Chapter 11 – 19th Century (plus or minus)

Optimism reigned in the 19th century. Europe suffered no major wars and human technology seemed to leap forward. Agricultural revolution, industrial revolution, railroad, steamship, etc… In many ways things felt like they would all be alright. That nature was succumbing to the human will.

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Modern optimism and reason led to the development of modern liberal theology, characterized by the idea that religion is about emotion and is therefore a different domain from that of reason (For instance, see Steven Jay Gould’s essay, Nonoverlapping Magisteria). You see the effect of that in modern Gothic revival architecture, hymns and praise music that are more about feeling than about biblical theology, and the idea in some churches that religion is a woman’s thing and reason is a man’s thing.

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Critics like Schleiermacher reconstructed the historical Jesus and Bible into symbols, legends, myths, and metaphors about the human spirit and condition. Christianity became about, “the universal fatherhood of God, the brotherhood of man, and the infinite worth of the human soul.” This had the good effect of focusing people on the response of the “Social Gospel” to the human condition.

• William Carey lit a fire of interest in missions and increased the number of missionaries outside Europe 1000 times within a century.
• Robert Raikes started the idea of Sunday Schools.
• Angelina and Sarah Grimke crusaded for Women’s Rights.
• William Wilberforce worked to outlaw slavery in Britain.
• Sojourner Truth preached against slavery in the U.S.
• William Booth organized the Salvation Army
• Wealthy Brits formed the YMCA

Did you know American Presbyterians are (were?) revival people? Take Cane Ridge Kentucky (p117), for instance. There were actually two lines of thought in Presbyterianism following the Great Awakening: the more liberal, more charismatic, more humanist “New Lights” and the more conservative, traditional, strictly-subscriptionist “Old Lights.”

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One of the effects of events like Cane Ridge was to reduce the importance of the mainline denominations in America, leading to non-denominational churches, like the Churches of Christ, Disciples of Christ, and Christian Churches. This time period was also the beginning of the Seventh Day Adventists.

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The dilution of the gospel led to leaders like Pope Pious IX and Dwight Moody calling for people to resist the allure of modern liberal theology.

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The Niagara Conference defined “The Five Fundamentals” of the Christian Faith - sort of a minimalist Christianity.

• Jesus was uniquely divine.
• Jesus was born of a virgin.
• Jesus died as a sacrifice for sins.
• Jesus will come again.
• The Bible is inerrant.

Next Week: 20th century