Michael Boling CHHI 302

THE RISE OF FUNDAMENTALISM BY MICHAEL BOLING

LIBERTY UNIVERSITY FALL 2007 CHHI 302: HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH II PROF. KEN RICK

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OUTLINE I. II. Introduction Fundamentalism Opposed a. Liberalism b. Evolution Controversy III. Rise of Fundamentalism in Response to Liberalism and Evolution a. Response to Liberalism b. Response to Evolution IV. Conclusion

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THE RISE OF FUNDAMENTALISM

INTRODUCTION The rise of fundamentalism, originally a reaction to the influence of modernism and the effort to amalgamate evolutionary science with the Bible, has had an enduring influence upon the milieu of American religious tradition. The founders of the fundamentalist movement sought to rescue Christianity from the rising influence of liberalism which had surfaced in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Their desire was to return to the core beliefs of the Protestant Reformation. Individuals such as John Darby, Karl Barth, R. A. Torrey, and Billy Sunday were at the forefront of the battle that waged against the likes of evangelical liberalism, Liberation Christianity, and most importantly, the rapid spread of the influence of biological evolution. Church historian Ernest Sandeen notes of Fundamentalist proselytizers that, the Fundamentalist considered himself a champion of certain religious truths and worked within the scope of definable beliefs.1 It is these definable beliefs that formed the foundation upon which the Fundamentalists rallied. Marching against those whom they perceived as foes to scriptural truth, the Fundamentalist movement continues to be a relevant force in todays society, as the issues which the founders faced are even more prevalent in todays culture.

FUNDAMENTALISM OPPOSED The late 18th and early 19th centuries were a time of rapid economic, social, and scientific expansion. It was during this period that many conservative Protestant leaders in the church began to soften their once firm foundational viewpoints on the inerrancy of the Bible. Instead of
Ernest Sandeen, Toward a Historical Interpretation of the Origins of Fundamentalism, Church History Vol. 36, no. 1 (1967): 82.
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viewing the Bible as an infallible source of knowledge, many chose to find ways to combine science and the Bible in an effort to move to a more modernist viewpoint. It was this modernist viewpoint which was sweeping across the United States. At the forefront of modernism was the influence of biological evolution. An additional influence which shook the Protestant religious foundation was the acceptance of intellectual criticism of the Bible. These factors helped to solidify the development of the Fundamentalist movement. Liberalism Fundamentalism history expert George Marsden notes that by the 1890s most of the clergy had abandoned traditional assumptions concerning the full historical accuracy of Scripture for some form of higher criticism.2 As industrial and scientific progress began to revolutionize the lives of the average American, this progress brought forth immense social changes plus rapid secularization, especially in science and higher education3 serving to erode Protestanisms practical dominance4 on society. This erosion of fundamental Protestant beliefs quickly caused many religious leaders to modify their long held Protestant viewpoints of the world. In an effort to assuage the formidable influence of liberal thought which had begun to permeate both secular and religious society at large, Protestant leaders toned down their message. Historian Sydney Ahlstrom claims, To these problems were added the intellectual difficulties provoked by scientific discoveries, religious scholarship, and pervasive shifts in

George Marsden, Fundamentalism as an American Phenomenon, A Comparison with English Evangelicalism, Church History Vol. 46, no. 2 (1977): 218. George Marsden, Understanding Fundamentalism and Evangelicalism (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing, 1991), 32.
4 3

Ibid.

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moral and religious attitudes.5 Liberalism attempted to provide answers to the problems which Americans were facing in dealing with scientific discoveries which seemingly conflicted with their faith. Moreover, as technology began to increase human capability, the efficacy of science proved itself, whereby scholars promoting science over faith led to concrete thinking, likewise marginalizing faith-based reasoning. This transition opened up the general population to a more liberal mindset, similarly exposing them to the path of alternative theories and choices. Liberalism began as a condemnation of the belief that spiritual doctrines always lend themselves to a precise embodiment in black and white, and can thereafter be dealt with like so many clauses of an Act of Parliament.6 This type of thought led to a new branch of Protestantism, labeled evangelical liberalism, which: abandoned much of the Christian tradition in favor of a scientific worldview.and agreed on the incompatibility of science with the central affirmations of Christian faith.7 Many liberals began to emphasize the immanence of God in His creation, to assimilate Him to the evolutionary principle, and a stress on the moral capacities of all men8 This view of God was largely an effort to strip fundamentalist Christianity of its roots leaving nothing behind but an impersonal view of God with the Creator detached from their personal lives. Perhaps the most significant inroad through which liberalism was able to make its greatest strides was in the arena of addressing the vast social ills that had arisen as a result of the

Sydney Ahlstrom, A Religious History of the American People (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1972), 763-764. Henry Fowler, The New Testament and Fundamentalism, North American Review Vol. 219, no. 1 (1924), 290. John Dillenberger, Protestant Christianity: Interpreted Through Its Development (New York: Charles Scribners Sons, 1954), 204. James Nichols, History of Christianity (1659-1950): Secularization of the West (New York: The Ronald Press Company, 1956), 261.
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Industrial Revolution. Those who began to espouse to the ideals of liberalism developed what became known as the social gospel. Church Historian John Dillenberger comments that Horace Bushnell, who did more than any one else to further the liberalization of American theology, had emphasized the overwhelming importance of social environment in the development of character.9 The development of character, as stated by Bushnell, was instrumental in the establishment of liberalism as an alternative to Biblical teaching and developed into its own social gospel. This reinterpretation of traditionally Protestant ideals provided an avenue for liberalism to influence the average American. Naturally, the new social gospel was in stark contrast with the Biblical teaching of the kingdom of God, but became a generally accepted notion. Evolution Perhaps the greatest influence upon the psyche of most Americans in the 20th century was the introduction of biological evolution by Charles Darwin, which unsurprisingly, still resonates on the ethical block to this day. Darwins book, The Origin of Species, became the chief symbol of the intellectual revolution10 and caused great concern for those who held to their Fundamentalist beliefs. Despite an initial attempt by both the church and the scientific community to reject biological evolution, it soon made inroads, initially in science, but eventually into every aspect of society. As noted by Church Historian James Nichols, individuals such as John Fiske in his book Cosmic Philosophy argued that evolution is Gods way of doing things thus harmonizing science with scripture. Lyman Abbott further outlined the ultimate goal of combining science with scripture through the vehicle of evolution by stating as Gods way of doing things,
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Ibid, 244. Winthrop Hudson, Religion in America (New York: Charles Scribners Sons, 1965), 208.

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evolution could be combined with the idea of Providence, and greatly strengthened the prevailing faith in Progress.11 As scientific creationist author Henry Morris notes the crowning blow is that the courts have supported this evolutionary takeover of the public schools.12 Author Jeremy Rifkin also notes that, evolutionary theory has been enshrined as the centerpiece of our educational system, and elaborate walls have been erected around it to protect it from unnecessary abuse.13 This influx of evolutionary thought was a departure from the once fertile ground of literal creation beliefs that were a part of the standard curricula taught in the nations earliest and most prestigious universities. The teaching of evolution counteracted years of adherence to Biblical truth regarding Creationism, and proved a major setback to Fundamentalists and the evangelical community alike.

RISE OF FUNDAMENTALISM IN RESPONSE TO LIBERALISM AND EVOLUTION

As aforementioned, Fundamentalism rose as a response to the increasing influence of liberalism and evolution upon society. The term fundamentalist was first used by Curtis Laws in 1920 to describe those who rejected liberalism and embraced evangelical teachings.14 The return of American culture to more foundational Biblical doctrine was the desire of the Fundamentalist movement. As noted by sociologist Joe Feagin, the Fundamentalist movement initially:

11

Nichols, 271. Henry Morris, The Long War Against God (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1989), 51. Jeremy Rifkin, Algeny (New York: Viking, 1983), 112. Earle Cairns, Christianity Through the Centuries (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996), 486.

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focused on two fundamental issues: the imminent return of Christ and the verbal inspiration of the Bible. In the early 20th century the doctrinal issues also included the miraculous birth, works and resurrection of Christ. The defense and propagation of these basic beliefs were the core concerns of the movement.15 The Fundamentalist community, in response to the rise of liberalism and particularly in response to the influence of evolution, developed what have become known as the five points of fundamentalism. These five points are: the verbal inerrancy of Scripture, the deity of Jesus, the virgin birth, the substitutionary atonement, and the physical resurrection and bodily return of Christ.16 These five points served as the foundation of the Fundamentalist movement, referring their adherents to them as the authoritative doctrine of true Christianity.

Response to Liberalism In an attempt to reverse the course of liberalisms influence, Fundamentalists developed a dispensational structure and view of the Bible. In holding firm to the foundational canon, Fundamentalists emphasized a literal view of the Bible. The five central tenets guiding Fundamentalist doctrine became known as the The Fundamentals, or Dispensationalism, as it is often connoted. This literal view of scripture was in direct opposition to the viewpoint held by proponents of Liberalism, who viewed God as having a hands-off or laissez faire management style over their activities. Liberalism with its interpretation of the Bible through the lens of human history and dispensationalism with its interpretation of history exclusively through the lens of scripture are markedly differentiated. As such, the goal of the

Joe Feagin, Varieties of Fundamentalism: a Conceptual and Empirical Analysis of Two Protestant Denominations Sociological Quarterly Vol. 20, no. 1 (1979), 37.
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15

Williston Walker, A History of the Christian Church (New York: Charles Scribners Sons, 1985), 662.

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Fundamentalist movement was to reveal that answers to the issues of the day were not to be found in liberal theology but in a proper understanding that the Kingdom of God would come as part of the historical process.17 In a continued effort to combat the influence of liberalism and liberal theology, the Fundamentalists, published a series of essays written by A.C. Dixon and R. A. Torrey, titled The Fundamentals. This twelve volume set was distributed in an effort to reach every pastor, evangelist, minister, theological professor, theological student, Sunday school superintendent, YMCA and YWCA secretary in the English speaking world.18 The distribution of this work served to greatly enhance the ability of the common believer to defend the doctrine of the Bibles literal inerrancy.19 Cairns notes that, during the high tide of fundamentalism, many evangelicals had been trained in Bible schools, so called because the Bible and not the traditional liberal arts studies formed the core of their curriculum.20 This resulted in the establishment of Bible colleges and universities across America, enabling the Fundamentalist movement to be promulgated among future generations of Christians in the five fundamentals of Fundamentalist doctrine. In more recent history, Fundamentalism has experienced a renewed vigor in the struggle against the spread of liberalism. Development of organizations like the New Christian Right and the Moral Majority is causing a resurgence of involvement in the Christian community on the social and political front, after a seemingly extended period of inactivity. Many of the issues which the Fundamentalist leaders in the early 20th century faced, like poverty, social inequality,
17

Ahlstrom, 811. Ibid, 815. Ibid, 816. Cairns, 486.

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the teaching of evolution, and liberal theology continue to surface. Nonetheless, no other matter has spurred the resurgence of the Fundamentalist movement, at least in its modern context, more than the issue of abortion. Leaders of todays Fundamentalist movement, like the late Jerry Falwell, extensively influenced and coordinated the Christian response to numerous public policy issues affecting the Christian community. Christian leader like Pat Robertson still carry this torch. Issues such as homosexuality, evolution, prayer in schools and minority rights serve as rallying points from which Roberston and his similarly aligned constituents use to encourage a return to Biblical fundamentalism. Christian involvement is proving increasingly influential in many aspects of society, especially in the political arena, much of which can be traced directly to calls for the Christian community to come out of the closet,21 as Dallas evangelist James Robinson once memorably put it.

Response to Evolution The initial response by evangelicals and scientists to the introduction of Charles Darwins The Origin of Species was vehement rejection.22 Biological evolution was initially viewed as an attempt to contravene the biblical doctrine of a creating God, to rob man of his unique religious and moral character and, by implication, to deny biblical inspiration and revelation in principle.23 Additionally, as noted by church historian William Sweet, when evolution was introduced into America most Christian people in the United States at this time were literalists

Steve Bruce, Modernity and Fundamentalism: The New Christian Right in America, The British Journal of Sociology, Vol. 41 no. 4 (1990), 478.
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Nichols, 271. Ibid.

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as far as the Scriptures were concerned and to many earnest people, evolution seemed to strike at the very foundation of Christian belief.24 This controversy struck at the very heart of Biblical doctrine as viewed by the evangelical establishment; however, the Christian community was initially unable to successfully combat the spread of evolution. Intensifying the conflict and fanning the burning flames of contention between evolutionary doctrine and Fundamentalism thought was the trial of John Scopes in 1925. Unfortunately, this trial helped spread the teaching evolution as an acceptable notion concerning human origins, while the fundamentalist view of Biblical creation became viewed as increasingly out of touch with modern science by the scientific community and shockingly, in the same way by the religious community. The Scopes Trial pitted famed criminal lawyer Clarence Darrow against the leading fundamentalist spokesman of the period William Jennings Bryan. Historian Robert Handy notes that while fundamentalism formally won the debate it was at the high cost of having its positions severely and publicly criticized and ridiculed.25 It was this blow which caused many in the evangelical community to review their strategy of combating the influence of liberal beliefs such as evolution. A return to fundamentalist views of scripture as outlined in the five points of fundamentalism was the chosen method which the Fundamentalists used to fight the spread of evolution. While previous legal precedent established creation as the model from which schools were to teach the study of human origin, the Scopes Trial altered forever the conflict between the evolutionary establishment and fundamentalism. Sadly, evolutionary dogma

24

William Sweet, The Story of Religions in America (New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1930),

492. Robert Handy, A History of the Churches in the United States and Canada (New York: Oxford University Press, 1977), 385.
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prevailed as the choice doctrine between the two in both the state and federal educational establishment. Famed evangelists in the early 20th century such as Billy Sunday used their pulpits and popularity with the public to denounce and ridicule the bastard theory of evolution winning wide approval from his audiences and even from several state legislatures.26 The fervor with which the Fundamentalist community fought the battle against evolution in the first half of the 20th century is best described by the statement by one fundamentalist champion, Above all things I love peace, but next to peace I love a fight, and I believe the next best thing to peace is a theological fight.27 Even though some fundamentalists chose to fight against the spread of evolution, many instead chose to acquiesce to the influence of the scientific community by amalgamating science with the Bible, which has become known as theistic evolution. Others chose to abide by the fundamental precepts and continued to espouse the inerrancy of Scripture regardless of what the scientific community stated. In recent years, the rise of the scientific creationist movement has become a new bulwark, contending against the evolutionary community of scientists previous hegemony. This movement, led by not only theologians but experts in various fields of science, combines the precepts of fundamentalist doctrine with scientific expertise in an effort to reveal the fallacies of evolutionary theory, hearkening back to the inerrancy of the Bible. Evolution has made tremendous inroads into the educational and scientific establishment due to Fundamentalisms inability in the early 20th century to provide a coherent and consolidated response to evolution.

Edwin S. Gaustad and Leigh E. Schmidt, The Religious History of America (San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 2002), 304.
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26

Ibid.

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The modern scientific creationism movement reinvigorated the Fundamentalist response to biological evolution and is making tremendous strides at repelling the theory in general.

CONCLUSION

Efforts by the scientific community to undermine the foundations of Christian ideals forced the Fundamentalist movement to enact what Germans call Vergangenheitsbewltigung or coming to terms with and overcoming the past by recognizing oneself as a product of the past and by mastering the history of ones own past.28 The past that Fundamentalism had to come to terms with is the foundation of Biblical tradition and the return to this Biblical tradition which incited the worldwide Protestant Reformation. By standing firm to these values as outlined specifically in The Fundamentals, the Fundamentalist movement combated the influence of liberalism and biological evolution on the American conscious. While not always successful, as liberalism and evolution continue to rear their ugly heads even to this day, committing themselves to the past and the foundations of the Bible enabled the Fundamentalist movement to be a beacon of light to a society heading down a dark path. By refusing to be assuaged by the increasingly liberal tendencies of modern society, fundamentalism continues to be the fortification of Biblical truth, creating a substantial obstacle against the hostile attack of the scientific community. This renewed relevance of Fundamentalism is noted by historian John Fea, who quips:
By the early 1980s, it was no longer possible to dismiss conservative fundamentalism in America as a declining rural peculiarity, consigned to oblivion a half century ago by the Scopes trial and the inexorable forces of modernization. It was necessary to recognize it as a considerable Leonard Sweet, Wise as Serpents, Innocent as Doves: The New Evangelical Historiography, Journal of the American Academy of Religion Vol. 56, no. 3 (1988): 402.
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and growing social and political force, which was finding expression at times at the heart of the American state.29

Feas remark is very fitting, as dismissing fundamentalism seemed at times in the past, politically expedient. Nonetheless, its reemergence on the political scene forced its recognition and its legitimacy. Ensuring that the doctrinal foundations of American society, namely Christianity is not forgotten, the soldiers of the fundamentalist movement march onward. No longer will they (fundamentalists) allow the marginalization of the Bible or an ersatz theory of human origin to rule the hearts and minds of America, especially when so much scientific literature debunks or offers alternative theoretical evidence to the ape-man conjecture of Charles Darwin.

John Fea, An Analysis of the Treatment of American Fundamentalism in United States History Survey Texts, The History Teacher Vol. 28, no. 2 (1995): 206.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY Ahlstrom, Sydney. A Religious History of the American People. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1972. Bruce, Steve. Modernity and Fundamentalism: The New Christian Right in America. The British Journal of Sociology, Vol. 41, no 4 (1990): 478. Cairns, Earle. Christianity Through the Centuries. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996. Dillenberger, John. Protestant Christianity: Interpreted Through Its Development. New York: Charles Scribners Sons, 1954. Feagin, Joe. Varieties of Fundamentalism: a Conceptual and Empirical Analysis of Two Protestant Denominations. Sociological Quarterly Vol. 20, (1979): 37. Fea, John. An Analysis of the Treatment of American Fundamentalism in United States History Survey Texts. The History Teacher Vol. 28, no. 2 (1995): 206. Fowler, Henry. The New Testament and Fundamentalism, North American Review Vol. 219, no. 1 (1924): 290. Gaustad, Edwin, Leight Schmidt. The Religious History of America. San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 2002. Handy, Robert. A History of the Churches in the United States and Canada. New York: Oxford University Press, 1977. Hudson, Winthrop. Religion in America. New York: Charles Scribners Sons, 1965. Marsden, George. Fundamentalism as an American Phenomenon: A Comparison with English Evangelicalism. Church History Vol. 46, No. 2 (1977): 218. Marsden, George. Understanding Fundamentalism and Evangelicalism. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1991. Morris, Henry. The Long War Against God. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1989. Nichols, James. History of Christianity. New York: The Ronald Press Company, 1956. Rifkin, Jeremy. Algeny. New York: Viking, 1983. Sandeen, Ernest. Toward a Historical Interpretation of the Origins of Fundamentalism. Church History Vol. 36, no. 1 (1967): 82.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY (cont.) Sweet, Leonard. Wise as Serpents, Innocent as Doves: The New Evangelical Historiography. Journal of the American Academy of Religion Vol. 56, no. 3 (1988): 402 Sweet, William. The Story of Religions in America. New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1930. Walker, Williston. A History of the Christian Church. New York: Charles Scribners Sons, 1985.