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Much happened during the five years Kenneth Kantzer served as editor of Christianity Today. In this interview, Dr. Kantzer reflected upon those years at the time of his retirement. This article originally appeared in the November 26, 1982 issue of Christianity Today.

During the five years you have been with Christianity Today, what have been the most important changes in American evangelicalism?

The single most startling change in evangelicalism is its shift toward political and social involvement. And specially noteworthy is the fact that the segment within evangelicalism most obdurate against such involvement came forward to take the lead.

Growing out of that, and probably in part a result of it, is the tendency for evangelicals and fundamentalists to join forces. Fundamentalists are sloughing off their extreme right wing. Bob Jones is asking whether he can continue to call himself a fundamentalist because the major body of fundamentalists has moved too far from his position. As a result, he distances himself from the large body of fundamentalists moving in the direction of other evangelicals.

In his book The Fundamentalist Phenomenon, Jerry Falwell invites evangelicals to sit down and discuss matters with the fundamentalists. He has made plain that he does not wish to attack evangelicals who hold to the traditional fundamentals of biblical faith.

Of course, most fundamentalists are strongly separatistic, holding not only that it is wrong to participate in religiously liberal organizations but also to cooperate with admitted evangelicals who retain membership in such bodies. For some, this separatist teaching is what divides fundamentalists from evangelicals.

In a historic sense, haven't evangelicals and fundamentalists really been very close together on basics?

On the doctrines each considers basic to Christian faith, they are in complete agreement. For example, while the National Association of Evangelical's statement of faith doesn't have the word "inerrant" in it, it is clearly an inerrantist document. That statement of faith would not only be accepted by fundamentalists, they also reckon that it includes all the doctrines most important to them.

In the political realm Christians must work with others who do not fully agree with them. Falwell and others in the Moral Majority have gotten deeply into this process of bringing together people who may not one hundred percent agree with them—the very thing for which fundamentalism has criticized evangelicals in the past. Has this helped to bring about more realistic thinking on relationships with other Christians?

I think it has done that, but in a complicated manner. The complication is that Falwell and his group of centrist fundamentalists have drawn a clear line in their own minds between political and religious action. Politically, they can work with anyone in a pluralistic society who agrees with them on any issue regardless of that person's religious views. By contrast, the basis for cooperation religiously is adherence to the fundamentals of the faith. In the political arena, therefore, they accept traditional Roman Catholics, Jews, and Mormons. (A Mormon, in fact, is one of the Moral Majority leaders.) This necessity for cooperation on the political level has taught fundamentalists skills in working with people with whom they don't fully agree.

Moreover, fundamentalists have also come to realize that they have more in common with evangelicals than they thought. Still, I doubt very much if Jerry Falwell would have Billy Graham, a Southern Baptist, in his pulpit. Nevertheless he has made his peace with Graham. That's remarkable and a great gain for the entire evangelical cause. The more we can do to strengthen and encourage all evangelicals fully committed to basic biblical doctrine and piety to work together, the better it is for the cause of Christ. One of my major goals at Christianity Today has been to enlarge such an evangelical consensus.

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June (Web-only) 2002, Vol. 46