Objections to Liberalism

Many people objected to the Theological Liberalism that emerged within the Restoration Movement in the late-19th and early-20th centuries.

John W. McGarvey​ – The Restoration Movement’s leading rival to Theological Liberalism (Modernism).
McGarvey was a prolific writer and an unrelenting opponent to liberalism.

1865​ – McGarvey assisted in forming the College of the Bible in Lexington, Kentucky
(now Lexington Theological Seminary), as a conservative minister-training college.

McGarvey served as Bible Professor (1865-1895) and President (1895-1911), however, after McGarvey’s death in 1911, the College of the Bible drifted toward liberalism.

As more Disciple schools drifted toward liberalism a series of conservative Bible Colleges emerged around the country to train students for ministry.

The emergence of Theological Liberalism set the stage for the 2nd division within the Restoration Movement.