Harry Emerson Fosdick

Harry Emerson Fosdick (1878-1969) American clergyman, b. Buffalo, N.Y., graduated from Colgate University , 1900, and Union Theological Seminary , 1904. 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 historic Riverside Church (formerly Park Avenue Baptist Church) 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 12, 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.

Dr. 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." {Link without Title}

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

EXTERNAL LINKS

''Time'' magazine cover of Fosdick, Oct 6, 1930

Class notes from Georgetown College

Information About

Harry Emerson Fosdick