All Heroes Are Flawed: Racism in the American Church

During the 1920s, American Pastor Harry Fosdick wrote a sermon called, “Shall the Fundamentalists Win?” addressing the controversies he saw rising within American churches. As the ideas of Freud, Marx, and Nietzsche grew in cultural importance, they began to influence theologians as well. So, Fosdick argued, “The liberals must go.” In this episode of White Horse Inn, hosts Michael Horton, Justin Holcomb, Bob Hiller, and Walter Strickland take on the historical details of where fundamentalism came from, explaining how it weaved its way into the Church, and what happened after.

When we hear the word “liberalism”, we often think of liberal politics. But Christianity and Liberalism has religion in mind. Machen shows what happens when liberalism is inserted into religion—it morphs into something completely different from biblical Christianity. So what makes it so appealing to theologians? In this episode of White Horse Inn, hosts Michael Horton, Justin Holcomb, Bob Hiller, and Walter Strickland define liberalism and dive into its distortion of Christianity.

What does Christianity and liberalism look like 100 years later? How does Machen’s writing apply to us today, and what does that mean for the future of the American church? In this episode of White Horse Inn, hosts Michael Horton, Justin Holcomb, Bob Hiller, and Walter Strickland advocate for a modern reformation, reflecting on what must still be recovered and what it looks like to resist the pull of liberalism today.

Michael Horton, Justin Holcomb, Bob Hiller, Walter Strickland, and Caleb Wait discuss how theological formation, when done primarily through digital media, online platforms and influencers, can be counter productive in the life of the church.

One year ago, on September 10th, 2025, Charlie Kirk was assassinated. Twenty-five years ago, the United States was attacked by terrorists on 9/11. I will not attempt to wax eloquent about what these events mean for us today and what civic life is like in America in the wake of these evil atrocities.

The year of 2026 is a very strange moment in our secular age. Thinking Christians are grappling with how to speak into a moment largely galvanized by polarization, AI slop, institutional distrust, and memes. If you’re curious about cultural apologetics, you’ve most likely encountered the work of Charles Taylor …

In a recent church small group, in which I was the youngest participant by several decades, I witnessed a surprising display of emotion. Older women—saints in the church who have nurtured and fed me literally and spiritually—tearfully sharing painful memories from their middle school years.