Tag: John Ockenga

Original article posted here.

When John Ockenga* noted in 1947 that fundamentalism was found wanting because, “fragmentation, segregation, separation, criticism, sensoriousness, suspicion, solecism is the order of the day for fundamentalism” he was spot-on.

However, the solution that Ockenga supplied, called evangelicalism, is also found wanting because through unity they have destroyed distinctions of the church–making her ineffective.

Evangelicalism was, after all, a response against fundamentalism’s hard line stances on non-essential doctrine, moralism and harsh condemnations. In some regards, Evangelicalism was a welcomed response that was both conservative and respectful.

What came about, though, was a watering down of theology to the lowest common denominator. In some ways, they avoided fragmentation, segregation, separation, criticism, sensoriousness, suspicion and solecism, but they did not avoid other vital issues which caused them to be susceptible to error.