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Fosdick, Harry Emerson

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Harry Emerson Fosdick

Born May 24, 1878 in Buffalo, New York United States[1]
Died October 5, 1969 (aged 91) in Bronxville, New York[1]
Church Baptist[2]
Education B.A., Colgate University, 1900
studied at Colgate Seminary, 1900–01
B.D., Union Theological Seminary, 1904
M.A., Columbia University, 1908[2]
Ordained November 18, 1903[1]
Congregations served First Baptist Church, Montclair, New Jersey, 1904–15
First Presbyterian Church, New York, New York, 1918–1925
Park Avenue Baptist Church/Riverside Church, New York, New York, 1925–30/1930-46[2]
Offices held pastor,[2] associate pastor[3]
Spouse Florence Allen Whitney[1]
Children Elinor Fosdick Downs, Dorothy Fosdick[1]
Parents Frank Sheldon Fosdick, Amy Inez Fosdick[1]

Harry Emerson Fosdick (1878-1969) was an American clergyman. He was born in Buffalo, N.Y. He graduated from Colgate University in 1900, and Union Theological Seminary in 1904. He was ordained a Baptist minister in 1903. Fosdick was the most prominent liberal Baptist minister of the early 20th Century. He was Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church on West Twelfth Street and then at the historic, interdenominational Riverside Church (the congregation moved from the then-named Park Avenue Baptist Church[4], now the Central Presbyterian Church[5] ) in New York City.

Fosdick became a central figure in the conflict between fundamentalist and liberal forces within American Protestantism in the 1920s and 1930s. While at First Presbyterian Church, on May 21, 1922, he delivered his famous sermon “Shall the Fundamentalists Win?”, in which he defended the modernist position. In that sermon, he presented the Bible as a record of the unfolding of God’s will, not as the literal Word of God. He saw the history of Christianity as one of development, progress, and gradual change. To the fundamentalists, this was rank apostasy, and the battle lines were drawn.

Fosdick was an outspoken opponent of racism and injustice. Fosdick also supported appeasement of Hitler and argued "moral equivalence", i.e. that the democracies were largely to blame for the rise of fascism:

"The all but unanimous judgment seems to be that we, the democracies, are just as responsible for the rise of the dictators as the dictatorships themselves, and perhaps more so."

Fosdick's sermons won him wide recognition, as did his radio addresses which were nationally broadcast. He authored numerous books, and many of his sermon collections are still in print. He is also the author of the hymn, "God of Grace and God of Glory".

Fosdick's book A Guide to Understanding the Bible traces the beliefs of the people who wrote the Bible, from the ancient beliefs of the Hebrews, which he regarded as practically pagan, to the faith and hopes of the New Testament writers.

His brother, Raymond Fosdick, was essentially in charge of philanthropy for John D. Rockefeller, Jr.

Fosdick had a daughter, Dorothy Fosdick, who was foreign policy adviser to Henry M. Jackson.

Fosdick reviewed the first edition of Alcoholics Anonymous in 1939, giving it his approval. AA members continue to point to this review as significant in the development of the AA movement.

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b c d e f Fiske, Edward B.. "Harry Emerson Fosdick Dies; Liberal Led Riverside Church", The New York Times, October 6, 1969, pp. 1. Retrieved on 2007-07-25. 
  2. ^ a b c d Balmer, Randall; Fitzmeir, John R. (January 30, 1993). The Presbyterians (Denominations in America). Greenwood Press, 158. ISBN 978-0313260841. 
  3. ^ Pultz, David. The Merging of Three Churches. First Presbyterian Church. Retrieved on 2007-07-23.
  4. ^ Miller, Robert Moat (February 21, 1985). Harry Emerson Fosdick: Preacher, Pastor, Prophet. Oxford University Press, USA, 576. ISBN 978-0195035124. 
  5. ^ Central Presbyterian Church. The New York City Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. Retrieved on 2007-07-23.

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This biographical information was gathered from the Harry_Emerson_Fosdick page, courtesy of the Wikipedia project.

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