God's Story: A Student Guide to Church History by Brian Cosby

then—through a series of mutations and the process of the “survival of the fittest”—we get the plethora of species, plants, wildlife, animals, and humans that we see today.
    Simply put, evolutionary theory was meant to explain all that we see and observe apart from the supernatural creation of God as it is revealed in the Bible. Interestingly, “science,” technically speaking, refers to that which can be observed, tested, and repeated. Evolution from one species to another (a dog to a non-dog, ape to human, etc.) has never been observed . Thus, evolution is technically not science and it certainly hasn’t been proven.
    The fact of the matter is that evolution takes a great deal of faith. Not only does it go against the clear teachings of Scripture, it is not supported by unbiased scientific fact. Nevertheless, Darwin’s thought has infiltrated every aspect of society—from schools to Sunday schools, government policy to environmentalism and it was set up as an entire worldview in opposition to the Christian faith.
Light in the Darkness
    Despite the overarching abandonment of the Bible during the 19 th century, there was some light in the darkness. Notable theologians like the Princetonians, Charles Hodge (1797-1878) and Benjamin B. Warfield (1851-1921), and preachers such as Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892), J. C. Ryle (1816-1900), and Robert Murray McCheyne (1813-1843) continued to champion the historic Protestant faith. God always preserves a remnant and he continually supplies his church with able minsters, teachers, and shepherds.
    Extra-biblical revivalism, liberal theology, cults, and the theory of evolution converged to make the 19 th century a period of time of the abandonment of the Bible for a large segment of once-professing “Christians.” Together, they mark a decisive break with the historic, Protestant, and biblical faith of previous generations.

Give a summary statement of each of the four
“abandonments” as surveyed in this chapter.
Many today try to predict when Jesus will
return. Do you think this is biblical? Why or
why not?
It was noted that “liberal” churches are
declining in membership at a rapid rate. Why
do you think this is happening?
Were you taught evolution in school? There
remains to this day no documented scientific
observation of evolution (e.g. a dog to a nondog).
Why, then, do you think it is so emphasized
by academic institutions?
----
    1 The “anxious bench” was a bench or a series of seats near the pulpit at revivals reserved for those who were especially concerned about their spiritual condition. These concerned individuals were expected to sit near the front for special prayer and attention by the preacher or spiritual leaders.

L iberalism and evolutionary theory didn’t have the last say. Christians from a variety of backgrounds and denominations rallied to the fundamentals of the faith while others directly addressed the theological fallacies of liberal theology. Still others, seeking to re-establish a first century expression of Christianity, sought to engage the “signs and wonders” (healings, speaking in tongues, etc.) as seen in the Bible. The message from all of these was clear: historic Christianity was far from over.
    All of these were reactions to the offspring of the Enlightenment, which include liberal theology, evolutionary theory, Deism, cults, and the “scientific/modernism” revolution. Those reacting to these various heresies and unbiblical propositions eventually merged into the movement now known as evangelicalism . Today, evangelicalism—despite its manifold stripes and diversity—generally holds to conservative, historic, orthodox, and biblical doctrines. Strikingly, while the evangelical movement is shrinking in America and Europe, it is exploding in Africa, Asia, and South America.
Fundamentalism
    Two men, A. C. Dixon and Reuben Archer Torrey, edited and released twelve volumes entitled The Fundamentals between 1910 and 1915, which