Firm Foundation
Encyclopedia
The Firm Foundation was a religious magazine
published monthly in Houston, Texas
for members of the Churches of Christ. It was established in 1884 by Austin McGary
. The Firm Foundation was, for the next hundred years, one of the two most influential publications among the Churches of Christ along with the Gospel Advocate
.
's views on rebaptism. David Lipscomb
consistently argued that if a believer was baptized out of a desire to obey God, the baptism was valid, even if the individual did not fully understand the role baptism plays in salvation. Lipscomb and others among the Churches of Christ in Middle Tennessee
routinely accepted Baptist
converts without requiring them to be rebaptized. Austin McGary
argued strongly that to be valid, the convert must also understand that baptism is for the forgiveness of sins. Thus, McGary did not regard baptisms performed in a Baptist church to be valid. McGary's view became the prevailing one in the early 20th century, but the approach advocated by Lipscomb never totally disappeared.
McGary was succeeded as editor by G. W. Savage in 1902. Savage was succeeded by a group of editors in 1906. From 1908 to 1983 there were only two editors: G. H. P. Showalter and Reuel Lemmons. Showalter and Lemmons maintained an editorial policy consistent with the mainstream of Churches of Christ, and during that period many wrote for and supported both the Foundation and the Advocate.
The Showalter family sold the Foundation in H. A. (Buster) Dobbs and Bill Cline in 1983. The editorial policy changed significantly under the leadership of Dobbs, supporting a "strongly conservative constituency" and "targeting progressives and 'change agents,' especially in educational institutions and highly visible congregations of Churches of Christ."
The Firm Foundation is available for subscription through the Firm Foundation Publishing House Inc. in Houston Texas. The last version of the Firm Foundation website available on the Internet Archive
's Wayback Machine
dates from June 5th of 2008.
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
published monthly in Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
for members of the Churches of Christ. It was established in 1884 by Austin McGary
Austin McGary
Austin McGary was an American Restoration Movement evangelist and publisher of a periodical entitled Firm Foundation, which was first published on September 1, 1884....
. The Firm Foundation was, for the next hundred years, one of the two most influential publications among the Churches of Christ along with the Gospel Advocate
Gospel Advocate
The Gospel Advocate is a religious magazine published monthly in Nashville, Tennessee for members of the Churches of Christ. The Advocate has enjoyed uninterrupted publication since 1866....
.
History
Austin McGary founded the Firm Foundation in large part to combat David LipscombDavid Lipscomb
Lipscomb's beliefs on government can be classified as a radical theory of religious freedom, classical liberalism, even potentially consistent with fundamental positions of Anarcho-primitivism. Lipscomb believed in creating a peaceful, cooperative, decentralized communion in which freedom,...
's views on rebaptism. David Lipscomb
David Lipscomb
Lipscomb's beliefs on government can be classified as a radical theory of religious freedom, classical liberalism, even potentially consistent with fundamental positions of Anarcho-primitivism. Lipscomb believed in creating a peaceful, cooperative, decentralized communion in which freedom,...
consistently argued that if a believer was baptized out of a desire to obey God, the baptism was valid, even if the individual did not fully understand the role baptism plays in salvation. Lipscomb and others among the Churches of Christ in Middle Tennessee
Middle Tennessee
Middle Tennessee is a distinct portion of the state of Tennessee, delineated according to state law as the 41 counties in the Middle Grand Division of Tennessee....
routinely accepted Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
converts without requiring them to be rebaptized. Austin McGary
Austin McGary
Austin McGary was an American Restoration Movement evangelist and publisher of a periodical entitled Firm Foundation, which was first published on September 1, 1884....
argued strongly that to be valid, the convert must also understand that baptism is for the forgiveness of sins. Thus, McGary did not regard baptisms performed in a Baptist church to be valid. McGary's view became the prevailing one in the early 20th century, but the approach advocated by Lipscomb never totally disappeared.
McGary was succeeded as editor by G. W. Savage in 1902. Savage was succeeded by a group of editors in 1906. From 1908 to 1983 there were only two editors: G. H. P. Showalter and Reuel Lemmons. Showalter and Lemmons maintained an editorial policy consistent with the mainstream of Churches of Christ, and during that period many wrote for and supported both the Foundation and the Advocate.
The Showalter family sold the Foundation in H. A. (Buster) Dobbs and Bill Cline in 1983. The editorial policy changed significantly under the leadership of Dobbs, supporting a "strongly conservative constituency" and "targeting progressives and 'change agents,' especially in educational institutions and highly visible congregations of Churches of Christ."
The Firm Foundation is available for subscription through the Firm Foundation Publishing House Inc. in Houston Texas. The last version of the Firm Foundation website available on the 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...
's Wayback Machine
Wayback Machine
The Wayback Machine is a digital time capsule created by the Internet Archive non-profit organization, based in San Francisco, California. It is maintained with content from Alexa Internet. The service enables users to see archived versions of web pages across time, which the Archive calls a "three...
dates from June 5th of 2008.