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The Dispensational-Covenant Rift

I have finished the first couple chapters of The Dispensational-Covenant Rift: The Fissuring of American Evangelical Theology from 1936-1944 by R. Todd Mangum.  Mangum's basic thesis is that the break between the streams of Niagara Fundamentalism (the premil camp) and Reformed Presbyterian Fundamentalism (the amil camp) during this time frame represents a new schism between brethren who had formally known unity despite their doctrinal differences.  This is contra George Marsden and D.G. Hart who view Old School Presbyterians and New School Presbyterians as tolerating their differences in order to contend with modernism and then returning to their former contentions after separating from the mainline denominations.

Mangum's work is insightful for a number of reasons.  He deals with primary sources and documents at length; the footnotes make for good reading themselves.  In addition, Mangum has personally interviewed a number of key participants.  So for example, in an interview dated June 2, 1996, Allan MacRae regards as "preposterous" the idea that a contentious meeting of the Independent Board in November of 1936 contributed to J. Gresham Machen's early death.  Mangum not only covers the systematic-theological issues at play (Westminster Confessionalism vs. Scofield Dispensationalism), but also wrestles with the clash of personalities and socio-historical factors.  This is an area often overlooked by historians of Evangelicalism and Fundamentalism.   So for instance he writes:

...Just as when individuals have a "falling out," grievances are magnified and often projected onto what was "always true" in the relationship ("Well, you know, I always hated that about her!"), so likewise, such phenomena can be detected in sociological polarizations of greater proportions.  These phenomena increase and intensify when the new institutions and organizations created by such sociological divisions must compete for constituents and resources (p. 23).

In addition to those already mentioned, it is good to once again become acquainted with names like Buswell, Kuiper, Murray, Allis, Wilson and Van Til.  It is interesting to consider the mindset of men fresh from a fight to a figurative death with mainline Presbyterianism attempting to build a ship with room for all.  The fight had required men of a certain character, but as Mangum notes, those same qualities of panache and stubbornness did not make for smooth sailing when personalities clashed or social issues (like the use of alcohol) surfaced.

I am most interested in this read because my roots are traced directly to its source.  My parents began attending an independent Bible church in the 1960s founded by William Ashbrook, a man that left mainline Presbyterianism in the late 1930s, identified himself with Scofield dispensationalism, and established an independent church in 1941 in contrast to an Orthodox Presbyterian Church (Machen) or a Bible Presbyterian Church (McIntire).  Today, I pastor an independent Bible church in which some of the children of Machen have found a home.  We are wondering if those things that divided our fathers so many decades ago should continue to divide us.

calvin's preaching regimen

Just reading through T.H.L. Parker's book entitled Calvin's Preaching.  During a time frame where we have accurate records (after 1549), Calvin was preaching twice on Sunday and everyday during alternate weeks.  He typically preached for an hour from the NT on Sundays and from the OT during the week.  He did make exceptions for Holy Week and Advent, and sometimes preached from the Psalms on Sunday afternoons.  He preached expositionally, in a verse-by-verse style.  We know when he was exiled from Geneva for three years (1538 to 1541) that he picked up preaching at the exact text where he left off.  In all of this careful routine he did not miss his regular pastoral duties of visiting the sick, counseling, and being involved in community life, sometimes sending his sermons to dignitaries and kings when he thought it appropriate.  His contemporaries recognized they were in the presence of a shining light and worked to preserve his sermons.  A man by the name of Denis Raguenier transcribed his sermons with a personally invented short-hand system.  He captured 6000 words per sermon with a quill and an ink bottle, often in a cold and dark church building early in the morning.  Calvin was truly a workman unashamed, as were the guys trying to keep up with him.

Fundamentalism & Presbyterianism

Mike, one of our presbyterian friends, made me aware of a read in Credenda Agenda summarizing the split between Presbyterians around issues of higher criticism and orthodoxy in the mid-1930's (and before).  The article emphasizes the ecumenicity of early fundamentalism, the distinctives of presbyterianism, and mentions the role of J. Gresham Machen.  It is a helpful review of some of the issues giving birth to one stream of early fundamentalism.  You can find it here.

"Nuts"

Paul Greenberg reminds us that 60 years ago today, the Battle of the Bulge commenced with a German barrage at dawn.  One of the most remarkable defensive stands in US military history occurred at a little town in Belgium named Bastogne.  The Germans thought they would overrun the 101st Airborne in the first couple days of their advance.  Though entirely surrounded, the city never fell.  When asked to surrender, General Anthony McAuliffe replied, "Nuts."

This is a picture I took on the town square in Bastogne.  You can see a bust of McAuliffe at the base of the flag pole.  It is moving beyond words to see the American flag flying on foreign soil liberated with American blood. 

December 7, 1941

Today we remember that Imperial Japan awoke the greatest generation from their slumber at Pearl Harbor 63 years ago.  Our fathers would not rest until the unconditional surrender of Japan on the battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945. 

A day of infamy...a decade of friendship.  The Honolulu Star-Bulletin tells how two warriors met years after the war and formed a unique bond.

Here is a great site to view Pearl Harbor images.

UPDATE:  Chuck Colson reminds us of the story of Jacob DeShazer.  He was shot down on the Doolittle Raid, and spent the remainder of the war as a POW.  God drew him to Himself during those years, and after the war he returned to Japan as a missionary.