The Founding of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church

In this episode, Camden Bucey and Danny Olinger discuss chapter two of D.G. Hart and John Muether’s book, Fighting the Good Fight, “The Founding of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church.” They trace the road from the missions controversy of the early 1930s, especially Re-Thinking Missions and the Pearl Buck controversy, to J. Gresham Machen’s trial, the creation of the Independent Board for Presbyterian Foreign Missions, and the founding of the OPC in 1936. Along the way, they reflect on why the OPC was founded not merely against modernism, but for faithful Presbyterianism—grounded in Scripture, committed to the gospel of Jesus Christ, and governed by Christ alone through his Word. The episode also looks ahead to the 1937 division and the formation of the Bible Presbyterian Church.  If you’d like to follow the series, visit the Committee for the Historian at https://www.opchistory.org and subscribe for future episodes of History for a Pilgrim People.