Truce

This is the second part of the series. Please start with part 1. In His Steps by Charles Sheldon is a classic of Christian fiction. It is also one of the top-selling Christian books of all time. We've been running through the history of Christian fundamentalism this season. It's worth noting that fundamentalism was a reaction to liberal theology, especially modernism. Another form of liberal theology was the "Social Gospel". It was a movement led by people like Walter Rauschenbusch that emphasized the socially conscious aspects of Christianity, while simultaneously downplaying evangelism. Christian fundamentalists did not like the Social Gospel. For one thing, it had a positive view of human progress. It said that the world could get better and better and then Jesus would return. Christian fundamentalists generally think that world history trends downward. I'm presenting this original audio recording for many reasons. I think this book offers a great window into the era in which it was created (the late 1800

Want more Truce? Give a little bit each month and you'll gain access to a patrons-only Zoom event! We'll be getting together to discuss "In His Steps" and answer listener questions. This event is open to anyone who gives $10/month or more on Patreon. Link: https://www.patreon.com/trucepodcast Event details: Tuesday August 9, 2022 at 8pm EST/7pm CST/ 6pm MT/ 5pm PST. Zoom link will be posted on Patreon for those who give $10/month or more. If you cannot give to help the show, but still really want to participate, please get in touch with @trucepodcast on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook and Chris will try to squeeze you in. Potential discussion topics: How "In His Steps" ties into the Holiness and Social Gospel movements What is the role of the female characters in this book? The role of wealth and poverty in the story What this book means to us Is "In His Steps" an evangelistic book? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In His Steps by Charles Sheldon is a classic of Christian fiction. It is also one of the top-selling Christian books of all time. We've been running through the history of Christian fundamentalism this season. It's worth noting that fundamentalism was a reaction to liberal theology, especially modernism. Another form of liberal theology was the "Social Gospel". It was a movement led by people like Walter Rauschenbusch that emphasized the socially conscious aspects of Christianity, while simultaneously downplaying evangelism. Christian fundamentalists did not like the Social Gospel. For one thing, it had a positive view of human progress. It said that the world could get better and better and then Jesus would return. Christian fundamentalists generally think that world history trends downward. I'm presenting this original audio recording for many reasons. I think this book offers a great window into the era in which it was created (the late 1800s). It also represents the Social Gospel and a slice of the Holine

Can a Christian be holy? Can we go a week, a day, or an hour without sinning? These are questions that modern Christians struggle with. They have their origin in John Wesley, a hymn writer, preacher, and one of the founders of Methodism. In this episode of Truce, we track how this seemingly simple concept got tied up in movements from fundamentalism to Pentecostalism. This episode is going to seem a bit "out there". But this information is important to fundamentalism. Keswick Holiness in particular created an "us and them" scenario where there are Christians who "get it" and those who don't. The divide is between "carnal" Christians and those who are really saved. This impulse makes it easier for fundamentalists to see themselves as set apart from other Christians. We're joined by Chris Evans, author of "Do Everything" which is a biography of suffragette Frances Willard. Helpful Sources and Links: D.L. Moody: A Life by Kevin Belmonte The Evangelicals by Frances Fitzgerald John Wesley's tract on perfecti

After the evangelist D.L. Moody died at the end of the 1800s, he left behind a series of lieutenants, guys who carried on the work of sharing the gospel and shaping culture. It was these men who went on to set the foundation of the fundamentalist movement in the United States. James Gray, Arthur Pierson, A.J. Gordon, Charles Blanchard, and William Erdman, C.I. Scofield, and William Bell Riley. These guys went on to found schools, start radio ministries, spearhead publications, and amass large followings. They wrote the influential (if under-read) pamphlet series “The Fundamentals” and would fight the rise of Darwinism in schools and liberal theology in denominations. In this episode, we'll explore the emergence of fiefdoms in evangelicalism—ministries with little or no denominational oversight. This method of ministry was crucial in landing us where we are today. Could the evangelicals Church of today use a Magna Carta of sorts to keep ministries under accountability? Helpful Sources and Links: D.L. Moody:

DL Moody. The name may be familiar. There is a Moody Publishers, a Moody Bible Institute, Moody Radio. His name is all over evangelicalism. His remarkable life story is something worth noting. Though Moody was not a fundamentalist, some of the tactics he used to build his ministry would be employed by some of his lieutenants when they built the foundation of the movement. So we're going to spend this episode talking about this remarkable man. Born in poverty, educated to only about a 4th-grade level, he would rise to become one of the most important American evangelists. His folksy style and booming voice were winsome to the millions of people to whom he preached. In this difficult series about controversial ideas, why not take some time to discuss something that went right in the late 1800s? The ministry of Moody. I'm joined in this episode by Kevin Belmonte. He's the author of several history books including D.L. Moody: A Life. Check out his books and let me know what you think! Helpful Links and Sources

The 1800s were an era of big questions, many of which we answered in cruel and selfish ways. Is one race better than another? Is one religion? If so, which one? In what ways? Is one economic system better than another? Is one system of governance like a democratic republic like the US, or socialist, or monarchy, theocracy, communism, best? Some people answered these questions with a resounding "yes". But if we think our people and ways are better than anyone else's, what responsibility do we have to spread those things? Men like Henry Cabot Lodge and Theodore Roosevelt were firm believers in social Darwinism, though their vision of it meant teaching those less "civilized" people our ways. And they were okay with the United States taking power over them. Meanwhile, there were men like William Jennings Bryan who refused to think of others in social Darwinism terms. He spent years fighting that dark philosophy, ultimately prosecuting the Scopes Monkey trial to stop the spread of social Darwinism. But the s

Give to help Truce. www,trucepodcast.com/donate Populism is a tricky subject. We use it these days as a slur, but populism can be a useful phenomenon. History professor and author Michael Kazin says that populism is an important tool when it comes to regulating power. In the late 1800s, railroads and banks were out of control. Industrialists like John D. Rockefeller had uninhibited control of their markets. Rockefeller believed in social Darwinism and didn't mind using dirty tactics to undermine his competition. The Populist Party sprouted out of frustrations women had with the political machines of their day. Republicans and Democrats were not yet willing to accept women and the issues they cared about. Women were slowly becoming a force within politics, but neither party had the guts to accept them. So women and others decided to form their own party. But in the election of 1896, the Populist Party was worried about a split vote. They worried that if they were to run a candidate of their own then they mig

The Great Depression. Some say that it was caused by a failure of the stock market. Well... that's not all. Jacob Goldstein, host of NPR's Planet Money podcast and author of "Money: the Truce Story of a Made-Up Thing" joins us to discuss the role the gold standard played in making the depression what it was. Here is why the gold standard made the Great Depression much worse. Simply put, the panic of 1929 caused people to run to the bank and demand their money back in the form of gold. We were on the gold standard back then and you could literally go to a bank and ask for them to get your money in gold. But banks were running out! There was only so much gold on hand because banks don't generally keep 100% of their money in the vault. And banks (for the ease of our understanding things) "create" money when they do loans. So it was possible for a bank only to have a certain percentage of their loans backed by actual gold. This created real trouble. If the banks ran out of gold, they'd go broke and have to close.

There was a time not so long ago when the value of an ounce of gold cost $20.67. That was true not just in one moment or one year. It was true in the 1880s, 1890s, 1900s, 1920s... This was the gold standard. A person could take $20.67 to a federal bank and receive an ounce of gold in return. This system worked really well... for a while. But by the 1890s the constant deflation caused by the increasing value of gold meant that people with loans had to work harder and harder to pay them back. The value of gold and the value of goods had an inverse relationship, like a seesaw. One side went up and the other went down. This is the topic William Jennings Bryan chose to discuss at the 1896 Democratic Convention. And it was that speech that won him the presidential nomination that year. Imagine that! Someone so passionate about inflating the cost of goods that they are chosen to be president! His bimetallism (he wanted to add silver into the mix to devalue the specie) stance came out of his social gospel leanings

This season of the Truce Podcast tracks the history of Christian fundamentalism. So far we've covered the rise of para-church ministries through preachers, the creation of dispensationalism, and the rising threat of modernist theology in the late 1800s. That is a lot to digest! So in this episode, I thought it would be helpful to sit down with some of the smartest guys I know and ask them, "how do we deal with Christian fundamentalism?" Christian fundamentalism has impacted our lives in various ways. Ray McDaniel (pastor of First Baptist Church in Jackson, WY) shares that he grew up under fundamentalist teaching. Chris Staron (host of the Truce Podcast) talks about his childhood and teen years listening to fundamentalist radio. Nick Staron discusses the last few years when he has seen fundamentalism rise inside his own circle of friends. Here are some things to consider from this episode: Modernist theology can be seen as an actual threat to evangelical theology. How should we deal with threats in a godly w

George Marsden characterized Christian fundamentalism as "militantly anti-modernist protestant evangelicalism". Right there you see that fundamentalism is a reaction against something. And that something is modernist theology. Modernism is a broad term used to describe a few different schools of liberal theology. In this episode, we discuss the Tubingen and Berlin schools. Modernist theology is often marked by the desire to discuss the "historic Jesus". This term can be a bit confusing because it is less about understanding what historic texts say about Jesus and more about discussing the non-miraculous aspects of Jesus' life and ministry. Our special guest this episode is Chris Evans, professor of Christian History and Methodist Studies at Boston University and author of "Do Everything" a biography of Francis Willard. Discussion Questions: What does it mean that fundamentalism is a reaction to modernist theology? What is modernist theology? Do you know any theologically liberal people? Do you find it dif

The 1800s were a time of milking cows and going to the county fair. Sure... but what else? We tend to think of this century as a quiet, pastoral era when people were friendly and life was simple. But the 1800s were a crazy time! The American Civil War, the Napoleonic Wars, the Spanish-American War, conquest, the suffrage movement, the prohibition movement, massive technological changes. It's a wonder we ever made it out alive. In this episode, we explore the early life of William Jennings Bryan and the Democratic Party, the party of Jim Crow that he would soon lead. After the Civil War, it was the Democrats who created Black Codes in the South to restrict the upward mobility of African Americans. They were the party of white farmers and soon transitioned into representing labor unions and, eventually, many black people in the United States. Bryan was one of the men responsible for that transition. Helpful Links and Sources: "A Godly Hero" by Michael Kazin Truce episode about the Woman's Christian Temperance

Become a patron of the show and help make the Truce episodes you love. This season we're tracing the history of Christian fundamentalism through the life of William Jennings Bryan. But first, we need to learn some important definitions. Our big word of the week is dispensationalism. It's not as complicated as it sounds. Dispensationalism is (in part) the notion that God treats humankind differently depending on what era we are in. It is not accepted by all Christians, but it is a building block of fundamentalism. Another component of dispensationalism is the secret rapture--the idea that God will take His elect to heaven just before the tribulation. It also asserts that the Christian Church will become apostate before the end times. This last tidbit is important! Premillennialism made Christians suspicious of the outside world, but it was dispensationalism that made us suspicious of each other. John Nelson Darby is often credited as the father of dispensationalism. He came up with the idea of the rapture and

Give to help keep Truce going! What is the difference between premillennialism and postmillennialism? And what does it matter? After the French Revolution in the late 1700s, Christians began to see the world as coming to an end. Daniel 7 and Revelation 13 describe an oppressor who will wear the people out for a period of time. Some Christian interpret that as being 1260 years. That 1260 years can be placed over the reign of Justinian all the way through history up until the French Revolution. That is just one interpretation that not everyone shares. But if you hold that view then this event was HUGE. It meant that the end of the world was super close. It has now been over 200 years since that event, but many premillennialists still hold up this prophecy as proof of the fulfillment of scripture. Many Christians were sparked to uncover the meaning of it all. Some turned to an old idea -- premillennialism. It's the notion that the world is on a downward trajectory. Things are going to get really bad and then

Donate to support the Truce Podcast! Correction: The original version of this episode incorrectly represented Arminian belief. It involves the belief that once grace is offered by God that a sinner can reject the offer. The original version stated that the sinner made the first move to initiate a relationship. That is incorrect. Arminians believe that God makes the first move, but His offer can be rejected. The error has been corrected in this version, My apologies for any confusion. Who is an evangelical? If you go by the news today, you probably think evangelicals are all American middle-class white men. Nope! Evangelical Christians come in all shapes, colors, and sizes. They can be men or women from anywhere in the world. They can speak any language. And they can have a lot of variety in their beliefs. This season on the Truce Podcast we are examining the history of Christian fundamentalism. How did fundamentalism begin? What is Christian fundamentalism? Is Christian fundamentalism a good thing, a bad t

Become a patron of the Truce Podcast! In our present moment, it seems that people are inclined to extremes. Christian fundamentalism seems to be on the rise. This season we're examining the history of Christian fundamentalism. We'll start by defining terms like "evangelical", "premillennialism", "dispensationalism", "modernist theology", and "fundamentalism". Then we'll work our way to the Scopes Monkey Trial, that massive media event in 1925 that pitted fundamentalism against evolution. Our guests this season include George Marsden, Joel Carpenter, Kevin Belmonte, Edward Larson, Paul T. McCartney, and Michael Kazin. We'll also feature a fascinating conversation with Jacob Goldstein, co-host of the Planet Money podcast. We can never hope to cover every facet of a subject this huge. Instead, the goal is to help normal people like us understand the basics of this movement that is actively shaping world history. Subscribe so you get every new episode as it is released. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit po

Christmas can be a difficult time for many of us. How do we love people who disagree with us? How do we cope with people who don't seem to make sense anymore? In this bonus Christmas message, I just want to remind all of us of Jesus' command to both love our God AND love our neighbor. How has 2021 been for you? Leave a comment on social media or on the website at www.trucepodcast.com. God willing, season 5 of Truce will begin in winter 2022. Merry Christmas, Chris Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Become a patron of the show and help me make even more great episodes! Donate by visiting www.patreon.com/trucepodcast When you think of the world's worst mass murderers, King Leopold II doesn't usually come up. But due to his forced labor practices in the Congo, nearly 10 million people lost their lives. He did this by pretending that his actions in that region were a missionary effort. In reality, he forced Africans to harvest wild rubber or risk having their hands cut off. The truth is even darker than that: it turns out that Leopold was far from the only person doing this. This same era was marked by many major world powers engaging in forced labor. From the US in the Philippines to Arab countries in eastern Africa, much of the modern world was built on forced labor. Author Adam Hochschild joins us for this episode to discuss his book "King Leopold's Ghost". I first heard about this story on the Noble Blood podcast and their episode "The Red Paint on Leopold II". Discussion Questions: Had you heard of

Become a patron of the show and help me make even more great episodes! Donate by visiting www.patreon.com/trucepodcast The British slave trade had several well-known opponents: William Wilberforce and John Newton (who wrote "Amazing Grace") to name a few. But historian Adam Hochschild ("King Leopold's Ghost", "To End All Wars") argues that history has largely forgotten the most valuable member of the abolition movement: Thomas Clarkson. Clarkson was in charge of gathering and disseminating information across the British Isles. He fought for years to end the slave trade and then slavery itself. This movement is important for many reasons. It was the first to use logos, a coordinated marketing campaign, and it established a high bar for investigative journalism. It was also an ecumenical movement. In this episode we explore slavery, the importance of slave rebellions, the power of ecumenical efforts, and the book "Bury the Chains". I mentioned the so-called Curse of Ham in the episode. Learn more about it here