SOME GOOD OF FUNDAMENTAL PREACHER BOYS IN 1968
A BRIEF HISTORY, AND BACKGROUND OF THE FUNDAMENTALIST MOVEMENT
- · Fundamentalists remained united in their separatist stance against modernists until the 1940s. The term "New Evangelicals" was first used by Harold Ockenga in the late 1940's to refer to himself and a splinter group of fundamentalists. Before this time the term "Evangelical" could be applied to a fundamentalist. But within the fundamentalist movement there were those who thought ecclesiastical (church) separation was wrong. Instead of Bible Believers separating from modernist churches, they proposed a new strategy of "infiltration". The attempt was a miserable failure, for in the past 50 years almost all the churches which took on the "infiltration" approach with the modernist churches have themselves become modernist churches. Unfortunately this includes a large number of the mainline Protestant Churches like the Methodists, Presbyterians and Lutherans and Anglicans.
- · So today, Fundamentalists not only must separate from modernist(Apostate) churches, they also must separate from former fundamentalist churches(New Evangelical) that now intermingle with Modernist churches.
- · Another type of separation among Christian Churches is one based upon differences in interpretation and application of the Scriptures. This refers to separation that is among Bible preaching, Gospel preaching churches. The differences here are not ones in the Gospel, but ones that deal with things like church structure, baptism and prophetical view points.
- · It is an undeniable fact that many mainline Protestant Churches which once preached the Gospel do not do so any more today because of the effects of modernism and more recently New Evangelicalism. Their churches are no more than glorified social clubs. Having said that, there are bastions of conservative, Bible believing Christians still among these churches. The Lutherans, Presbyterians and Methodists are just some of these groups that while larges portions of their denominations have stopped preaching the Gospel, they continue to remain faithful. It is a mistake and an error for some Baptist preachers to stand up in their pulpits and proclaim that only the Baptists now teach the true Gospel. There are still faithful remnants left in some of the other Christian denominations.
- · These differences though among Bible believing Christian denominations, cannot be ignored. For instance, ABC Baptist Church cannot send out Missionaries with ABC Lutheran church down the street (even if they are conservative Bible believing Christians) because of differences in how we would teach church structure and Baptism as well as some other things. The scriptures tells us "Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?"(Amos 3:3)
- · Romans 16:17(NIV)"17I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them." Paul teaches us to "Keep away" from those who teach things "contrary to the teaching you have learned.". Some have tried to say Paul is only speaking of the Gospel here. But it is much more than that, or else he would have said the Gospel as he clearly did on other occasions. He is speaking of all the doctrines he delivered. This means if someone teaches a doctrine that we do not see in scripture although they may be correct on other things we must not join in with them by doing things such as exchanging pulpits or doing cooperative evangelism.
- · Take for instance infant baptism, this is something that we as Baptists believe is "contrary" to the teachings of the New Testament. Therefore we cannot engage in cooperative evangelistic activities with the Presbyterians or Lutherans down the street even if they are preaching the true Gospel.
PHOTO: From Bible Bapist Semiary in 1968. There are some good fellows in this photo.
