist Church in Allen Park, MI. He wrote the foreword to Rolland McCune’s Promise Unfulfilled (part of which is reproduced here).
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  2. Tim Baylor grew up in fundamentalism, including a pastoral internship under Dr. Doran. He is currently working on an M.Div. at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. (He is quoted in Collin Hansen’s CT article.)
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I’ve found this exchange to be helpful, especially how Dr. Doran articulates his understanding of fundamentalism.

  1. One of the major questions on the table here is whether fundamentalists can embrace a wider social involvement than some of them have traditionally embraced.
  2. Coming at the issue from another angle: Is secondary separation the crucial difference between fundamentalism and evangelicalism?

Update: Harold J. Ockenga’s foreword to Harold Lindsell’s The Battle for the Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976) suggests that I asked the right two questions: “The ringing call for [1] a repudiation of separatism and [2] the summons to social involvement” were the two key notes of the address for which Ockenga coined the term “neo-evangelicalism” in 1948 (p. 11). HT: Brian Collins.

John Piper: “Praise God for Fundamentalists”

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John Piper just posted an article on his blog entitled “Praise God for Fundamentalists.” He responds to the 2005 FBF resolution “On the Ministry of John Piper.” He concludes,

“What I want to say about Fundamentalism is that its great gift to the church is precisely the backbone to resist compromise and to make standing for truth and principle a means of love rather than an alternative to it. I am helped by the call for biblical separation, because almost no evangelicals even think about the doctrine.

“So I thank God for fundamentalism, and I think that some of the whining about its ill effects would have to also be directed against the black-and-white bluntness of Jesus.”

Update:

  1. Mike Riley, “On the Ministry of John Piper” (published on the FBF site). Riley wrote this for the FBF.
  2. Mike Riley, “Piper and the FBF Resolution” (published on Riley’s blog). Riley wrote this today in response to Piper’s blog post referenced above.
  3. Michael Bird, “Praise God for Fundamentalists?” Bird lists six reasons that he “cannot praise God for them.”
  4. Will Pareja, “John Piper on Fundamentalism.” Pareja begins, “Dr. Piper: You have no idea how far words like these go, my brother.”

Collin Hansen in CT: “The Crisis of Modern Fundamentalism”

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Collin Hansen writes a bi-weekly “theology in the news” column for Christianity Today, and his article published today highlights fundamentalism: “The Crisis of Modern Fundamentalism: Defections threaten a proud movement.” Hansen concludes:

“The difference between evangelicals and fundamentalists hasn’t been theology, though some fundamentalists would refuse to compromise on dispensationalism, for example. Fundamentalists have a strategy problem: Do they clamp down on these youngsters, risking a deeper generation gap? Or do they reconsider strict separation and cultural isolation? By choosing the latter, they may save their youth and lose their cause.”

Update: Cf. Michael Bird’s reaction to Hansen’s article, which begins, “All I can say is that if you think that John Piper is a dubious or dangerous character then your theology is about as messed up as can be imagined.”

Related:

  1. Review of McCune’s Promise Unfulfilled with a Response from McCune
  2. Review of Iain Murray’s Evangelicalism Divided

Mark Farnham Interview on Fundamentalism

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This morning I listened to Jason Janz (Sharper Iron profile) interview Mark J. Farnham, assistant professor of theology and NT as well as chaplain at Calvary Baptist Theological Seminary:

  1. “Four Historical Stages of Fundamentalism” (32:17 min.)
  2. “Current Issues Within Fundamentalism” (22:10 min.)
  3. “Trends in Evangelicalism” (30:07 min.)

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The interview is not filled with energy and humor like the recent Mahaney-Dever interview; Farnham, in comparison, is calm and perhaps a bit monotone. I’d take issue with some of his comments here and there, but I realize that it is very challenging to nuance complex historical and theological issues in an interview like this. If you have been exposed only to the worst forms of fundamentalism or to caricatures of such, you may be surprised to listen to a fundamentalist who doesn’t sound like a belligerent anti-intellectual. Check it out.

Review of Iain Murray’s “Evangelicalism Divided”

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Iain H. Murray. Evangelicalism Divided: A Record of Crucial Change in the Years 1950 to 2000. Carlisle, Penn.: Banner of Truth, 2000. x + 342 pp.

Iain Hamish Murray (b. 1931) has authored over two dozen books on historical theology from a Reformed perspective. His mentor was David Martyn Lloyd-Jones, whom Murray assisted at Westminster Chapel from 1956 to 1959 and about whom Murray wrote a stirring two-volume biography (vol. 1, vol. 2). In 1957, Murray co-founded the Banner of Truth Trust, which has published his many writings and for which he serves as Editorial Director.

Murray’s Evangelicalism Divided traces the new strategy by prominent American and British evangelicals such as Harold Ockenga, Edward Carnell, Billy Graham, John Stott, and J. I. Packer from about 1950 to 2000. He concludes that their strategy failed to fulfill what it promised but instead compromised the gospel itself. What follows summarizes the eleven chapters: [Read more…] about Review of Iain Murray’s “Evangelicalism Divided”