Richard Gamble and Jeff McDonald join us again. On this episode, McDonald introduces several significant points about William Jennings Bryan, including his early life and upbringing in a strong evangelical tradition, his belief that schools and universities posed a problem to religious freedom, and his concern that students could be led away from faith into unbelief if they fell under the influence of mind worshipers. He also notes Bryan’s political career and his advocacy for economic and religious freedom, as well as his influence on the Democratic party and his ongoing relevance to current political issues.

Jeffrey McDonald is a Presbyterian minister, historian, and author of John Gerstner and the Renewal of Presbyterian and Reformed Evangelicalism in Modern America (Wipf & Stock, 2017).

Richard M. Gamble is Professor of History and holds the Anna Margaret Ross Alexander Chair in History and Politics at Hillsdale College.

Chapters

• 00:07 Introduction
• 02:40 The Presbyterian Scholars Conference
• 10:27 William Jennings Bryan
• 18:48 Misconceptions about Bryan
• 22:05 Bryan’s Background
• 26:49 The Round Table Club
• 32:30 Concerns Regarding Religious Freedom and Education
• 37:11 Responding to Secularism
• 39:04 Machen and Libertarianism
• 41:11 Surprising Findings about Bryan
• 50:17 Bryan as a Nebraskan
• 53:26 Learning from Bryan
• 58:17 Conclusion

Links

• David W. Beggington, ed., The Gospel and Religious Freedom: Historical Studies in Evangelicalism and Political Engagement (Baylor University Press)
• Christ the Center episode 776 — Melvin Grove Kyle, J. Gresham Machen, and the League of Evangelical Students
• Christ the Center episode 599 — John Gerstner and the Renewal of Presbyterian and Reformed Evangelicalism
• Christ the Center episode 593 — The Battle Hymn of the Republic and Civil Religion

Books

• Jeffrey S. McDonald, “Advancing the Evangelical Mind: Melvin Grove Kyle, J. Gresham Machen, and the League of Evangelical Students”
• Richard M. Gamble, A Fiery Gospel: The Battle Hymn of the Republic and the Road to Righteous War (Religion and American Public Life)
• Richard M. Gamble, The War for Righteousness: Progressive Christianity, the Great War, and the Rise of the Messianic Nation. Wilmington, DE: ISI Books, 2003.
• Richard M. Gamble, The Great Tradition: Classic Readings on What It Means to be an Educated Human Being. Wilmington, DE: ISI Books, 2007.
• Richard M. Gamble, In Search of the City on a Hill: The Making and Unmaking of an American Myth. New York: Continuum/Bloomsbury, 2012.

Participants: Camden Bucey, Jeff McDonald, Richard M. Gamble

Jeff McDonald discusses Melvin Grove Kyle and the growth of the League of Evangelical Students (LES) founded by J. Gresham Machen and Princeton Seminary students in 1925. Both Kyle and Machen were scholarly leaders in the LES and served on the organization’s board together. In his paper on the subject, Dr. McDonald establishes the importance of Melvin Grove Kyle as a leading evangelical scholar and biblical archaeologist. He also explains the origins and growth of the LES and how various Presbyterians influenced the organization and sought to advance a broader evangelical Protestant intellectual life in the difficult period of the 1920s and 1930s.

Dr. McDonald is pastor of Avery Presbyterian Church in Bellevue, Nebraska and the author of John Gerstner and the Renewal of Presbyterian and Reformed Evangelicalism in Modern America (Wipf & Stock, 2017).

Links

• Jeffrey S. McDonald, “Advancing the Evangelical Mind: Melvin Grove Kyle, J. Gresham Machen, and the League of Evangelical Students“
• Christ the Center episode 599 — John Gerstner and the Renewal of Presbyterian and Reformed Evangelicalism

Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction
• 09:39 Historical Context
• 11:34 United Presbyterians and Xenia Seminary
• 20:15 Evangelical Cooperation
• 26:52 Evangelicals and the Life of the Mind
• 32:26 Pan-Presbyterian Dissent from Theological Liberalism
• 39:50 The Enduring Legacy of Melvin Grove Kyle
• 47:22 Machen’s Christianity and Liberalism
• 51:09 Additional Projects
• 52:55 Conclusion

Participants: Camden Bucey, Jeff McDonald

Jeffrey S. McDonald speaks about his book, John Gerstner and the Renewal of Presbyterian and Reformed Evangelicalism in Modern America (Wipf & Stock, 2017). It is published in the Princeton Theological Monograph Series.

John Gerstner (1914–96) was a significant leader in the renewal of Presbyterian and Reformed evangelicalism in America during the second half of the twentieth century. Gerstner’s work as a church historian sought to shape evangelicalism, but also northern mainline Presbyterianism. He wrote, taught, lectured, debated, and preached widely.

Jeffrey S. McDonald is the pastor of Avery Presbyterian Church in Bellevue, Nebraska and an Affiliate Professor of Church History at Sioux Falls Seminary, Omaha.

Participants: Camden Bucey, Jeff McDonald, Jim Cassidy