S5:E20 The Scofield Reference Bible

S5:E20 The Scofield Reference Bible

by | Sep 27, 2022 | Episodes

What kind of Bible do you have?

Most of us would answer with the translation we carry. Maybe it’s New Living, the King James, or the New International Version. I’ve heard plenty of conversations about translations in my life. But I’ve never heard a serious discussion about the notes in various Bibles.

Continuing our long exploration of the Christian fundamentalist movement, we explore the Bible version that nudged the United States toward a particular negative theology. One that encouraged people to question the trajectory of history itself. That was one of the purposes of the Scofield Reference Bible, named for its author C.I. Scofield.

The Bible that changed our view of the end

The Scofield Reference Bible emphasizes the premillennial dispensationalist theology we’ve been talking about all season. It expects that world history is sliding into chaos. That was not the primary view in the late 1800s and early 1900s in the US. Most people thought that humanity could improve things until Jesus returned. This Bible is one of the things that changed that.

Special thanks to Nick, Melanie, Hannah, Marc, and Marian for their help with this episode!

Discussion Questions:

  • What kind of Bible do you have? Why did you choose it?
  • What agenda does your Bible have?
  • What audience is it intended for?
  • Who wrote your Bible notes?
  • Flip to Genesis 1 and Revelation 1. What position does it take on creationism? The end of the world?
  • Have you ever considered the origins of your study notes?

How do you feel about us having so many different targeted Bibles?

Select Sources for this Episode:

  • The History of the Scofield Reference Bible by Arno C. Gaebelein
  • The Evangelicals by Frances Fitgerald
  • Fundamentalism and American Culture by George Marsden
  • Article on Lyman Stewart who financed this Bible
  • A Godly Hero by Michael Kazin
  • Isaiah 37
  • A Christianity Today article about the changes made to the Scofield Bible (material not used for the episode, but still interesting)
  • The Scofield Reference Bible (1945 edition)
  • The MacArthur Study Bible
  • The Founders Bible
  • The Battlefield of the Mind Bible
S5:E3 Dispensationalism and John Nelson Darby

S5:E3 Dispensationalism and John Nelson Darby

by | Mar 1, 2022 | Episodes

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What is dispensationalism?

This season we’re tracing the history of Christian fundamentalism through the life of William Jennings Bryan. But first, we need to learn some important definitions. Our big word of the week is dispensationalism. It’s not as complicated as it sounds. Dispensationalism is (in part) the notion that God treats humankind differently depending on what era we are in. It is not accepted by all Christians, but it is a building block of fundamentalism. Another component of dispensationalism is the secret rapture–the idea that God will take His elect to heaven just before the tribulation. It also asserts that the Christian Church will become apostate before the end times. This last tidbit is important! Premillennialism made Christians suspicious of the outside world, but it was dispensationalism that made us suspicious of each other.

Who created dispensationalism?

John Nelson Darby is often credited as the father of dispensationalism. He came up with the idea of the rapture and is the man who packaged a bunch of existing ideas into this systematized vision of the Bible. In the 1700s and 1800s, people adapted the scientific notion of categorizing everything into genus and species and applied it to all areas of study, even when reading the Bible. This encouraged people like Darby to break the Bible into “dispensations” or eras.

Our guest this week is George Marsden. He’s the author of “Fundamentalism and American Culture”.

Discussion Questions:

  • Are you suspicious of other Christians? Why is that?
  • Do you believe in the rapture? Why?
  • Does the God of the Bible behave differently in different parts of the Bible? Or is He the same throughout?
  • Do you believe that Jewish people were destined to return to Israel based on Matthew 24:32-33 or Romans 11:25-26?
  • What did you know about the French Revolution before our recent episodes on it? Do you think it was a significant event in world history? If so, why?

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