This is an edited (for length, not content) version of four articles published in The Baptist Standard on April 7, 14, 21, and 28, 1956. Peak was pastor, Central Baptist Church, Dallas, Texas, when he wrote this series, "Why We Left Fundamentalism -- to Join Southern Baptists."
Luther Peak was a one-time follower of J. Frank Norris. What he wrote is as applicable today as it was more than 40 years ago. Fundamentalism, as he describes it, is alive and well and embodied in the current leadership that dominates the Southern Baptist Convention. When you read his descriptions of the fundamentalist mind-set and actions, it may remind you of similar actions of the part of Morris Chapman, Paige Patterson, Al Mohler, Mark Coppenger, Paul Pressler, Jerry Rankin, Bob Record, Richard Land and other current
leaders of the SBC. Peak describes the exact same tactics are now being used by Southern Baptists of Texas in their effort to form a new state convention and discredit the BGCT.
In 1956, fundamentalism was a fringe part of Southern Baptist life. Most fundamentalists were Independent Baptists who encouraged churches to leave the SBC. Fundamentalists who remained Southern Baptists were Independent in style and participated in a limited manner with the SBC financially. They gave very little to the Cooperative Program, which is also characteristic of most SBC presidents from 1979 to the present. Their strategy changed when Paul Pressler and Paige Patterson figured out how to take control of the Southern Baptist Convention through the political process. Today, fundamentalism, as described by Peak, is no longer on the fringe, but dominates the SBC. Further evidence of this is how the SBC leadership welcomes Independent fundamentalist Baptists like Jerry Falwell. Falwell feels right at home in the current SBC while traditional Baptists feel estranged.
Read and allow history to speak to you. And as you read Peak describing the characteristics of fundamentalism, ask yourself if there is any hope for traditional Baptists to cooperate with the SBC in a meaningful and fair manner.
Click Here to Read the Article by Luther Peak