Page 126 - History of Christianity - Student Textbook

Study Section 24: The Emergence of Modernism c. 1890-1900

24.1 Connect

The next step away from the doctrines of God’s Word is to deny the validity of the Bible or even
question the existence of God. Man has always been rebellious against God. So now we see the
fruit of rebellion rise in the form of Modernism.

Modernism is a movement to remove any restraints that hinder a person’s “right” to self -expression.
Those caught in its grips pretty much reject the authority of a Creator God and the “rules” found in
the Bible. They cast off any restraints to their freedom to express themselves as they themselves determine.
“What is right for me is my choice!”

Those faithful to the doctrines of the Bible see this movement as nothing more than rebellion against God. But
the philosophy of modernism has invaded the minds of millions of people today leading to a total decay in our
societies. Let’s find out how this came about, and what the church is doing to combat it…..

24.2 Objectives

1. The student must be able to identify the dangerous views of a modernist and give a defense of truth from the
Bible.

2. The student should be able to cite several ways God is bring people to faith in the midst of the modernistic
movement.

3. The student should be able to trace the emergence of the Pentecostal movement and associate it’s beliefs
with neo-orthodox philosophy.

24.3 The Emergence of Modernism c. 1890-1900

Modernism arose in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, due to some major changes in the
world, including the rise of industrial societies, the development of larger, more populated cities,
and the terrible tragedy of World War I and World War II. Because of a combination of these and
other factors, people in Western society began to think and believe differently, and this shift in
perspective has been labeled “modernism” by historians and philosophers. Religious skepticism
and atheism are hallmarks of modernism. Sigmund Freud, who spoke of the drives of the
unconscious mind; and Friedrich Nietzsche, who believed that the human “will to power” was important in
man’s evolution, were influential in the rise of modernism, and their ideas still help shape culture today.

Modernism can be seen most vividly in the world of art and literature, where it stimulated a complete break
from the styles and forms of the past. “Modern art” rejected realism and objective thinking and began to lean
toward expression of the subjective, inner world. Stream-of-consciousness writing styles and abstract forms of
painting predominated. Self-consciousness and the expression of one’s self became major themes in art, as it
had become in life.

Paul says that in the end times people will be “lovers of self” (2 Timothy 3:3). Peter mentions that a hallmark of
the last days will be the presence of “scoffers” and skeptics (2 Peter 3:3), and Jude echoes the warning (Jude
1:18). Modernism, with its emphasis on self-expression and self-fulfillment and rejection of God, has nudged
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