The tragic and ironic turn of the hymnist Pastor

Bells rang and flags flew as more than 4,000 people attended the opening service of Riverside Church in New York City on Sunday, October 5, 1930.

Many of the people who came to town that autumn morning were in financial difficulty amid the deepening global economic crisis, unsure how they would pay their bills, or more likely running out of money long before the end of the month.

From the beginning, the Riverside Church was something of a statement of protest, and its pastor its chief critic and protester. The impressive building stretches over two blocks overlooking the Hudson River and was financed by the famous industrialist John D. Rockefeller, with the stipulation that Dr. Harry Emerson Fosdick, the former head of the Park Avenue Baptist Church, should serve as pastor.

Dr. Fosdick was forced to resign from the First Presbyterian Church in Manhattan in 1925 because of his heretical views and teachings, particularly his denial of the literal and infallible nature of the Bible.

“I should be ashamed to live in this generation and not be a heretic,” he explained.

In short, Fosdick believed that the totality of the Bible's teachings was not sufficient for the times.

Does this sound familiar?

When he delivered a sermon entitled “Should the Fundamentalists Win?” the conflict arose. He defiantly declared:

They insist that we must all believe in the historicity of certain special miracles, most notably the virgin birth of our Lord; that we must believe in a special theory of inspiration—that the original documents of Scripture, which of course we no longer possess, were dictated to men without error, rather as a man dictates to a stenographer; that we must believe in a special theory of atonement—that the blood of our Lord, shed in a substitutionary death, propitiates an alienated deity and makes a reception possible for the returning sinner; and that we must believe in the second coming of our Lord on the clouds of heaven to establish a millennium here, as the only way in which God can bring history to a worthy conclusion. These are some of the stakes carried on in the Church to mark a deadline for doctrine.

Dr. Fosdick's path to the Riverside Church initially led him through the Park Avenue Baptist Church, the home church of business titan Rockefeller. But Fosdick initially did not want to join forces with him.

“I don’t want to be known as the pastor of the richest man in the country,” the pastor told Rockefeller, and declined his first invitation to become pastor of his congregation.

“I like your openness,” Rockefeller replied. “But do you think more people will criticize you for my wealth than me for your theology?”

Fosdick's progressive theology was reflected not only in his sermons, but also in his radio addresses, newspaper columns, and various community associations. He was an early and serious fan and advocate of Margaret Sanger of Planned Parenthood, particularly in relation to her support of birth control. Fosdick was also a pacifist who opposed the aggressive American bombing of Germany during World War II – the necessity of which he eventually recognized after learning of the horrors of the Holocaust.

For the opening service at Riverside Church, Dr Fosdick wrote the stirring and popular hymn 'God of Grace and God of Glory'. Sung to the tune of Cwm Rhondda ('Guide me, O great Jehovah'), it addresses timeless challenges that believers still face nearly a hundred years later. The chorus is built by repeating the request 'Give us wisdom, give us courage', followed by a series of powerful and practical prayers:

Give us wisdom, give us courage… So that we may survive this hour… So that we may live these days… So that we may not miss the goal of Your Kingdom… So that we may not disappoint people or You… And serve You whom we worship.

Dr. Fosdick's advocacy of the “social gospel” has been widely embraced by many of the major denominations that once rejected his problematic teaching. The tragedy of the movement is that some of its valid arguments for putting our faith into action have long since been swallowed up and overshadowed by its radicalism and heresy.

On the eve of the Riverside opening in a longer feature in The New York TimesDr. Fosdick's pastoral philosophy was summed up in the following headline: “A Religion That Fits Today's Life.” It was claimed that the controversial pastor had simply adapted and reinterpreted the Bible to suit the needs of 1930.

Of course, God's Word does not need to be changed or modernized. That is the trick and game of the progressives. Perhaps the hymnist Dr. Fosdick's own words can be our best answer – and our best prayer:

Behold, the hosts of evil surround us,
Despise your Christ and attack his ways.
From the fears that have held us captive for a long time,
Free our hearts for faith and praise.
Give us wisdom, give us courage,
For the life of these days,
For the life of these days

Image from Colgate University.