A comparative analysis of the Fundamentalist-Modernist Controversies of both the Presbyterian Church and the Southern Baptist Convention.

摘要

This dissertation compares and contrasts two significant theological controversies in the twentieth century. The first controversy deals with the Presbyterian Church USA; the second involves the Southern Baptist Convention. The result of the controversies changed each denomination forever.;The first two chapters focus on the Fundamentalist-Modernist Controversy in the Presbyterian Church in the 1920's. The Presbyterian Church USA, was known as holding to conservative, Reformed theology. Her crown jewel, Princeton Theological Seminary, was known as the citadel of conservative Presbyterian thought. During the Fundamentalist-Modernist controversy, liberals and moderates, through political subversion, succeeded in capturing control of the denomination. Their next move was to gain control of Princeton Seminary. There was little the conservatives could do to stop the liberal takeover. Defeated conservatives left and founded Westminster Theological Seminary as a foil to the now liberal Princeton. The liberals had succeeded in capturing the denomination and her educational institutions. The conservatives were forced to retreat and form a new seminary that they felt remained true to traditional Presbyterian beliefs.;The next two chapters deal with the controversy in the Southern Baptist Convention and how it impacted the Cooperative Program seminaries. The Southern Baptist Convention was founded on conservative beliefs. Their polity was different than the hierarchal system of the Presbyterians, which worked to their advantage. Several pastors and denominational leaders became aware of the liberalism that was now in the educational systems. They began working to return the largest protestant denomination in America back to its conservative roots. As early as 1969, several Southern Baptist leaders began to work to reform the convention. The controversy lasted until 1991, when the liberals left the convention and formed their own denomination. After the controversy had subsided in the Southern Baptist Convention, the conservatives moved to reclaim the seminaries and colleges from the liberals. They succeeded in reclaiming the seminaries, but were unsuccessful in making progress in the state conventions and colleges.;The last section deals with how the Controversy affected the state conventions and liberal arts universities. Most state conventions and colleges resisted the reform that came to the overall denomination and seminaries. The Baptist General Convention of Texas, the largest of all of the state conventions, provides a clear example of resistence to reform. Lastly, Baylor University, the largest Baptist University in the world, broke away from the Baptist General Convention of Texas. This set off a trend that separated the Southern Baptist colleges from their state conventions, The work concludes with a final comparison of how each denomination handled controversy and the impact that each controversy made on their denomination.