''The Fundamentals: A Testimony To The Truth'' (generally referred to simply as ''The Fundamentals'') is a set of ninety essays published between 1910 and 1915 by the Testimony Publishing Company of Chicago. It was initially published quarterly in twelve volumes, then republished in 1917 by the Bible Institute of Los Angeles as a four-volume set. Baker Books reprinted all four volumes under two covers in 2003. According to its foreword, the publication was designed to be "a new statement of the fundamentals of Christianity." However, its contents reflect a concern with certain theological innovations related to

liberal Christianity Liberal Christianity, also known as Liberal Theology and historically as Christian Modernism (see Catholic modernism and Fundamentalist–Modernist controversy), is a movement that interprets Christian teaching by taking into consideration ...

, especially biblical

higher criticism Historical criticism, also known as the historical-critical method or higher criticism, is a branch of criticism that investigates the origins of ancient texts in order to understand "the world behind the text". While often discussed in terms of ...

. It is widely considered to be the foundation of modern

Christian fundamentalism Christian fundamentalism, also known as fundamental Christianity or fundamentalist Christianity, is a religious movement emphasizing biblical literalism. In its modern form, it began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries among British and ...

. The project was conceived in 1909 by California businessman Lyman Stewart, the founder of

Union Oil Union Oil Company of California, and its holding company Unocal Corporation, together known as Unocal was a major petroleum explorer and marketer in the late 19th century, through the 20th century, and into the early 21st century. It was headqu ...

and a devout

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their na ...

and

dispensationalist Dispensationalism is a system that was formalized in its entirety by John Nelson Darby. Dispensationalism maintains that history is divided into multiple ages or "dispensations" in which God acts with humanity in different ways. Dispensationali ...

. He and his brother Milton anonymously provided funds for composing, printing, and distributing the publication. The project had three successive editors: A. C. Dixon, Louis Meyer, and

Reuben Archer Torrey Reuben Archer Torrey (28 January 1856 – 26 October 1928) was an American evangelist, pastor, educator, and writer. He aligned with Keswick theology. Biography Torrey was born in Hoboken, New Jersey, the son of a banker. He graduated from ...

. The essays were written by sixty-four different authors, representing most of the major Protestant Christian denominations. It was mailed free of charge to ministers, missionaries, professors of theology,

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams (philanthropist), Georg ...

and

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...

secretaries,

Sunday school A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually (but not always) Christian in character. Other religions including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism have also organised Sunday schools in their temples and mosques, particularly in the West. S ...

superintendents, and other Protestant religious workers in the United States and other English-speaking countries. Over three million volumes (250,000 sets) were sent out. The volumes defended orthodox Protestant beliefs and attacked

liberal theology Religious liberalism is a conception of religion (or of a particular religion) which emphasizes personal and group liberty and rationality. It is an attitude towards one's own religion (as opposed to criticism of religion from a secular position, ...

Romanism Romanism is a derogatory term for Roman Catholicism used when anti-Catholicism was more common in the United States. The term was frequently used in late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century Republican invectives against the Democrats, as pa ...

socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

modernism Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, ...

atheism Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

Christian Science Christian Science is a set of beliefs and practices associated with members of the Church of Christ, Scientist. Adherents are commonly known as Christian Scientists or students of Christian Science, and the church is sometimes informally know ...

Mormonism Mormonism is the religious tradition and theology of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationism, Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 1830s. As a label, Mormonism has been applied to vari ...

, Millennial Dawn (whose members were sometimes known as Russellites, but which later split into another group, adopting the name

Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved ...

spiritualism Spiritualism is the metaphysical school of thought opposing physicalism and also is the category of all spiritual beliefs/views (in monism and dualism) from ancient to modern. In the long nineteenth century, Spiritualism (when not lowercase) ...

, and what it called

evolutionism Evolutionism is a term used (often derogatorily) to denote the theory of evolution. Its exact meaning has changed over time as the study of evolution has progressed. In the 19th century, it was used to describe the belief that organisms deliberat ...

''The Fundamentals'' essays

arrangement of the original 12-volume set: * Volume I: ** The Virgin Birth of Christ - James Orr ** The Deity of Christ - Benjamin B. Warfield ** The Purposes of the

Incarnation Incarnation literally means ''embodied in flesh'' or ''taking on flesh''. It refers to the conception and the embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form or the appearance of a god as a human. If capitalized, it is the union of divinit ...

- G. Campbell Morgan ** The Personality and Deity of the

Holy Spirit In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts ...

R. A. Torrey Reuben Archer Torrey (28 January 1856 – 26 October 1928) was an American evangelist, pastor, educator, and writer. He aligned with Keswick theology. Biography Torrey was born in Hoboken, New Jersey, the son of a banker. He graduated from ...

** The Proof of the Living God - Arthur T. Pierson ** History of the

Higher Criticism Historical criticism, also known as the historical-critical method or higher criticism, is a branch of criticism that investigates the origins of ancient texts in order to understand "the world behind the text". While often discussed in terms of ...

- Dyson Hague ** A Personal Testimony -

Howard A. Kelly Howard Atwood Kelly (February 20, 1858 – January 12, 1943) was an American gynecologist. He obtained his B.A. degree and M.D. degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He, William Osler, William Halsted, and William Welch together are known ...

* Volume II: ** The Testimony of the Monuments to the Truth of the Scriptures - George Frederick Wright ** The Recent Testimony of Archaeology to the Scriptures - Melvin Grove Kyle ** Fallacies of the Higher Criticism - Franklin Johnson ** Christ and Criticism - Robert Anderson **

Modern Philosophy Modern philosophy is philosophy developed in the modern era and associated with modernity. It is not a specific doctrine or school (and thus should not be confused with ''Modernism''), although there are certain assumptions common to much of i ...

- Philip Mauro **

Justification by Faith ''Justificatio sola fide'' (or simply ''sola fide''), meaning justification by faith alone, is a soteriological doctrine in Christian theology commonly held to distinguish the Lutheran and Reformed traditions of Protestantism, among others, ...

- Handley Carr Glyn Moule ** Tributes to Christ and the Bible by Brainy Men not Known as Active Christians * Volume III: ** Inspiration of the Bible—Definition, Extent, and Proof - James M. Gray ** The Moral Glory of Jesus Christ a Proof of Inspiration - William G. Moorehead ** God in Christ the Only Revelation of the Fatherhood of God -

Robert E. Speer Robert Elliott Speer (10 September 1867 – 23 November 1947) was an American Presbyterian religious leader and an authority on missions. Biography He was born at Huntingdon, Pennsylvania on 10 September 1867. He graduated from Phillips Academ ...

** The Testimony of Christian Experience - E. Y. Mullins ** Christianity No Fable - Thomas Whitelaw ** My Personal Experience with the Higher Criticism - James J. Reeve ** The Personal Testimony of Charles T. Studd * Volume IV: ** The

Tabernacle According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle ( he, מִשְׁכַּן, mīškān, residence, dwelling place), also known as the Tent of the Congregation ( he, link=no, אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד, ’ōhel mō‘ēḏ, also Tent of Meeting, etc.), ...

in the Wilderness: Did it Exist? - David Heagle ** The Testimony of Christ to the

Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...

William Caven
** The Bible and Modern Criticism
F. Bettex
** Science and Christian Faith - James Orr ** A Personal Testimony - Philip Mauro * Volume V: ** Life in the Word - Philip Mauro ** The Scriptures - A. C. Dixon ** The Certainty and Importance of the Bodily Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the Dead - R. A. Torrey ** Observations of the Conversion and Apostleship of St. Paul - Lord Lyttleton (analyzed and condensed by J. L. Campbell) ** A Personal Testimony - H. W. Webb-Peploe * Volume VI: ** The Testimony of Foreign Missions to the Superintending Providence of God - Arthur T. Pierson ** Is There a God? - Thomas Whitelaw **

Sin In a religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered immoral, selfish, ...

and Judgment to Come - Robert Anderson ** The Atonement - Franklin Johnson ** The God-Man - John Stock ** The Early Narratives of Genesis - James Orr ** The Person and Work of Jesus Christ - John L. Nuelsen ** The Hope of the Church - John McNicol * Volume VII: ** The Passing of Evolution - George Frederick Wright ** Inspiration - L. W. Munhall ** The Testimony of the Scriptures to Themselves - George S. Bishop ** Testimony of the Organic Unity of the Bible to its Inspiration - Arthur T. Pierson ** One Isaiah - George L. Robinson ** The

Book of Daniel The Book of Daniel is a 2nd-century BC biblical apocalypse with a 6th century BC setting. Ostensibly "an account of the activities and visions of Daniel, a noble Jew exiled at Babylon", it combines a prophecy of history with an eschatology ...

- Joseph D. Wilson ** Three Peculiarities of the

Pentateuch The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...

- Andrew Craig Robinson ** Millennial Dawn: A Counterfeit of Christianity - William G. Moorehead * Volume VIII: ** Old Testament Criticism and

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

Christianity - W. H. Griffith Thomas ** Evolutionism in the

Pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, access ...

- Anonymous ** Decadence of

Darwinism Darwinism is a theory of biological evolution developed by the English naturalist Charles Darwin (1809–1882) and others, stating that all species of organisms arise and develop through the natural selection of small, inherited variations that ...

- Henry H. Beach ** Paul's Testimony to the Doctrine of Sin - Charles B. Williams ** The Science of Conversion - H. M. Sydenstricker ** The Doctrinal Value of the First Chapters of Genesis - Dyson Hague ** The Knowledge of God - James Burrell ** "Preach the Word" - Howard Crosby ** Mormonism: Its Origin, Characteristics, and Doctrines - R. G. McNiece * Volume IX: ** The True Church - Bishop Ryle ** The Mosaic Authorship of the Pentateuch - George Frederick Wright ** The Wisdom of this World - A. W. Pitzer ** Holy Scripture and Modern Negations - James Orr **

Salvation by Grace Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

Thomas Spurgeon Thomas Spurgeon (20 September 1856 – 17 October 1917) was a British Reformed Baptist preacher of the Metropolitan Tabernacle, one of the fraternal twin sons of the famous Charles Spurgeon (1834–92). Life Thomas and his twin brother were ...

** Divine Efficacy of

Prayer Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deifi ...

- Arthur T. Pierson ** What Christ Teaches Concerning Future Retribution - William C. Procter ** A Message from Missions - Charles A. Bowen ** Eddyism: Commonly Called Christian Science - Maurice E. Wilson * Volume X: ** Why Save the

Lord's Day The Lord's Day in Christianity is generally Sunday, the principal day of communal worship. It is observed by most Christians as the weekly memorial of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is said in the canonical Gospels to have been witnessed al ...

? - Daniel Hoffman Martin ** The Internal Evidence of the

Fourth Gospel The Gospel of John ( grc, Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ἰωάννην, translit=Euangélion katà Iōánnēn) is the fourth of the four canonical gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "sig ...

- Canon G. Osborne Troop ** The Nature of Regeneration - Thomas Boston ** Regeneration—Conversion—Reformation - George W. Lasher ** Our Lord's

Teachings A school of thought, or intellectual tradition, is the perspective of a group of people who share common characteristics of opinion or outlook of a philosophy, discipline, belief, social movement, economics, cultural movement, or art movement ...

About

Money Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money ar ...

- Arthur T. Pierson **

Satan Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an entity in the Abrahamic religions that seduces humans into sin or falsehoo ...

and His Kingdom - Mrs.

Jessie Penn-Lewis Jessie Penn-Lewis (28 February 1861 – 15 August 1927, née Jones) was a Welsh evangelical speaker, who wrote several Christian evangelical works. Her religious work took her to Russia, Scandinavia, Canada, the United States and India. Early l ...

** The Holy Spirit and the Sons of God - W. J. Erdman ** Consecration - Henry W. Frost ** The

Apologetic Apologetics (from Greek , "speaking in defense") is the religious discipline of defending religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse. Early Christian writers (c. 120–220) who defended their beliefs against critics and ...

Value of

Paul's Epistles The Pauline epistles, also known as Epistles of Paul or Letters of Paul, are the thirteen books of the New Testament attributed to Paul the Apostle, although the authorship of some is in dispute. Among these epistles are some of the earliest exta ...

- E.J. Stobo ** What the Bible Contains for the Believer - George F. Pentecost ** Modern Spiritualism Briefly Tested by Scripture - Algernon J. Pollock * Volume XI: ** The Biblical Conception of Sin - Thomas Whitelaw ** At-One-Ment by Propitiation - Dyson Hague ** The Grace of God - C. I. Scofield ** Fulfilled Prophecy A Potent Argument for the Bible -

Arno C. Gaebelein Arno Clemens Gaebelein (August 27, 1861 – December, 1945) was a Methodist minister in the United States. He was a prominent teacher and conference speaker. He was also the father of educator and philosopher of Christian education Frank E. Gaebel ...

** The Coming of Christ - Charles R. Erdman ** Is Romanism Christianity? - T. W. Medhurst ** Rome, The Antagonist of the Nation - J. M. Foster * Volume XII: ** Doctrines that Must be Emphasized in Successful Evangelism - L. W. Munhall ** Pastoral and Personal Evangelism, or Winning Men to Christ One-by-One - John Timothy Stone ** The

Sunday School A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually (but not always) Christian in character. Other religions including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism have also organised Sunday schools in their temples and mosques, particularly in the West. S ...

's True Evangelism - Charles Gallaudet Trumbull ** Foreign Missions or World-Wide Evangelism - Robert E. Speer ** What Missionary Motives Should Prevail? - Henry W. Frost ** The Place of Prayer in Evangelism - R. A. Torrey ** The Church and Socialism - Charles R. Erdman ** The Fifteen Books Most Indispensable for the Minister or the Christian Worker

References

Online texts

* The Fundamentals, in the 12-volume scheme: *
Volumes I-VII
multiple formats at archive.org *
Volume IV-IX
page images at HathiTrust *
Volume X
multiple formats at archive.org *
Volume XI
multiple formats at archive.org *
Volume XII
page images at HathiTrust *Torrey's 4 volume set (downloadable PDFs) at Northwestern Theological Seminary
Volume 1Volume 2Volume 3Volume 4

External links

The Fundamentals
on ''Theopedia'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Fundamentals 1910 non-fiction books 1910 anthologies Christian fundamentalism Essay anthologies

''The Fundamentals'' essays

References

Online texts

Further reading

External links