Editor’s Note: Following 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, when he wrote this series, “Why We Left Fundamentalism—to Join Southern Baptists.”
The mission of this message is to reach every young preacher, Sunday School teacher, active worker and individual Baptist who may be somewhat troubled and disturbed by the charges which are recklessly hurled at Southern Baptists, and who may be considering the possibility of leaving the denomination and affiliating with some splinter Baptist group.
Splinter groups are essentially and basically proselyting 'isms, growing largely upon the labors of Southern Baptists, from which "converts" are gathered by misrepresentation and misinformation.
I write with reference to Fundamentalism and with particular reference to Fundamentalism among Baptists, originating mainly in the Southwest, especially in Texas. I hasten to say, however, that I make a distinction between individual Baptists who are to be found within Fundamentalism and the movement of Fundamentalism itself.
Some of the finest Christians I have ever known are in Fundamentalism. Some of the most godly and consecrated preachers, Sunday School teachers and Christian workers are to be found in the ranks of Fundamentalism. I value their friendship and fellowship in the Christian faith. I have nothing but good-will in my heart toward all who are earnestly and sincerely serving out Lord and Savior Jesus Christ wherever they may be found.
The sincerity of some individual believers, however, does not justify the movement itself. There are many wonderful people and many sincere and devout people in the Catholic church, but this does not justify Catholicism.
My emancipation from Fundamentalism was Spirit-led. The passage that the Lord used was Ephesians 4:29-32:
"Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: and be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."
I write without bitterness or rancor. The first step that my mind took, which resulted in breaking the chains of spiritual and mental bondage in which I was held for so long, was to accept without reservation and in absolute honesty the above passage and to apply it to my heart and life. When this film of prejudice, bias, and false pride was wiped from my eyes, Southern Baptists were a different people to me from what they had ever been before.
In the Fundamentalist movement we were usually in a fight of some kind. If we were not fighting Southern Baptists, Northern Baptists, the National Council of Churches, the Catholics, Communism or Modernism, we fought each other.
I believe that every good Christian should be a soldier of Jesus Christ and that we should be able to say with the Apostle Paul when we come to the end of the way: "I have fought a good fight...I have kept the faith" (II Tim.. 4:7); but let us not forget that it was this same Apostle who said "...The servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach" (II Tim.. 2:24).
It was this same Apostle who in giving the qualifications for the ministry, listing such requirements as that a minister should be the husband of one wife, blameless, vigilant, sober, of good behavior, etc., also said "no striker," upon which Jamieson, Faussett and Brown comment: "with either hand or tongue, not as some teachers pretending a holy zeal; answering to "not a brawler' or fighter" (I Tim.. 3:3). It was this same Apostle who wrote; "If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men" (Romans 12:18).
It was impossible to work within the framework of Fundamentalism without being drawn into conflict with others. I was no exception. The terrific pressures could not be escaped, and long before my mind had accepted the possibility of working with Southern Baptists, I systematically set about to become reconciled to all brethren with whom I had been drawn into controversy.
I withdrew from the fellowship and the Norris movement as such as a result of a change in my concept of the basic philosophy of the Christian religion. I believe in all of the fundamentals of the faith but I do not believe in the methods and outlook of such that had been classified as Fundamentalism,' particularly in the Southwest.
I have not been alone in this, by any means. Across the nation thousands of ministers of the Gospel have been led by the Spirit of God likewise. A national magazine recently published an interview with a noted religious leader in which he said:
1. The quality of leadership of American Fundamentalism is deteriorating.
2. With a few brilliant exceptions (mostly Baptist) fundamentalist leaders have lost their opportunity to organize Fundamentalism into an effective religious force.
3. Fundamentalists are all the time quarreling among themselves about minor matters and have made them grounds for useless divisions.
4. The importance of a well-rounded, basic doctrinal system and the necessity for a sound ecclesiastical organization have been overlooked.
5. A stereotyped pattern of piety founded on Nineteenth century American customs and not in the Bible have been made a standard of fellowship.
6. An esoteric vocabulary and particular patterns of Christian experience have been made the hallmark of sanctity.
The above statements were made with reference to Fundamentalism in general and, in my personal judgment, are absolutely true. But if true of Fundamentalism in general, how much more are they true of the particular brand of Fundamentalism with which we were associated!
In the United Evangelical Action magazine of February 15, 1955, Dr. Bernard Ramm is quoted as follows:
"Fundamentalism originally referred to the belief that there are certain great truths in Christianity, which, if changed, would dissolve Christianity. Each Christian is allowed personal conviction in respect to a great number of doctrines and interpretations but the personal liberty is hedged about by key infallible and eternal doctrines. This is the term in its historic and good sense. The movement included such stalwarts as James Orr, J. Gresham Machen, Benjamin Warfield, W. H. Green, and the numerous contributors to the famous Fundamental papers.
"In more recent years another movement has developed within historic Fundamentalism that had given the word an odious connotation. Men with much zeal, enthusiasm and conviction, yet lacking frequently in education or cultural breadth and many times highly individualistic, took to the stump to defend the faith.
Many times they were dogmatic beyond evidence, or were intractable of disposition, or were obnoxiously anti-cultural, anti-scientific and anti-educational. Hence, the term came to mean one who was bigoted, and obscurantist, a fidelist, a fighter and an anti-intellectual. Many of these are men godly in life, in belief thoroughly Christian, and, therefore, spiritual brothers of all who accept Biblical Christianity."
Before proceeding further, I would like to make it crystal clear that I have had no change of mind whatever with reference to the great doctrine of the Christian faith.
1. I believe the whole Bible from Genesis 1:1 to Revelations 22:21 as the verbally inspired and infallible Word of God.
2. I believe Jesus Christ was born of Mary the Virgin and is the Son of God and God the Son.
3. I believe that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, the Just for the unjust that He might bring us to God.
4. I believe that He rose from the grave the third day according to the Scriptures.
5. I believe that He, only, is the great High Priest; and we need not the intercession of any man, but that Christ ever liveth to make intercession for us.
6. I believe that Christ will come again in person, bodily, visible, to establish His kingdom on the earth.
7. I believe that in order to be saved the soul must be born again.
8. I believe that every truly born-again soul should declare his faith by the act of baptism, setting forth the Lord's death, burial and resurrection.
9. I believe that the church is a body of baptized believers whose only mission is not to "reform the world," but to preach and teach the Gospel of salvation to the individual soul.
10. I believe that a New Testament Baptist church should recognize:
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Christ as its only Head.
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The Holy Spirit as its only administrator.
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The Word of God as its only message.
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The winning of souls as its mission.
But I am not a Fundamentalist.
Why? That is the purpose of this paper. We shall endeavor to give some, but not, by any means, all, of the reasons why we left Fundamentalism to work with Southern Baptists.