New World, Old Lies Echoes from 1918

FrontLine: November/December 2017 | VOLUME 27 | NUMBER 6

In August of 1914 British author H. G. Wells penned a series of articles on the escalating war in Europe; these were later collected and published in a volume entitled The War That Will End War. The title of the book became a popular catchphrase to describe the great conflict from 1914 to 1918. Many in the West believed that the successful prosecution of the struggle by the Allies would not only end war but would also make the world safe for democracy.

History has proven the underlying fallacies of their optimism. The fact that we now refer to the event as World War I is a commentary on their naivety concerning the nature and enduring quality of human conflict. What was it that made otherwise brilliant leaders of the Western democracies so wrong in their evaluation of the future of their world? They based their conclusions on unbiblical philosophies concerning humanity. Yes, the end of the war brought a new world, but most political and religious leaders in 1918 were still embracing old lies.

From the beginning of time Satan has seduced man to live without God. His temptation of Eve in the Garden of Eden was essentially the proposition that she did not need God. At the beginning of the twentieth century the religious philosophies of Darwinism and German Higher Criticism were being wed with an optimistic globalism, producing a man-centered view of life and a society that ultimately left God out. It was a new world, but it was being built on ancient error.

In the face of Satan’s deception in 1918 a remnant of biblical Christians stood as a voice against the unbelief of their day. The roots of modern fundamentalism were nurtured in churches around the United States which would not imbibe the poisonous potion of humanism. They recognized that the answer to the need of man was a right relationship with God through Jesus Christ, a relationship which could not be experienced apart from the Bible’s being the literal authoritative Word of God. Thus they stood on the fundamentals.

This issue of FrontLine will present various key aspects of the political and religious world of 1918, exposing the old lies upon which their plans were being built. We anticipate that you will discover that many of the same battles are being waged in our day. Theological liberalism resurfaces in each generation. Globalism is the driving economic force in our modern world. Marxism, the philosophical root of Communism, was a key topic in our last presidential election. The seduction of fundamentalists and evangelicals by the errors of neo-orthodoxy is an ongoing reality. Nazism and its social implications are in the headlines. Israel is still the national apple of God’s eye, though anti-Semitism is a growing attitude among the nations.

We will conclude this issue with Dr. Moritz’s historic affirmation of fundamentalism as we celebrate one hundred years of men and women standing on the authority of the Word of God! May He find us faithful!

Bud Steadman

FEATURES

The Death of Postmillennial Optimism
Larry R. Oats

The end of World War I brought about an era of cultural disillusionment.

Wilson’s Globalism and the League of Nations: For God or Against Him?
Bud Steadman

Wilson desired to identify the main underlying causes of war in the entire world and to eliminate or minimize them.

Bolshevism and the Bible
Mark Sidwell

Beyond the insistence on loyalty to its cause, Communism embraced a philosophy that made it inherently anti-religious.

The Brotherhood of Unbelief—Old Liberalism and New Orthodoxy
David L. Thomas

The liberal theology of the nineteenth century took the approach of being a blatant frontal attack on the Word of God.

Theology’s Role in the Rise of Nazism
Kevin Brosnan

“The Nazis found countless willing helpers who collaborated or were complicit in their crimes.”

The Balfour Declaration and the Obstacles to Implementation
Craig Hartman

The Balfour Declaration was a significant starting point for a century of conflict that will certainly continue into 2018.

Foundations of Fundamentalism
Fred Moritz

A series of events resulted in the development of the fundamentalist movement.

DEPARTMENTS

Mail Bag & News from All Over

On the Home Front

Wit & Wisdom
David Atkinson

Terror Attacks
Malinda Duvall

Regional Report

Notable Quotes
Robert Condict

Beyond Separation: The “Accursed” Principles, Part 2
David C. Innes

On Language & Scripture
Mark L. Ward Jr.

At a Glance The Progress of Doctrine in the New Testament, Part 5
Layton Talbert

How We Should Live
Jerry Sivnksty


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