Harold Ockenga

=== Fundamentalist controversy ===

In addition to his pastoral career and writings, Ockenga became a significant leader in a mid-twentieth-century reforming movement known as [[Neo-Evangelicalism]] or the New Evangelicalism. Its roots are found in the theological controversy between Protestant [[Fundamentalists]] and Protestant Liberals or Modernists in the earlier part of the twentieth century. Much of the controversy centered on questions of the historicity of the Bible, [[biblical inerrancy]], biblical interpretation, [[creationism]] and [[evolution]], and various doctrines such as the [[deity]] of Christ, the [[Virgin Birth of Christ]], the Atonement, the bodily [[resurrection of Christ]], and the [[Second Advent of Christ]]. The reaction of many Fundamentalists to the influence of liberal Protestant theology and modern secular beliefs led to a withdrawal from many of the mainline denominations and institutions. In addition, the Fundamentalists believed that anyone, regardless of religious outlook, could be involved with social action and so they wanted to retreat to deal only with the "Spiritual Gospel." {{citation needed|date=September 2016}}

However, Ockenga and some other younger and emerging figures inside those churches felt uncomfortable about the militant isolation from culture. Ockenga also believed that Jesus came to deal with the physical well-being in addition to the more serious spiritual well-being of the people he met. Alongside of Ockenga were figures such as [[Carl F. H. Henry]], [[Harold Lindsell]], [[Wilbur M. Smith]], and [[Edward John Carnell]].