Malcolm Muggeridge was considered by many to be the greatest British journalist of the 20th century, and one of my favorite quotes comes from him: There is no new news, there is only old news happening to new people.

And this two-part program, today and tomorrow, is about old news that is still repeated in the church today. It’s important to you because, as you’ll hear, there are life-and-death implications.

Remember what Paul said when writing to the Galatians?

But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, a curse be on him! Ga 1:8, CSB

Paul’s arguing that it’s not his gospel, it’s not a human gospel, it’s not a made up gospel…it’s a received gospel. And that we should be aware if not wary.

What you’re about it hear is a paper I wrote about the theological Modernism of the late 19th and early twentieth centuries. You will hear something that flirts with preaching another gospel sometimes crosses the line into falsity. It’s focused in its scope, and you’ll hear me conclude that God isn’t “conservative” or “liberal,” per se, as much as I hate those words.

Why should you care? The same things are going on today.

Today’s program is going to be a listen-only program, and here’s why:

I wrote it for the audience of a professor. Some words and concepts assume the prof knows them, but they’re may not be known broadly. I’ll explain some stuff along the way.
The paper was limited to ten pages, and there’s more to say. I’ll add a few flavors.

Oh, and if you want the paper and extra comments, that’s a good reason to be a subscriber to the email list.

So…let’s roll…

(Part two of this program is here)

ForTheHope is a daily audio Bible + apologetics podcast and blog. We’ve got a passion for just keepin’ it real, having conversations like normal people, and living out the love of Jesus better every single day.

Roger Courville, CSP is a globally-recognized expert in digitally-extended communication and connection, an award-winning speaker, award-winning author, and a passionately bad guitarist. Follow him on Twitter -- @RogerCourville and @JoinForTheHope – or his blog: www.forthehope.org.

Sources and resources:

Even though the paper’s content is not posted here, I want to give credit where credit’s due. Here are the footnotes.

[1] R. K. Harrison, Jeremiah and Lamentations: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 21, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 109.

[2] Mark A. Noll, Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity, Third Edition (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2012), 250, Kindle.

[3] Nathan P. Feldmeth, Pocket Dictionary of Church History: Over 300 Terms Clearly and Concisely Defined, The IVP Pocket Reference Series (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2008), 90.

[4] The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 2619.

[5] R.C. Sproul, The Consequences of Ideas: Understanding the Concepts that Shaped Our World (Wheaton: Crossway, 2000), 117.

[6] Norman L. Geisler, Systematic Theology, Volume One: Introduction, Bible (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 2002), 321.

[7] James K. Dew Jr. and Paul M. Gould, Philosophy: A Christian introduction (Grand Rapids: Baker Publishing Group, 2019), 63, Kindle.

[8] Bruce L. Shelley, Church History in Plain Language, Updated Fourth Edition (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2013), 424, Kindle.

[9] The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 2618.

[10] Shelley, Church History, 424, Kindle.

[11] Shelley, Church History, 445, Kindle.

[12] Garth M. Rosell, "Fundamentalism and Modernism in Transition & Fundamentalist/Modernist Controversies" lecture transcript 21a from Survey of Church History, (PDF and MP3, Christian University GlobalNet Institute and RBC Ministries, 2015), 1.

[13] Garth M. Rosell, "Fundamentalism and Modernism,” 2.

[14] Shelley, Church History,420, Kindle.

[15] Stanley J. Grenz and Jay T. Smith, Pocket Dictionary of Ethics, The IVP Pocket Reference Series (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2003), 101.

[16] The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 2619.

[17] F. L. Cross and Elizabeth A. Livingstone, eds., The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2005), 1410.

[18] Cross and Livingstone, eds., The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 1410.

[19] Shelley, Church History, 419, Kindle.

[20] The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 2619.

[21] R.C. Sproul, “A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing: Theological Liberalism.” Ligonier Ministries, December 11, 2018. video of lecture, retrieved November 29, 2019, https://www.youtube-.com/watch?v=7-utwkfgyyI.

[22] The ESV Study Bible, 2619.

[23] The ESV Study Bible, 2619.

[24] Geisler, Systematic Theology, Volume One: Introduction, Bible, more not357–358.

[25] "History of the United States (1865-1918), Wikipedia, last modified November 12, 2019,, accessed December 14, 2019, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_United_States_(1865–1918).

[26] Susan Stamberg, “How Andrew Carnegie Turned His Fortune into a Library Legacy,” NPR, August 1, 2013, accessed November 14, 2019, https://www.npr.org/2013/08/01/207272849/how-andrew-carnegie-turned-his-fortune-into-a-library-legacy

[27] Shelley, Church History, 466, Kindle.

[28] Patrick J. Deneen, Why Liberalism Failed (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2018), 116, Kindle.

[29] Nathan P. Feldmeth, Pocket Dictionary of Church History: Over 300 Terms Clearly and Concisely Defined, The IVP Pocket Reference Series (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2008), 62.

[30] Shelley, Church History,453

[31] Rosell, "Fundamentalism and Modernism,” transcript 21b, 11.

[32] Rosell, "Fundamentalism and Modernism,” transcript 21b, 11.

[33] Rosell, "Fundamentalism and Modernism,” transcript 21b, 2.

[34] Geisler, Systematic Theology, Volume One: Introduction, Bible, 357–358.

[35] Rosell, "Fundamentalism and Modernism,” transcript 21b, 4.

[36] The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 2619.

[37] Adolf Von Harnack, What is Christianity (San Diego, CA: Book Tree, 2006), 145. Kindle.

[38] Shelley, Church History, 424, Kindle.

[39] Von Harnack, What is Christianity, 145. Kindle.

[40] Von Harnack, What is Christianity, 185. Kindle.

[41] Geisler, Systematic Theology, Volume One, 559.

[42] Von Harnack, What is Christianity, 40-41. Kindle.

[43] Von Harnack, What is Christianity, 42. Kindle.

[44] Von Harnack, What is Christianity, 173. Kindle.

[45] The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 2619.

[46] Von Harnack, What is Christianity, 205. Kindle.

[47] The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 2619.

[48] The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 2619.

[49] D.A. Carson, “But That’s Your Interpretation,” Themelios, vol.44, is. 3, retrieved December 16, 2019, https://themelios.thegospelcoalition.org/article/but-thats-just-your-interpretation.

[50] Deneen, Why Liberalism Failed, 117, Kindle.

[51] Sproul, “A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing: Theological Liberalism.”

Modernist theology and why you should care, part one

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