New Book: To the Praise of His Glory - A Biography of the Cederholms
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Got it late this afternoon. I’m up to the early fifties so far. It gives a nice overview
- of the issues and causes of the break between the NBC and the CBA.
- of the early structure of the CBA and the philosophy behind it.
The book also documents Dr. and Mrs. Cedarholm’s academic bona fides. He taught Greek at Eastern.
Hoping to shed more light than heat..
I know some people who have very hard feeling about Cederholm. I’m not terribly interested in the minutiae of fundamentalist Baptist politics in the mid-1960s; it’s far too depressing and demoralizing. This was the era of “big men,” and big men like to fight with each other. All in all, I don’t find those discussions very edifying.
I enjoyed Bauder’s first book on Northern Baptist fundamentalism (when will the next come out!?) because the focus was on theological revisionism; the “original fundamentalism.” I don’t look upon the Baptist fundamentalist fratricide of the post-war period as an era worth memorializing.
Tyler is a pastor in Olympia, WA and works in State government.
then I highly recommend this book. I think if any one man was the proximate cause of the CBA debacle it was Vernon Grounds. Read the book to find out.
Remember, I’m a native San Franciscan. The only time I spent in Wisconsin is the four years I was at MBBC. And since Dr. Cedarholm’s brother married my first pastor Arno Q. Wenigar, Sr.’s sister, this is hardly a hotbed of anti-Cedarholm sentiment.
Hoping to shed more light than heat..
The guy I talked to, an older fundamentalist associated with the GARBC (national), said it was all Cederholm’s fault! I plan on buying the book because it was written by Dr. Oats, who I admire. It also chronicles an important of Baptist fundamentalist history. the infighting just depresses me, sometimes. I had a similar reaction to portions of Bauder’s book, too.
Tyler is a pastor in Olympia, WA and works in State government.
with Dr. Cedarholm? From the book, Dr. C had minimal contact but friendly contact with the GARBC.
Hoping to shed more light than heat..
The GARBC left the NBC in 1932 (?). The other group stayed in, eventually forming the CBA which was not as militant as Cedarholm and others thought they should be, leading them to leave the CBA and the rift with Grounds. I recall some GARBC men explaining to me, “we left and they stayed in until they were thrown out” and faulting the CBA’s allowing churches to be members of both the CBA and the NBC. These separate types of beginnings caused a certain tense feeling between brethren during the 60’s and 70’s. My recollections are open to correction by Baptist historians while I blame it on my inability to get any good ginkgo biloba.
"Some things are of that nature as to make one's fancy chuckle, while his heart doth ache." John Bunyan
that’s kinda sorta what happened. Part of the reason for the CBA allowing dual membership was the way the NBC structured its ministerial pension system. If a pastor and church fully split from the NBC its ministers lost their pension and whatever they had contributed. Churches also found that if they left the Convention after taking funds from the NBHMS, the convention had a lien on the property. A congregation either had to repay the funds or walk away from the property. The Convention was also not above stacking a congregation’s business meeting.
The defeat of the conservative resurgence in the NBC is a reason many Northern IFBs are pessimistic in regards to the SBC.
Hoping to shed more light than heat..
Don’t know what the beef is, and don’t really care. This is the kind of unedifying fratricide I don’t like reading about. I’ve had enough of that in my own pastoral ministry! I’ll read the book because it gives a good snapshot of an era, from my orbit, and gives background about how MBU was founded.
Tyler is a pastor in Olympia, WA and works in State government.
you’ll find there were reasonable causes behind each of the splits. However, problems arose when men sought to re-fight the last war at a later date. And if you don’t really care what the beef is why bring it up?
Hoping to shed more light than heat..
I recall a sermon at BJU by Stewart Custer titled “Fractured Fundamentalism” in the mid 1970’s. While the KJV division was in its infancy, there was an uncomfortable (to me) distance between fundamentalists. GARBC, FBF, BJU, GARBC schools, PCC, BBF, Free Presbyterians, Ohio Bible Fellowship, IFCA, the Midwest Independent Baptists, Carl McIntire, etc. were generally acquainted but not close friends or considered family.
"Some things are of that nature as to make one's fancy chuckle, while his heart doth ache." John Bunyan
Have no fear; I will read the book.
Tyler is a pastor in Olympia, WA and works in State government.
It’s funny how the GARBC considered themselves the “real” separatists when compared to the CBA. My dad was told pretty much the same thing by the national rep when he pastored a GARB church in the 70s. Always sounded like a “no true Scotsman” fallacy to me.
Who were the “real separatists,” back then? Don’t care.
Who are the “real separatists,” now? Don’t care.
I’d rather just worry about myself and apply appropriate lessons learned from men from days gone by who did the best they could, in their own context.
Tyler is a pastor in Olympia, WA and works in State government.
Tyler, I agree it doesn’t matter who has claim to the label, but it does matter that the same mistakes of the past are repeated by those who are ignorant of the history. This tends to happen on all sides. Fundies re-fight an old war, and non-separatists cozy up to unbelievers. Having seen the results of new evangelicalism’s split with the fundamentalists, I’m sure not in favor of pursuing new evangelicalism 2.0. Then again, I find some of the fundamentalist reactions to be over the top and silly, so I don’t want a return to the “good old days” either. I’m just going to keep on tilling my patch in the garden and trust God to watch over the “movement.”
on the book in a couple of days in a separate thread. However, I’ve read enough to say, While the Cedarholms are heroes of the book, Dr, Oats does not paint anyone in particular as a villain. So, much of what Tyler dislikes doesn’t appear in To The Praise of His Glory.
‘Sides, Tyler, I think you said you studied at MBU under Dr. Oats. Your fears don’t apply to the man I know.
Hoping to shed more light than heat..
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