As the Fascist/Axis forces made war on the countries of Europe, the reaction of the members of the CRC was quite typical of average North Americans. Naturally, no one welcomed war and the cynical pronouncements against the thinking of Wilson were deemed justified as many simply condemned the depths and incorrigibility of human depravity. The forte of the antithetical Calvinists was their ideological analysis, and this came into play as the foundations of Nazi philosophy were examined and found to be part of the realm of darkness. This was confirmed on numerous occasions as news of atrocities and persecution of the Jews came to light. Though the Dutch had at first sympathized with Germany and expressed admiration for their economic recovery, and there was even some cooperation with Nazi authorities by some members of the GKN (though this was vigorously resisted by Schilder and his group), and though there was some flirtation with pacifism at this time (see Appendix II), when Germany invaded the Netherlands, Americans of Dutch descent took offense and were more than willing to aid in the liberation of the "old country."

Many young men from the CRC enlisted gladly in the armed forces, and new appeals for patriotism were heard in publications and from the pulpits. The CRC at this time joined the National Association of Evangelicals, not just to pursue ecumenicism but once again to show solidarity with other churches in the US and to gain the necessary qualifications for her ministers to serve as chaplains to the armed forces. The painting of the war in ideological terms (good Allies vs. evil Axis), if a little simplistic, was vigorously practiced and embraced by most Americans, and the CRC members were no exception. America considered itself a Christian country fighting to liberate the weak and innocent against the pagan German and Japanese Empires who stole their freedom and persecuted those of the household of faith.

With so many CRC personnel rallied to this cause and sent overseas in various capacities, many horizons were expanded, ethnic barriers overcome, and new relationships established. Perhaps the liberation of the Netherlands and its former colonies (Indonesia, for example) were the causes dearest to the hearts of the CRC. However, as they fought side by side with or had other opportunities for fellowship with believers in other countries, the church was enriched as the reality of the catholicity of the church was experienced. The situations and needs of other lands were seen first hand, and this gave great impetus to the explosion of mission efforts as well as stimulating new ecumenical endeavors. One concrete example of this is the relationship which was established between the CRCNA and the Reformed Church of Japan. CRC personnel attached to the US armed forces were the first to have contact with the Japanese church. They reported on its formation to the churches back in North America, and this led to the forming of ties and the opening of mission efforts in the early 50's. Strong ties were also formed with the Hungarian Reformed Churches, though the Cold War effectively prevented the pursuit of that relationship until recently.

The period following the war was, despite the onset of the Cold War, one of tremendous optimism and explosive growth of technology and industry. It was also characterized by the "baby boom" and a new wave of immigration to the "land of the free." The North American continent had escaped the ravages of war and was rightly viewed as a land of opportunity--a place to escape to, to leave behind the painful memories of the war and to make a new start. Statistically, the CRC had its largest ever growth spurt in the decade of the 50's. Almost 90,000 new members were added along with a whopping 200 new congregations. Much of this new immigration was to Canada rather than to the United States. Note that prior to WWII there were only 12 CRCNA congregations in all of Canada, but by the centennial year 1957, CRCNA members in Canada numbered 42,535. Following earlier patterns, the Dutch immigrants were looking for the chance to start new communities of their own folk, looking for land that could be developed into farms, etc. The country to the north was much more amenable to this. Canada's immigration policies also made it much easier to move there. Dutch and Reformed communities were established from Vancouver to Halifax, typically with Christian schools being established along with the churches. The heavy Dutch brogue is still widely heard in these younger congregations where ethnic homogeneity remains the rule and non-Dutch names on the membership role are rare.

Occurring also at this time was a general rise in the standard of living and the spread of materialism. American "civil religion" had resulted from the war (although it certainly had been present earlier) where the US had been perceived as God's agent to save the world for democracy. This kind of thinking infected the church quite thoroughly. "Memorial Day" services (held on the USA's national holiday to remember the sacrifices of those who served in the armed forces) and "patriotic" hymn sings became popular, and anyone questioning this new status quo opened himself to accusations of being a communist sympathizer. This worsened somewhat during the Vietnam era. The materialism which was rampant in US society was justified as the Dutch Reformed saw their prosperity as the result of God's reward for their diligence. The church began a gradual, unmistakable shift from rural to suburban. Enterprises like Amway were born.

Almost immediately following the end of the war, there was a time of some upheaval at the CRC's seminary in Grand Rapids. Louis Berkhof was going into retirement after an illustrious career which was epitomized by his unyielding confessionalism. He and one other aging faculty member were replaced by William Rutgers and William Hendrickson. While they were traditionalists, their confessional credentials were not well known by the churches. These appointments were followed by the appointment of two young professors, Harry Boer in missions and George Stob in church history, both of whom had been chaplains in the armed forces and who were quite non- if not anti-traditional. Enmity grew between these four professors, who represented confessionalist/traditional and progressive/anti-parochial camps, and a variety of accusations were traded. While all theological charges were dismissed by synod, in 1952 all four faculty members were dismissed, leaving a seminary virtually without a faculty.

Cornelius Van Til was called from his post at Westminster Seminary to serve in an interim; he declined to stay on at Calvin, but his strong antithetical/confessional positions served to heat up the theological debate started by the four dismissed professors. Two new journals were born as a result, the progressive Reformed Journal (recently discontinued) and the conservative Torch & Trumpet (still published today as the Outlook) . While the debate was useful for furthering the cause of Christian philosophy (with "iron sharpening iron," as they say), they two camps' animosity towards each other often was far out of proportion to the commitments to the faith which they shared. Positions were often caricatured and condemned, and suspicions spawned and encouraged by the acrimonious debate spilled over into various CRC communities creating more heat than light and leaving "outsiders," not privy to the roots of the debate, bewildered and turned off. Typically, the Confessionalist camp accuses the Progressive camp of rationalism and liberalism; the Progressive accuses the Confessionalist of being overly reactionary and of denying Common Grace. (Personally, I think they are both right, though I myself tend to be of the Confessionalist stance.)

The "Seminary situation" calmed down after some further appointments of more irenic types. However, the suspicions, accusations, and sometimes sabre-rattling between the two camps, as well as a vague distrust of the Seminary, continues to haunt the CRC till the present day and is often reflected in the various controversies and debates which come up from time to time, such as the controversy over the doctrine of Scripture or the debate over women in office.

A very happy tale from this period is the rapid expansion of the missions program of the church. As the second wave of immigration was proceeding apace, there was also a feeling of establishment as a denomination come into its own with a mission to accomplish. The acceptance of the CRC in the wider Christian community was experienced during the war years, and the mature and theological and moral steadiness brought about by the long service of Berkhof and H.J. Kuiper gave the church a sense of self- confidence which enabled it to plan and implement new outreaches. The growing prosperity and general expansion taking place in the economic world certainly increased the ability of the CRCNA membership to expand its mission outreach.

New mission projects were opened in Africa, Latin America and Asia during the 50's, including the countries of Sri Lanka, India, Taiwan, Japan, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Cuba, Liberia, Australia, and New Zealand. More often than not, work was undertaken to assist Reformed churches which already existed in these countries, and in some cases the work consisted of loaning pastors to churches with a shortage (this is especially true of the work in Australasia and South America). However, this was a glorious time for the CRC in terms of meaningful evangelistic work. Home missions was still largely preoccupied with organizing congregations for new immigrants, but the focus at home also began to shift toward evangelistic outreach towards all peoples, not just those of Dutch ethnicity. The Indian mission work also continued under the supervision of the foreign missions board. The momentum of expansion continued into the 60's as well with new fields in Central America (Honduras) and Asia (the Philippines) being opened and the work in Nigeria expanded even further than before.