The Fundamentals or The Fundamentals: A Testimony To The Truth edited by A. C. Dixon and later by Reuben Archer Torrey is a set of 90 essays in 12 volumes published from 1910 to 1915 by the Bible Institute of Los Angeles

Biola University

Biola University is a private, evangelical Christian, liberal arts university located near Los Angeles. Biola's main campus is in La Mirada in Los Angeles County, California. In addition, the university has several satellite campuses in Chino Hills, Inglewood, San Diego, and Laguna Hills.-...

. They were designed to affirm orthodox Protestant beliefs and defend against ideas deemed inimical to them. They are widely considered to be the foundation of the modern Fundamentalist movement.

The essays were originally financed by Lyman Stewart

Lyman Stewart

Lyman Stewart was a U.S. businessman and cofounder of Union Oil, which eventually became Unocal. Stewart was also a significant Christian philanthropist and cofounder of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles...

 in 1909 to set out what they believed to be the fundamentals of Christian faith. These were to be sent free to ministers, missionaries, Sunday School superintendents and others active in Christian ministry

Christian ministry

In Christianity, ministry is an activity carried out by Christians to express or spread their faith. 2003's Encyclopedia of Christianity defines it as "carrying forth Christ's mission in the world", indicating that it is "conferred on each Christian in baptism." It is performed by all Christians...

.

The volumes defended orthodox Protestant beliefs and attacked higher criticism, liberal theology

Liberal Christianity

Liberal Christianity, sometimes called liberal theology, is an umbrella term covering diverse, philosophically and biblically informed religious movements and ideas within Christianity from the late 18th century and onward...

, Catholicism

Catholicism

Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....

 (also called by them Romanism

Romanism

Romanism was a word used as a derogatory term for Roman Catholicism in the past when anti-Catholicism was more common in the United States and the United Kingdom...

), socialism

Socialism

Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...

, modern philosophy

Modern philosophy

Modern philosophy is a type of philosophy that originated in Western Europe in the 17th century, and is now common worldwide. It is not a specific doctrine or school , although there are certain assumptions common to much of it, which helps to distinguish it from earlier philosophy.The 17th and...

, atheism

Atheism

Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...

, Christian Science

Christian Science

Christian Science is a system of thought and practice derived from the writings of Mary Baker Eddy and the Bible. It is practiced by members of The First Church of Christ, Scientist as well as some others who are nonmembers. Its central texts are the Bible and the Christian Science textbook,...

, Mormonism

Mormonism

Mormonism is the religion practiced by Mormons, and is the predominant religious tradition of the Latter Day Saint movement. This movement was founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. beginning in the 1820s as a form of Christian primitivism. During the 1830s and 1840s, Mormonism gradually distinguished itself...

, Millennial Dawn (an early term for a particular Christian Bible Student movement

Bible Student movement

The Bible Student movement is the name adopted by a Millennialist Restorationist Christian movement that emerged from the teachings and ministry of Charles Taze Russell, also known as Pastor Russell...

 which mostly later became the "Jehovah's Witnesses

Jehovah's Witnesses

Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The religion reports worldwide membership of over 7 million adherents involved in evangelism, convention attendance of over 12 million, and annual...

" denomination), Spiritualism

Spiritualism

Spiritualism is a belief system or religion, postulating the belief that spirits of the dead residing in the spirit world have both the ability and the inclination to communicate with the living...

, and evolutionism

Evolutionism

Evolutionism refers to the biological concept of evolution, specifically to a widely held 19th century belief that organisms are intrinsically bound to increase in complexity. The belief was extended to include cultural evolution and social evolution...

 (an article by geologist George Frederick Wright

George Frederick Wright

George Frederick Wright was an American geologist and a professor at Oberlin Theological Seminary, first of New Testament language and literature , and then of "harmony of science and revelation" . He wrote prolifically, publishing works in geology, history, and theology...

). (Wright did not attack biological evolution.)

Contents of The Fundamentals (and authors)

• Volume I:
  • The Virgin Birth of Christ - James Orr
    James Orr (theologian)
    James Orr was a Scottish Presbyterian minister and professor of church history and then theology. He was an influential defender of evangelical doctrine and a contributor to The Fundamentals.- Biography :...
    
    
  • The Deity of Christ - Benjamin B. Warfield
  • The Purposes of the Incarnation - G. Campbell Morgan
    G. Campbell Morgan
    Reverend Doctor George Campbell Morgan D.D. was a British evangelist, preacher and a leading Bible scholar...
    
    
  • The Personality and Deity of the Holy Spirit - R. A. Torrey
  • The Proof of the Living God - Arthur T. Pierson
    Arthur Tappan Pierson
    Arthur Tappan Pierson was an American Presbyterian pastor, early fundamentalist leader, and writer who preached over 13,000 sermons, wrote over fifty books, and gave Bible lectures as part of a transatlantic preaching ministry that made him famous in Scotland and England...
    
    
  • History of the Higher Criticism - Dyson Hague
    Dyson Hague
    Dyson Hague was a Canadian evangelical Anglican rector, author and lecturer.-Early life and education:Hague was born in Toronto in April 1857 to Sarah Cousins and George Hague. He was educated at Upper Canada College before earning his B.A. and M.A. at University College and his D.D. at Wycliffe...
    
    
  • A Personal Testimony - Howard A. Kelly
• Volume II:
  • The Testimony of the Monuments to the Truth of the Scriptures - George Frederick Wright
    George Frederick Wright
    George Frederick Wright was an American geologist and a professor at Oberlin Theological Seminary, first of New Testament language and literature , and then of "harmony of science and revelation" . He wrote prolifically, publishing works in geology, history, and theology...
    
    
  • The Recent Testimony of Archaeology to the Scriptures - M. G. Kyle
  • Fallacies of the Higher Criticism - Franklin Johnson
  • Christ and Criticism - Robert Anderson
  • Modern Philosophy - Philip Mauro
    Philip Mauro
    -Biography:Philip Mauro was a lawyer who practiced before the Supreme Court. One of the most important occasions where his legal work was requisitioned was in connection with the famous Tennessee-Scopes trial in 1925. The brief or argument which Bryan used, and thereby won the case, was prepared by...
    
    
  • Justification by Faith - H. C. G. Moule
  • Tributes to Christ and the Bible by Brainy Men not Known as Active Christians
• Volume III:
  • Inspiration of the Bible—Definition, Extent, and Proof - James M. Gray
    James M. Gray
    James Martin Gray was a pastor in the Reformed Episcopal Church, a Bible scholar, editor, and hymn writer, and the president of Moody Bible Institute, 1904-34....
    
    
  • The Moral Glory of Jesus Christ a Proof of Inspiration - William G. Moorehead
  • God in Christ the Only Revelation of the Fatherhood of God - Robert E. Speer
    Robert Elliott Speer
    Robert Elliott Speer was an American religious leader and authority on missions.He was born at Huntingdon, Pa., graduated from Phillips Academy in 1886 and from Princeton in 1889, and studied at Princeton Theological Seminary in 1890-91. In 1891 he was appointed secretary of the American...
    
    
  • The Testimony of Christian Experience - E. Y. Mullins
    Edgar Young Mullins
    Edgar Young Mullins was a Baptist minister and educator, who from 1899 until his death was the fourth president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, the flagship school of the Southern Baptist Convention.-Biography:Mullins entered Texas A&M College at 16, and after graduation studied...
    
    
  • Christianity No Fable - Thomas Whitelaw
  • My Personal Experience with the Higher Criticism - J. J. Reeve
  • The Personal Testimony of Charles T. Studd
    Charles Studd
    Charles Thomas Studd, often known as C. T. Studd, was born 2 December 1860, Spratton, Northamptonshire, England, and died 16 July 1931, Ibambi, Belgian Congo....
    
    
• Volume IV:
  • The Tabernacle in the Wilderness: Did it Exist? - David Heagle
  • The Testimony of Christ to the Old Testament - William Caven
  • The Bible and Modern Criticism - F. Bettex
  • Science and Christian Faith - James Orr
    James Orr (theologian)
    James Orr was a Scottish Presbyterian minister and professor of church history and then theology. He was an influential defender of evangelical doctrine and a contributor to The Fundamentals.- Biography :...
    
    
  • A Personal Testimony - Philip Mauro
    Philip Mauro
    -Biography:Philip Mauro was a lawyer who practiced before the Supreme Court. One of the most important occasions where his legal work was requisitioned was in connection with the famous Tennessee-Scopes trial in 1925. The brief or argument which Bryan used, and thereby won the case, was prepared by...
    
    
• Volume V:
  • Life in the Word - Philip Mauro
  • The Scriptures - A. C. Dixon
  • The Certainty and Importance of the Bodily Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the Dead - R. A. Torrey
  • Observations of the Conversion and Apostleship of St. Paul - Lord Lyttleton (analyzed and condensed by J. L. Campbell)
  • A Personal Testimony - H. W. Webb-Peploe
• Volume VI:
  • The Testimony of Foreign Missions to the Superintending Providence of God - Arthur T. Pierson.
  • Is There a God? - Thomas Whitelaw
  • Sin and Judgment to Come - Robert Anderson
  • The Atonement - Franklin Johnson
  • The God-Man - John Stock
  • The Early Narratives of Genesis - James Orr
  • The Person and Work of Jesus Christ - John L. Nuelsen
    John Louis Nuelsen
    John Louis Nuelsen was a German-American Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church and The Methodist Church, elected in 1908. He also distinguished himself as a Methodist Pastor, as a college and seminary professor and theologian, and as an author and editor.-Birth and Family:John was born 19...
    
    
  • The Hope of the Church - John McNicol
• Volume VII:
  • The Passing of Evolution - George Frederick Wright
  • Inspiration - L. W. Munhall
  • The Testimony of the Scriptures to Themselves - George S. Bishop
  • Testimony of the Organic Unity of the Bible to its Inspiration - Arthur T. Pierson
  • One Isaiah - George L. Robinson
    George Livingston Robinson
    George Livingston Robinson was a noted author, biblical scholar, explorer, and lecturer.He was born in West Hebron, New York to William Robinson and Mary Robinson. He earned his undergraduate and an advanced degree at Princeton University. He traveled to Europe and the Levant extensively...
    
    
  • The Book of Daniel - Joseph D. Wilson
  • Three Peculiarities of the Pentateuch - Andrew Craig Robinson
  • Millennial Dawn: A Counterfeit of Christianity - William G. Moorehead
• Volume VIII:
  • Old Testament Criticism and New Testament Christianity - W. H. Griffith Thomas
    William Henry Griffith Thomas
    William Henry Griffith Thomas was an Anglican clergyman and scholar from the English-Welsh border country. He has been quoted by theologian Alister McGrath in the science-versus-religion debate.-Life and work:...
    
    
  • Evolutionism in the Pulpit - Anonymous
  • Decadence of Darwinism - Henry H. Beach
  • Paul's Testimony to the Doctrine of Sin - Charles B. Williams
  • The Science of Conversion - H. M. Sydenstricker
  • The Doctrinal Value of the First Chapters of Genesis - Dyson Hague
  • The Knowledge of God - James Burrell
  • "Preach the Word" - Howard Crosby
  • Mormonism: Its Origin, Characteristics, and Doctrines - R. G. McNiece
• Volume IX:
  • The True Church - Bishop Ryle
  • The Mosaic Authorship of the Pentateuch - George Frederick Wright
  • The Wisdom of this World - A. W. Pitzer
  • Holy Scripture and Modern Negations - James Orr
  • Salvation by Grace - Thomas Spurgeon
    Thomas Spurgeon
    Thomas Spurgeon was a British Reformed Baptist preacher of the Metropolitan Tabernacle, one of two non-identical twin sons of the famous Charles Haddon Spurgeon ....
    
    
  • Divine Efficacy of Prayer - Arthur T. Pierson
  • What Christ Teaches Concerning Future Retribution - William C. Procter
  • A Message from Missions - Charles A. Bowen
  • Eddyism: Commonly Called Christian Science - Maurice E. Wilson
• Volume X:
  • Why Save the Lord's Day? - Daniel Hoffman Martin
  • The Internal Evidence of the Fourth Gospel - Canon G. Osborne Troop
  • The Nature of Regeneration - Thomas Boston
  • Regeneration—Conversion—Reformation - George W. Lasher
  • Our Lord's Teachings About Money - Arthur T. Pierson
  • Satan and His Kingdom - Mrs. Jessie Penn-Lewis
  • The Holy Spirit and the Sons of God - W. J. Erdman
  • Consecration - Henry W. Frost
  • The Apologetic Value of Paul's Epistles - E.J. Stobo
  • What the Bible Contains for the Believer - George F. Pentecost
  • Modern Spiritualism Briefly Tested by Scripture - Algernon J. Pollock
    Algernon J. Pollock
    Algernon James Pollock was an evangelist and writer from the Plymouth Brethren movement.Pollock was born October 14 1864 in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. He made a profession of faith in Christ at the age of 11, and was introduced to John Nelson Darby at the age of 15. Pollock married Elsie Madeleine May...
    
    
• Volume XI:
  • The Biblical Conception of Sin - Thomas Whitelaw
  • At-One-Ment by Propitiation - Dyson Hague
  • The Grace of God - C. I. Scofield
  • Fulfilled Prophecy A Potent Argument for the Bible - Arno C. Gaebelein
  • The Coming of Christ - Charles R. Erdman
    Charles R. Erdman
    Charles Rosenbury Erdman, Sr. was an American Presbyterian minister and professor of theology at Princeton Theological Seminary.-Early life and education:...
    
    
  • Is Romanism Christianity? - T. W. Medhurst
  • Rome, The Antagonist of the Nation - J. M. Foster
• Volume XII:
  • Doctrines that Must be Emphasized in Successful Evangelism - L. W. Munhall
  • Pastoral and Personal Evangelism, or Winning Men to Christ One-by-One - John Timothy Stone
  • The Sunday School's True Evangelism - Charles Gallaudet Trumbull
  • Foreign Missions or World-Wide Evangelism - Robert E. Speer
  • What Missionary Motives Should Prevail? - Henry W. Frost
  • The Place of Prayer in Evangelism - R. A. Torrey
  • The Church and Socialism - Charles R. Erdman
  • The Fifteen Books Most Indispensable for the Minister or the Christian Worker

Online copies

• The Fundamentals: A Testimony to the Truth from The Fundamentals Homepage
• The Fundamentals from Internet Archive
  Internet Archive
  The Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
  
  

Further reading