Philip Arthur Bence PhD Thesis - Research@StAndrews:FullText

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This usually brought him to the Bible. He saw the Bible
as an invaluable source of human wisdom and
experience.
3. With the object and relevant truth in place,
Fosdick allowed his mind total freedom to reflect on
them. He recorded all thoughts yielded by this free
association."'"5
4. After this free mental play, Fosdick approached
his sermon deliberately, searching for relevant material
•
in literature, his counseling practice, the Bible, and
his own personal experience.
5. His method of structuring sermons varied from
week to week. At times the outline came early in the
process. Other times, he began writing and watched the
sermon unfold."15.7
6. He wrote his sermons out in full to insure
variety in preach1ng.
8 He chose language that was
"modern, popular [and] understandable."9
7. He sought conversational tone in the pulpit
whether reading, speaking from notes, or preaching
extemporaneously.'-‘"
In the midst of the theological controversy of the
twenties, Fosdick stated, "I am a heretic if conventional
orthodoxy is the standard. I should be ashamed to live
in this generation and not be a heret1c." 61 Each
person may judge Fosdick's theology for himself. But
even those who condemn him as a heretic have no choice
but to be grateful to God for a 'heretic' such as Harry