It was a decisive moment in the Fundamentalist–Modernist
controversy of the time. This sermon cost him his position at the church, but
it established his reputation as a champion of what he called “an
intellectually hospitable, tolerant, liberty-loving church.”
In the sermon he addresses both the doctrines and the
attitudes of fundamentalists. He is more concerned with how the fundamentalists
behave than what they believe. He says:
“Fundamentalists are
giving us one of the worst exhibitions of bitter intolerance that the churches
of this country have ever seen. As one watches them and listens to them he
remembers the remark of General Armstrong of Hampton Institute,
“Cantankerousness is worse than heterodoxy.” There are many opinions in the
field of modern controversy concerning which I am not sure whether they are
right or wrong, but there is one thing I am sure of: courtesy and kindliness
and tolerance and humility and fairness are right. Opinions may be mistaken;
love never is.”
Mark Twain is reputed to have said, “History doesn't repeat
itself, but it often rhymes.” If that is true, then then the 2020’s are rhyming
with the 1920’s. American religion seems to be fighting the same battles it fought
one hundred years ago. Furthermore they are the same battles as when I was in
seminary in the 1970’s.
In one sense nothing has changed in the last one hundred
years. There are still fundamentalist and modernist Christians, although now
they are known as evangelicals and progressives. There is still a struggle for
control of denominational structures, institutions, seminaries and churches. In
one way the fundamentalist spirit is more powerful than ever. Today it has
joined forces with politics to take over the government as well as the
churches.
In another sense much has changed. We live in a
post-denominational landscape where nondenominational megachurches are the big
players. There is a growing vocal opposition to religion of any type. Atheism
and agnosticism are on the rise. Churches of all types – including evangelical
churches – are losing members at an alarming rate. The fury of fundamentalism today
sounds more like a death rattle than the rumble of an advancing army.
Yet human nature has not changed. Fosdick ended his message
with these words:
“The present world
situation smells to heaven! And now, in the presence of colossal problems,
which must be solved in Christ’s name and for Christ’s sake, the
Fundamentalists propose to drive out from the Christian churches all the
consecrated souls who do not agree with their theory of inspiration. What
immeasurable folly!
“Well, they are not
going to do it; certainly not in this vicinity! I do not even know in this
congregation whether anybody has been tempted to be a Fundamentalist. Never in
this church have I caught one accent of intolerance. God keep us always so and
ever increasing areas of the Christian fellowship; intellectually hospitable,
open-minded, liberty-loving, fair, tolerant, not with the tolerance of
indifference, as though we did not care about the faith, but because always our
major emphasis is upon the weightier matters of the law.”
The irony is that, unknown to him, there was intolerance in his
church. Fundamentalists succeeded in driving Fosdick out of his positon as
pastor of the First Presbyterian Church. John D. Rockefeller Jr. came to his
rescue and built him the Riverside Church, where he could preach freely without
fear of retaliation. His ministry eventually
earned him the cover of Time magazine.
If there is any lesson to be learned from Fosdick’s historic
sermon it is that intolerance is a persistent flaw of human nature. Furthermore
religion is a permanent part of human culture. Our species is Homo religiosus –
incurably religious. Unfortunately religion
often serves the purpose of tribalism, sexism, racism, nationalism and
countless other –isms.
The good news is that we are also Homo mysticus. There is a
part of us that sees beyond the sectarian madness. This inner intuition cannot
be extinguished. It glimpses our essential union with the Divine and all
humans. It is only imperfectly expressed by progressive preachers like Harry
Emerson Fosdick. It finds full expression in the mystics of Christianity and
all faiths. It is the antithesis of fundamentalism.
This means the fundamentalists shall not ultimately win. They may dominate nations or cultures for a season, but ultimately fundamentalism is a lost cause. If we survive as a species, someday spiritual inclusiveness, tolerance and love will reign. I see it already beginning, like spring shoots poking through winter’s dead leaves.
Isaiah’s vision of the Peaceable Kingdom
will become a reality. Jesus called it the Kingdom of God. May that Kingdom
come, God’s will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.
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3 comments:
AMEN!
So True
What a brilliant blog. Your writings are a treasure! Thank you for sharing your wisdom and spirituality through your gift of words.
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