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The Last Embers of British Fundamentalism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 May 2022

MARKKU MIKAEL RUOTSILA
MARKKU MIKAEL RUOTSILA*
Affiliation:
University of Helsinki, Yliopstonakatu 4, 00100 Helsinki, Finland;
*
E-mail:markku.ruotsila@helsinki.fi
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Abstract

This article unearths the little-remembered history of British fundamentalist organisations of the Cold War era. These bodies constituted the last embers of an organised movement in Britain: the British Evangelical Council after 1953; the English Consultative Committee and the British Council of Protestant Christian Churches from the mid-1950s; the Christian Bible Unity Fellowship in the 1960s; and the British and European Reformation Fellowship in the 1980s. Based on archival and published material, the article argues that these organisations tried to render US-style fundamentalism into a new Anglicised version, but that each failed due to confessional disagreements and personal rivalries.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Ecclesiastical History , Volume 74 , Issue 2 , April 2023 , pp. 349 - 369
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2022

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References

1 Carl McIntire to Ivan S. Milsted, 13 Feb. 1952, Carl McIntire manuscript collection, Princeton Theological Seminary Library, Princeton, NJ, box 19.

2 McIntire to George Norris, 12 Dec. 1956, ibid. box 16.

3 Norris to McIntire, 28 Nov. 1956, ibid.

4 See Bebbington, David W. and Jones, David Ceri (eds), Evangelicalism and fundamentalism in the United Kingdom in the twentieth century, Oxford 2013CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

5 In addition to Bebbington and Ceri Jones, Evangelicalism, see Bebbington, David W., Evangelicalism in modern Britain: a history from the 1730s to the 1980s, London 1989Google Scholar; Chapman, Alister, Godly ambition: John Stott and the Evangelical movement, Oxford 2012Google Scholar; Atherstone, Andrew and Jones, David Ceri (eds), Engaging with Martyn Lloyd-Jones: the life and legacy of ‘the doctor’, Nottingham 2011Google Scholar; and Bebbington, David W. and Jones, David Ceri (eds), Evangelicalism and dissent in modern England and Wales, London 2020CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

6 David W. Bebbington and David Ceri Jones, ‘Conclusion’, in Bebbington and Ceri Jones, Evangelicalism, 371–6.

7 See Ruotsila, Markku, Fighting fundamentalist: Carl McIntire and the politicization of American fundamentalism, New York 2016, 3, 90–6CrossRefGoogle Scholar, and ‘Transnational fundamentalist anti-Communism: the International Council of Christian Churches’, in Luc van Dongen, Stephanie Roulin and Giles Scott Smith (eds), Transnational anti-Communism and the Cold War, Basingstoke 2014, 235–50, as well as ‘Importing fundamentalism: the Scandinavian Evangelical Council’, in Arne Bugge Amundsen (ed.), Vekkelsens rom, Lund 2020, 175–90.

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9 The members were twenty-five Strict Baptist congregations, four from FIEC and five Independent ones, one parish of the Free Church of England, the Polish Reformed Church in exile and the Latvian Lutheran Evangelical Church in exile: George H. Fromow, ‘Report on the ICCC in Britain’, RR x (Jan. 1963), 105.

10 ‘An explanation and an appeal’, RL i (Jan. 1956), 1, 4–6; ‘The International Council of Christian Churches English Consultative Committee’, RL i (Jan. 1956), 16; Fromow, ‘Report’, 105; D. A. Thompson to McIntire, 6 Apr. 1960, McIntire collection, box 195; Maris, J. C., ‘The ICCC in European countries’, in 5th plenary congress, International Council of Christian Churches, Amsterdam 1961, 22Google Scholar.

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12 ‘An explanation’, 4.

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15 W. J. Grier to McIntire, 25 Sept. 1954, McIntire collection, box 13; Abraham Warnaar to Robert Dubarry, 4 Sept. 1959, box 18; ‘Formation of a British Evangelical Council’, RR 1 (Oct. 1953), 46–8; Fountain, Contending, 139–40; Fromow, ‘Report’, 108; Hart, D. G., Calvinism: a history, New Haven 2013, 268Google Scholar.

16 Alexander Macleod to McIntire, 15 Aug. 1951, McIntire collection, box 10; Macleod to Warnaar, 11 Dec. 1952, box 131; Milsted to Warnaar, 30 Dec. 1954, box 19; Grier to McIntire, 25 Sept. 1954, 24 Mar. 1959, box 13; ‘Regional conference of the ICCC’, Monthly Record of the Free Church of Scotland (Sept. 1952), 183–4; ‘The “New Evangelicalism”’, RR v (July 1958), 211–12.

17 Grier to McIntire, 9 Apr., 6 May 1952, McIntire collection, box 13.

18 Warnaar to Frederic Buhler, Aug. 1959, ibid. box 198; minutes of a meeting of the European section of the executive committee of the ICCC, 24 July 1959, box 366; Thompson to McIntire, 16 Jan., 26 Mar. 1960, box 195.

19 J. P. Thackway, ‘Affinity’, <https://www.bibleleaguetrust.org/affinity/ > (accessed 26 Feb. 2021).

20 S. Wolstenholme to McIntire, 13 Mar. 1969, and McIntire to Brian Green, 3 June 1969, McIntire collection, box 185; Milsted to Ruth Trato, 2 Aug. 1973, box 90; McIntire to James North, 16 Feb. 1984, box 28; McIntire to Norman Porter, 5 Nov. 1987, box 5; ‘British Council of Protestant Christian Churches’, VfT vii (Jan.–Feb. 1967), 12; ‘The British Council of Protestant Christian Churches’, The Revivalist (Oct. 1989), 2–3.

21 ‘Beacon editor writes of meetings for ICCC in England and Holland’, Christian Beacon, 24 May 1951, 1, 8; McIntire to Ian Paisley, 28 May 1951, 11 Mar. 1952, McIntire collection, box 147; Warnaar to Porter, 9 Dec. 1955, box 383; McIntire to W. R. McEwen, 9 Jan. 1963, box 201. See also Richard L. Jordan, The second coming of Paisley: militant fundamentalism and Ulster politics, Ithaca, NY 2013, 120–9.

22 Grier to McIntire, 23 Apr. 1952, McIntire collection, box 13; Warnaar to McIntire, 28 Dec. 1962, box 206; Paisley to McIntire, 4 Feb. 1963, box 147; H. J. W. Legerton to Warnaar, 18 May 1964, box 366; Porter to Warnaar, 5 Aug. 1966, box 207; Jordan, The second coming, 120–9.

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24 D. A. Thompson, ‘A call to prayer and action on behalf of the Church of England’, RR iv (July 1957), 236–43, and Christ and his cross, London 1958, 9–12; Norris to McIntire, 28 Nov. 1956, McIntire collection, box 16; Poole-Connor to McIntire, 8 Sept. and McIntire to Poole-Connor, 17 Sept. 1958, box 383.

25 Warnaar to Poole-Connor, 23 Oct. 1953, McIntire collection, box 383; George Fromow to Warnaar, 26 Feb. 1964, box 366; Legerton to Warnaar, 18 May 1964, box 366; Warnaar to MacLeod, 1 Apr. 1964, box 207; minutes of ICCC executive committee meetings, 5–12 Aug. 1965, box 366; Warnaar to McIntire, 28 Sept. 1964, box 207; ‘Plain Speaking’, VfT i (Nov. 1964), 2–3; The reports and messages of the 6th plenary congress of the International Council of Christian Churches, Singapore 1965, 16, 19.

26 Peter J. Gadsden interview with the author, 23 Apr. 2015; Hans Maris interview with the author, 16 July 2015; Trato to K. C. Quek, 28 July 1988, McIntire collection, box 9.

27 Gadsden interview, 23 Apr. 2015; Trato to Quek, 28 July 1988, McIntire collection, box 9.

28 Gadsden interview, 23 Apr. 2015; The Protestant Guardian, news release, Feb. 1984, McIntire collection, box 191; McIntire to Gadsden, Mar. 19, 1984, and Gadsden to McIntire, 8 Feb. 1984, 19 Mar. 1985 and 6 Sept. 1988, box 8; BERF general meeting minutes, 3 Feb. 1986, box 8; Gadsen to Trato, 15 Nov. 1988, box 185; Trato to Quek, 28 July 1988, box 9.

29 ‘The British and European Reformation Fellowship’, n.d., McIntire collection, box 191.

30 Poole-Connor, Evangelicalism, 42–4, 209, 231–8; E. J. Poole-Connor, ‘Mariner, beware!’, Bible League Quarterly ccix (Apr.–June 1952), 1–5, and ‘The revised standard version’, RR 1 (July 1954), 33–41.

31 Markku Ruotsila, ‘Ecumenism and separatism’, in David Ceri Jones and Andrew Atherstone (eds), The Oxford handbook of Christian fundamentalism, Oxford (forthcoming).

32 ‘The significance of the new name’, RL xiv (Mar. 1964), 3–5.

33 Poole-Connor, ‘Behaviour’, n.p.; The World Council of Churches’ cure for disunity: its nature and cost, London 1956, 3–7; ‘The significance of the new name’, 3–5.

34 Ivan S. Milsted, ‘Ecumenical survey’, Good News (Mar. 1955), 5–10.

35 Poole-Connor, ‘Religious co-operation’, 11.

36 ‘An explanation and an appeal’, RL 1 (Jan. 1956), 4; ‘What is the difference between the International Council of Christian Churches and the World Council of Churches?’, London 1956, 6–7.

37 ‘Union de défense protestante’, Cri d'Alarme ii (July 1947), 4; Guiton, W. H., ‘Le Plus Vite possible’, Cri d'Alarme xiii (Oct 1950), 3Google Scholar; Guiton, W. H., ‘Idolatry and tyranny’, RR iv (Oct. 1957), 110–11Google Scholar.

38 T. T. Shields to McIntire, 22 Dec. 1947, 14 Jan. 1952, McIntire collection, box 246; Shields, T.T., ‘Shall king George vi or pope Pius xii rule Canada?’, Gospel Witness xxx (15 Oct. 1951), 1–7Google Scholar; Bauman, W. P., ‘Envoy to Vatican’, Gospel Witness xliii (3 Sept. 1964), 6Google Scholar.

39 The reports and messages of the 6th plenary congress, 16.

40 Ruotsila, Fighting fundamentalist, 127–8, 137–9, 151–3, 192, 260–1.

41 Legerton to Warnaar, 18 May 1964, McIntire collection, box 366; ‘Plain speaking’, 2–3.

42 Jones, The second coming, 144–59, 182–9; ‘Helpt ulsterse protestanten’, Getrouw xxviii (Feb. 1975), 29; ‘Hulp voor Ulster is Zelfhulp’, Getrouw xxix (Feb. 1976), 243; Hans Maris interview with the author, 16 July 2015.

43 McIntire to David Hedegård, 14 Jan. 1969, David Hedegård papers, Regional State Archives, Lund, Sweden, A IIa:5.

44 ‘Joint council of churches pope in the chair?’, RL v (Autumn 1957), 7–9; ‘The papacy – once repudiated, now honoured’, RL vii (Feb. 1959), 26–32; ‘Protestant viewpoint’, Protestant Telegraph, 28 May 1966, 1. For the Spanish operations see de Wirtz, Luis, ‘Succouring Spanish sufferers’, RL xii (Dec. 1962), 27–9Google Scholar; ‘The situation in Spain’, Protestant Telegraph, 6 Jan. 1968, 4; and English Consultative Committee, ‘Refugee aid fund’ (May 1961), n.p.

45 Norman Porter, ‘The Second Vatican Council’, RR xi (Oct. 1963), 13–22; Mason, G. H., ‘Vatican “semper idem” council – comments’, VfT ii (Winter 1965), 5–9Google Scholar; Brian Green, ‘Christians awake!’, VfT vi (1966), 1–2, and Unity with Rome? Seven reasons why true Protestants cannot unite with Rome, Chiswick, n.d., 1–5, 10–14, 17; Peter Trumper, ‘Runcie – Romeward’, British Beacon and Protestant Guardian (Oct. 1989), 1.

46 British Consultative Committee, Betrayal! of Britain's national heritage, n.d. [1966].

47 James North, The papal visit weighed and found wanting, Lewes, n.d., 1–3; Stephen Scott-Pearson, ‘“Strengthen the things which remain”’, VfT vi (May–July 1983), 8–9.

48 ‘Billy Graham?’, VfT iii (1965), 3–4; John L. Bird, ‘“With all boldness”’, Fellowship i (Nov. 1957), 5–6; Stephen Scott-Pearson, ‘Beware! Evangelicals’, VfT vii (Aug.–Oct. 1983), 6–7; ‘Billy Graham BCPCC report’, VfT vi (May–July 1983), 3–6; ‘Mixed multitude Evangelicalism’, British Beacon and Protestant Guardian (Dec.–Jan. 1989–90), 2–3; ‘The unchanging Gospel?’, Focus (Apr. 1982), 1.

49 Payne, James, ‘Strong delusions’, RR xx (Jan. 1973), 86–103Google Scholar; ‘The unchanging Gospel?’, 1; North to McIntire, 4 June 1984, McIntire collection, box 191; Peter J. Gadsden, ‘A popular 20th century heresy’, Protestant Guardian (Winter 1984–5), 1–2; ‘Mixed multitude Evangelicalism’, 2–3.

50 ‘The European common market’, RL xi (Mar. 1962), 34–5; ‘The European common market’, RL xiii (Aug. 1963), 29–33; Philip H. Rand, ‘Christians awake!’, VfT i (Nov. 1964), 13–14; ‘Do you know…’, Protestant Telegraph, 2 July 1966, 3; ‘Britain and the common market’, VfT ix (June–Aug. 1967), 10–11; Brian Green, Should Britain enter the common market?, Hounslow, n.d., n.p.; Payne, ‘Strong delusions’, 110–13.

51 ‘The Bible's verdict on Marxian Communists’, ‘Protest concerning visit of Russian envoys’ and ‘Comment on recent affairs’, RL ii (Apr. 1956), 1–9, 10; ‘Marxian Communism in the light of Holy Scripture, part 2’, RL ii (Dec. 1956), 1–9; Milsted to McIntire, 20 Feb. 1955, McIntire collection, box 19.

52 Markku Ruotsila, ‘Globalizing the US Christian right: transnational interchange during the Cold War’, International History Review xl (Jan. 2018), 133–54.

53 Alexander Macleod, ‘The Evangelical Church and the modern social problem’, 26 July 1952, McIntire collection, box 10; ‘Evolution protest movement’, RL iv (Mar. 1957), 22; ‘The error of evolution’, RL v (Autumn 1957), 11–12. See also Brown, Callum G., The battle for Christian Britain: sex, humanists and secularisation, 1945–1980, Cambridge 2019CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Davidson, Roger, Sexual state: sexuality and Scottish governance, 1950–80, Edinburgh 2012CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

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56 Ivan S. Milsted, ‘Social policy or Christian conscience?’, Good News (May 1955), 4–5.

57 ‘The sixth annual public meetings’, RL x (Summer 1961), 26; J. C. Maris to John Wilmot, 20 Sept. 1962, McIntire collection, box 208; Fromow, ‘Report’, 106–7.

58 James North and Janet North to McIntire, 28 Mar., 4 June 1984, McIntire collection, box 191; Gadsden to McIntire, 6 Sept. 1988, box 8.

59 Thompson to McIntire, 24, 28 June, 9 Feb. 1961, ibid. box 195; ‘Should there be a line up with the Church of Rome?’, RL xi (Mar. 1962), 39.

60 Jack Glass, ‘Report from Scotland’, Protestant Telegraph, 5 Oct. 1968, 12; ‘The truth about our protest’, VfT v (1966), 4–6; ‘What the papers said…’, VfT v (1966), 10–20; Green, ‘Christians awake!’, 1–2.

61 ‘The truth about our protest’, VfT v (1966), 4–6; ‘ICCC protests’, VfT vii (Jan.–Feb. 1967), 5, 7–8; ‘The Coventry crisis’, VfT ix (June–Aug. 1967), 2–4; ‘Regional news’, RR xiv (Jan. 1967), 117–19; ‘The ECC forward movement’, RL vii (Feb. 1959), 1–4; ‘Danger: sound the alarm’, RL x (Summer 1961), 25–6; Grier to McIntire, 23 Apr. 1952, McIntire collection, box 13.

62 Trato to Quek, 28 July 1988, McIntire collection, box 9; ‘Bible-believing ministries of Dr. Peter Trumper’, <http://www.kjv-asia.com/bible-believing-ministries-dr-peter-trumper/> (accessed 14 Feb. 2021); Gadsden interview, 23 Apr. 2015.