“Know Thyself” — That’s Socrates — and it makes sense.  I recently read “Reforming Fundamentalism” (a terrible title, by the way) by George Marsden, a church historian at Notre Dame, about the developments in American Christianity in the part of the church that actually believes that the Bible is true, that Jesus is the Son of God, that He died for our sins, rose from the dead.  Meaning, us.

It centers on the founding of Fuller Theological Seminary, in Pasadena, and its development over the past few decades.  Fuller is important: it’s the premiere reasonable evangelical seminary, it’s big, its graduates are pastors all over the West.  It’s efforts to be reasonable have been the theme that has driven its history, both for good, and (in my opinion) for not-so-good.

Fundamentalism started healthy.  It developed from some very well-written paper-back books of articles on the essentials of the Christian faith.  But after the Scopes Trial (remember “Inherit the Wind”?), it descended into obscurantism.  Sort of “My mind is made up; don’t confuse me with facts.”  After World War II, a handful of serious Christian scholars started Fuller in Pasadena with the goal of being faithful to the Gospel, believing in the reliability of the Bible — but also being careful about scholarship.  Considering, and answering objections to the faith in a responsible way.  One of their key tenets was the belief that the Bible is completely reliable, the inspired word of God.

20 years later, they decided to compromise on that.  Not defend the total reliability of the Bible, but just the parts that seemed to be essential.  Mainly, that is, about salvation.  Actually, it was a struggle: those who wanted to drop the insistence that the Bible is completely reliable first struggled politically to take over the institution; then, quickly, the forced out those who thought it was essential to teach the full reliability of Scripture.  Within two or three years, the struggle was over — and the losers went on to found Trinity Evangelical in Chicago, and to teach at other conservative seminaries such as Gordon Conwell, Dallas, Talbot (in La Mirada, with Biola), Westminster — or just to abandon the whole idea of seminary education all together, at least for the pastorate.  That is where the new churches basically came from: the Calvary Chapels, Vineyards, and others — many of them healthy and strong.

I guess the book was fascinating to me partly because I knew many of the key players, grew up with some of their children.  Lived in Pasadena through some of the period, and followed the struggles from afar.  Even Berkeley pastors like Earl Palmer and Robert Boyd Munger had important roles in the events.

It’s not for everyone.  But as I say, very well written, and for understanding the present state of American Christianity, a fast and effective education.