Iain Murray offers one of the reasons he believes evangelicals of the twentieth century have not followed in the footsteps of the Whitefields and Wesleys two centuries prior:
There is a prominent feature in the evangelical history of the eighteenth century which may explain why many evangelicals in Britain and the United States have taken a different course in these last fifty years. As we have seen, evangelical leadership today has been much concerned with a matter about which their predecessors took a very different view, that is, the approval and support of non-evangelical clergy and denominational leaders. Wesley and Whitefield lost any possibility of gaining the good opinion of their peers at the very outset of their work. But far from moderating themselves in an attempt to win it back, they regarded the very idea as a temptation to be resisted. In the midst of a worldly church they saw the bearing of reproach as a necessary part of being a Christian. ‘In our days,’ said Whitefield, ‘to be a true Christian, is really to become a scandal.’
The church leaders of the eighteenth century did their utmost to hinder other clergy from turning evangelical and one of the principal threats was the certain loss of reputation and preferment. Wesley said the ‘great pains were taken’ to keep the number willing to take a bold stand few in number. Anyone who did so ‘could give up at once all thought of preferment either in Church or State; nay, all hope of even a Fellowship, or a poor scholarship, in either University’.
For Wesley and Whitefield resistance to such threats was the duty of all who did not live for the approval of man. To clergy who failed to make such a stand a Scripture commands, Wesley said: ‘You dare not: because you have respect of persons. You fear the faces of men. You cannot; because you have not overcome the world. You are not above the desire of earthly things. And it is impossible . . . till you desire nothing more than God.’—Iain Murray, Evangelicalism Divided (Banner of Truth, 2000), 169–170.
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#1 || 10·08·27··13:07 || Victoria
Wow-this whole thing is a tremendous problem in our day. I think of the whole situation with BioLogos and Dr Mohler. It has really cost men like Al Mohler and John MacArthur the accolades of the evangelical intelligentsia to take a no nonsense stand against supposed science when it comes to the inerrency of Scripture. What is quite troubling to me is the lack of young men waiting in the wings to take up the fight when these old soldiers put up their swords. I pray that God will raise up many young leaders who care for nothing but the Glory of and approval of God alone.
I am sure I am off topic, David,but this came to my mind as I read your post today. I among many am very troubled at where an organization like BioLogos is taking our youth. One of the tremendous issues is the longing for Christians to be thought of as "scholarly" and compatible with science as to origins.The problem is science changes its story every few years,but the Word of God never changes the story.
#2 || 10·08·27··16:23 || David
Victoria,
That’s really quite apropos to the subject today, and no need for me to add anything to it. Thanks for contributing.
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