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Direct link to David Alexander's post This is sort of like what, Posted 2 years ago. What was Fundamentalism during the 1920's and what did they reject? If you're seeing this message, it means we're having trouble loading external resources on our website. The unprecedented carnage and destruction of the war stripped this generation of their illusions about democracy, peace, and prosperity, and many expressed doubt and cynicism . The unmatched prosperity and cultural advancement was accompanied by intense social unrest and reaction. During the Scopes Monkey Trial, supporters of the Butler Act read literature at the headquarters of the Anti-Evolution League in Dayton, Tennessee. The same decade that bore witness to urbanism and modernism also introduced the Ku Klux Klan, Prohibition, nativism, and religious fundamentalism. By the mid-1930s, Rimmer had spoken to students at more than 4,000 schools. July 1, 1925 John Thomas Scopes a substitute high school biology teacher in Dayton, Tennessee, was accused of violating Tennessee's a Butler Act, a law in which makes it unlawful to teach human evolution and mandated that teachers teach creationism. The country was confidentand rich. At a meeting of the American Scientific Affiliation in 1997, biochemist Walter Hearn (left) presents a plaque to the first president of the ASA, the lateF. Alton Everest, a pioneering acoustical engineer from Oregon State University. The heat of battle would ignite the fire inside him, and the flames would illuminate the truth of his position while consuming the false doctrines of his enemy. His mother then made an enormous mistake, marrying a man who beat her children regularly before abandoning them a few years later. He laid out his position succinctly early in his career as a creationist evangelist, in a brief article for aleading fundamentalist magazine, outlining the goals of his ministry to the outstanding agnostics of the modern age, namely the high school [and] college student. The basic problem, in his opinion, was that students were far too uncritical of evolution: With a credulity intense and profound the modern student will accept any statement or dogma advanced by the scientific speculations and far-fetched philosophy of the evolvular [sic] hypothesis. The key words here are credulity, speculations, far-fetched, and hypothesis. Only by undermining confidence in evolution, Rimmer believed, could he affirm that The Bible and science are in absolute harmony. Only then could he say that there is no difference [of opinion] between the infallible and absolute Word of God and the correlated body of absolute knowledge that constitutes science. For more about Compton and design, see my article, Prophet of Science Part Two: Arthur Holly Compton on Science, Freedom, Religion, and Morality [PDF],Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith61 (September 2009): 175-90. and more. This is sort of like what China does to the people of Xinjiang of late, and what Vietnam did with former members of the Army of South Vietnam after 1975. Many women didn't want to give up the well-paying jobs and economic freedom they'd acquired during World War I. Is this really surprising? Schmucker got in on the ground floor. Some believe that the women's rights movement affected fashion, promoting androgynous figures and the death of the corset. The twin horns of that dilemma still substantially shape religious responses to evolution. Unfortunately she destroyed their correspondence after the book was finished, so there is no archive of his papers available for historians to examine. The telephone connected families and friends. In passages such as these, Schmucker stripped God of transcendence and removed from the laws of nature every ounce of contingency that has been so important for thedevelopment of modern science. The negative opinion many native-born Americans held toward immigration was in part a response to the process of postwar urbanization. Unlike Moore, he had no interest in a God who could create immanently through evolution but could also transcendently bring Christ back from the dead. Come back to see what happens. But, at the time, they were seen as a promising path to maintaining the peace. Lets see what happened. As an historian, however, I should also point out thatthe warfare view is dead among historians, though hardly among the scientists and science journalists who are far more influential in shaping popular opinioneven though they usually know far less about this topic than the relevant experts. How did fundamentalism affect society in the 1920s? The most influential historical treatments remain Ernest R. Sandeen, The Roots of Fundamentalism (1970) and George M. Marsden, Fundamentalism and American Culture (1980). While many Americans celebrated the emergence of modern technologies and less restrictive social norms, others strongly objected to the social changes of the 1920s. 281-306. What caused the rise of fundamentalism? Born in San Francisco in 1890, his father died when he was just five years old. So Italian-americans, Portuguese-americans, Greek-americans, Syrian-americans, Eastern european-americans, African-americans, Hispanic-americans (in short, people of color) opposed nativism. One of the students who heard Rimmer at Rice, Walter R. Hearn, became a biochemist specializing in experiments exploring the possible chemical origin of life (seehereandhere). His textbook,The Study of Nature, was published in 1908the same year in which The American Nature Study Society was founded. Wasnt that just putting the work of the wholly immanent God into practice, by applying the divine process of evolution to ourselves? Take a low view of the science in the hypothesis of evolution, and you can say with William Jennings Bryan, The word hypothesis is a synonym used by scientists for the word guess, or Evolution is not truth, it is merely an hypothesisit is millions of guesses strung together (quoting his stump speech,The Menace of Darwinism, and the closing argument he never got to deliver at the Scopes trial). This was especially relevant for those who were considered Christians. Written in many cases by authors with genuine scientific expertise, such works had the positive purpose of forging a creative synthesis between the best theology and the best science of their dayexactly what we at BioLogos are doing. What really got him going wasNature Study, a national movement among science educators inspired by Louis Agassiz famous maxim to Study nature, not books. That way of thinking was widely received by historians and many other scholarsto say nothing of the ordinary person in the streetfor most of the twentieth century. This creates a large gap between the views of professional scientists and those of many ordinary peoplea gap that is far more significant for the origins controversy than any supposed gaps in the fossil record. Instead, they tend to reinforce positions already held, by providing opportunities for adherents of those views to hear and see prominent people who think as they do. It was not put there by a higher power. This is followed by as blithe a confession of divine immanence as anyone has ever written: The laws of nature are not the fiat of almighty God, they are the manifestation in nature of the presence of the indwelling God. Rimmer dearly hoped that things would get even warmer before the night was over. This phenomenon, he argues, has made possible the persistence of religion in our highly scientific society. Fundamentalism was especially strong in rural America. Why not just put them in camps, make sure they're not against democracy then let them go? After noting the existence of twelve ancestral forms related to the modern horse, he asked, What of the millions upon millions of forms that would be required for the transformation of each species into the next subsequent species? How did fundamentalism and nativism affect society in 1920? When the boxer and the biologist collided that November evening, they both had a substantial following, and they presented a sharp contrast to the audience: a pugilistic, self-educated fundamentalist evangelist against a suave, sophisticated science writer. Fundamentalism consists of the strict interpretation of the bible. The key word here is tenable. The warfare view is not. What are fundamentalist beliefs? The controversies of the early twentieth century profoundly influenced the current debate about origins: we havent yet gotten past it. What Does AI Mean for the Church and Society? What is an example of a fundamentalist? Additionally, the first radio broadcasts and motion pictures expanded Americans' access to news and entertainment. He had been up late for a night or two before the debate, going over his plans with members of the Prophetic Testimony of Philadelphia, the interdenominational group that sponsored the debate as well as the lengthy series of messages that led up to it. The invitation came from a young instructor of engineering,Henry Morris, who went on to become the most influential young-earth creationist of his generation. It could be argued that fundamentalism is a serious contemporary problem that affects all aspects of society and will likely influence all cultures for the foreseeable future. As they went on to say, Naturalisticevolutionismis to be rejected because its materialist creed puts the material world in place of God, because it asserts that the cosmos is self-existent and self-governing, because it sees no value in anything beyond the material thing itself, [and] because it asserts that cosmic history has no purpose, that purpose is only an illusion. But the 1920s were an age of extreme contradiction. Walking with Andy Gosler | Wolfson Meadow, Lizzie Henderson | Different Kinds of I Dont Know, BioLogos 2022 Terms of Use Privacy Contact Us RSS, Ted Davis is Professor of the History of Science at Messiah College. 39-43, 141-53, and 169-78; and Howard Van Till, Robert E. Snow,John H. Stek, and Davis A. Some peoples religious views do indeed conflict with some parts of science, and I could point to several good historical examples: why beat around the bush? The cars brought the need for good roads. Direct link to David Alexander's post Nativism posited white pe, Posted 3 years ago. This material is adapted from two articles by Edward B. Davis, Fundamentalism and Folk Science Between the Wars,Religion and American Culture5 (1995): 217-48, and Samuel Christian Schmuckers Christian Vocation,Seminary Ridge Review10 (Spring 2008): 59-75. Protestant Christian fundamentalists hold that the Bible is the final authority on . Shortly after World War Two, as the ASA grew in size, its increasingly well-trained members began to distance themselves from Rimmers strident antievolutionism, just as Morris was abandoning Rimmers gap view in favor of George McCready Pricesversion of flood geology: two ships heading in opposite directions. Id like to think that Hearn and others, including those of us here at BioLogos, have found a viable third way. What did fundamentalists believe about the changes during the 1920’s? Darwinism, he wrote, has conferred upon philosophy and religion an inestimable benefit, by showing us that we must choose between two alternatives. Young, andClarence Menninga,Science Held Hostage: Whats Wrong with Creation Science AND Evolutionism(InterVarsity Press, 1988), pp. The old and the new came into sharp conflict in the 1920s. The twenties were a time of great divide between rural and urban areas in America. Fundamentalists believed consumerism and women reversing roles were declining morals. For example, lets consider his analysis of the evidence for the evolution of the horsea textbook case since the late nineteenth century. Isnt it high time that we found a third way? Schmucker himself put it like this: With the growth of actual knowledge and of high aims man may really expect to help nature (is it irreverent to say help God?) Fundamentalism was first talked about during the debate by the Fundamentalist-Modernist in the 1920's. Fundamentalism is defined as a type of religion that upholds very strict beliefs from the scripture they worship. Although he quit boxing after his dramatic conversion to Christianity at a street meeting in San Francisco, probably on New Years Day, 1913, the pugilistic instincts still came out from time to time, especially in the many debates he conducted throughout his career as an itinerant evangelist. However, most of these changes were only felt by the wealthier populations of the metropolitan North and West. In the year following the Scopes trial, fifty thousand copies of this pamphlet by Samuel Christian Schmucker were issued as part of an ongoing series on Science and Religion sponsored by the American Institute of Sacred Literature. As it happens, his opponent was Gregorys longtime friend Samuel Christian Schmucker, a very frequent speaker at the Museum and undoubtedly one of the two or three best known speakers and writers on scientific subjects in the United States. Anyone who thinks otherwise hasnt been reading my columns very carefully. They rarely lead anyone in attendance to change their mind, or even to re-assess their views in a significant way. These eternally restless particles are not God: but in them he is manifest. Why do you think there was a backlash against modernity in the 1920s? If you were an avid reader of popular science in the 1920s, chances are you needed no introduction to Samuel Christian Schmucker: you already knew who he was, because youd read one or two of his very popular books or heard him speak in some large auditorium. When Rimmer began preaching before World War One, Billy Sunday was the most famous Bible preacher in America. Apparently, Rimmer had originally sought to debate the renowned paleontologistWilliam King Gregory from theAmerican Museum of Natural History, but that didnt work out. Posted 5 years ago. Rimmers antievolutionism and Schmuckers evolutionary theism were nothing other than competing varieties of folk science. Wiki User. The two books of God came perfectly together in modern scienceprovided that we were prepared to embrace a higher conception of God alongside a clearer reverence for [scientific] investigation. Elaborating his position, he identified three very distinct stages in our belief as to the relation between God and His creation. First was the primitive belief based on a literal interpretation of Genesis. As a key part of his strategy, he openly challenged professors to debate himto defend their own faith in science against his scathing assaults on their credibility. After introducing the combatants, McCormick announced the proposition to be debated: That the facts of biology sustain the theory of evolution., Schmucker wanted to accomplish two things: to state the evidence for adaptation and natural selection and to refute the claim that evolution is irreligious. We can reject things for many reasons. A small proportion of the audience stood, a reporter wrote. Naturalistic evolutionism views the cosmos as an independent, autonomous, material machine named NATUREa singularly meaningless image compared with the rich biblical vision of the cosmos as Gods CREATION (Portraits of Creation, pp. Despite the refusal of the U.S. Senate to ratify the Treaty of Versailles, Harding was able to work with Germany and Austria to secure a formal peace. Rimmer wasnt actually from Kansas, but he liked to advertise a formal connection he had made with asmall state college there. She quoted some of them in her book,Fire Inside: The Harry Rimmer Story(Berne, Indiana: Publishers Printing House, 1968); his comments about football are on pp. They believeall of the historical sciences are falsecosmology, geology, paleontology, physical anthropology, and evolutionary biology. Societal Changes in the 1920s. The Ku Klux Klan was founded in 1865 by six veterans of the Confederate Army. Without a transcendent lawgiver to stand apart from nature as our judge, it was not hard to see eugenic reforms as morally appropriate means to spread the kingdom of God on earth. fundamentalism, type of conservative religious movement characterized by the advocacy of strict conformity to sacred texts. Ive been sorting my pebbles and greasing my sling. The whole process is so intelligent that there is no question in my mind but what there is an Intelligence behind it. The great gulf separating Rimmer from Schmucker, fundamentalist from modernist, still substantially shapes the attitudes of American Protestants toward evolution. His God wascoevalwith the world and all but identical with the laws of nature, and evolutionary progress was the source of his ultimate hope. Aspects of this debate do seem to fit the warfare model, especially Rimmers condescending hostility toward evolution specifically and scientists generally and his elevation of a literal Bible (that is the word he often chose himself) over well supported scientific conclusions. The trial was exacerbated and publicized to draw attention to Dayton, Tennessee, as well as the fundamentalism vs. evolution argument. Evangelicalism (/ i v n d l k l z m, v n-,- n-/), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "born again", in which an individual experiences personal conversion; the authority of the Bible as God's revelation to humanity . In the Transformation and backlash in the 1920s, what does it mean by "fearful rejection". Over a period of three hundred years of slavery in America White slave owners built a sophisticated structure to sustain their brutally corrupt and immoral system. I shall type my notes for easy reference and then rest until the gong sounds.. Source: streetsdept.com. Nevertheless, the trial itself proved to be high drama. The high hope of eugenics was to increase the proportion of fine strong beautiful upright human families and diminish the ratio of shiftless, weak, defaced, unmoral people, in order that the world will be bettered for ages. Progress was boundless. As the Christian astronomer and historianOwen Gingerichhas so eloquently said, science is ultimately about building a wondrously coherent picture of the universe, and a universe billions of years old and evolving is also part of that coherency (Gingerich, The Galileo Affair,Scientific American, August 1982, p. 143). The balmy weather took him back to his home in southern California, back to his wife of fifteen years and their three children, back to the USC Trojans and the big home game just two weeks away against a great team from Notre Dame in what would prove to beKnute Rocknes final season. These will also be made monkeys of. Isnt that a fascinating statementa prominent theistic evolutionist endorsing intelligent design!? Those who share my interest in baseball history are invited to read John A. Lucas, The Unholy ExperimentProfessional Baseballs Struggle against Pennsylvania Sunday Blue Laws, 1926-1934,Pennsylvania History38 (1971): 163-75. Rimmers son had him pegged well: Dad never won the argument; he always won the audience (interview with Ronald L. Numbers, 15 May 1984, as quoted in Numbers,The Creationists, expanded edition, p. 66). As a brief synopsis, initially, urban Americans believed in modernism . Morris associate, the lateDuane Gish, eagerly put on Rimmers mantle, using humor and ridicule to win an audience when genuine scientific arguments might not do the trickand (like Rimmer) he is alleged to have won every one of themore than 300 debates in which he participated. Young, Portraits of Creation: Biblical and ScientificPerspectives on the Worlds Formation(Eerdmans, 1990), pp, 147-51, and 186-202. Even though Rimmer wasnt a YEChe advocated the gap theory, the same view that Morris himself endorsed at that pointhis Research Science Bureau was a direct ancestor of Morris organizations: in each case, the goal is (or was) to promote research that supports the scientific reliability of the Bible. The radio was used extensively during the 1920's which altered society's culture. A sub-literate audience, he said, needs fewer trappings of academic jargon and titles, while a sophisticated audience requires a reasonable facsimile of a leading branch of Science, such as physics (pp 388-89). Both groups differed in viewpoints on almost every topic. This caused a sense of fear and paranoia in American . These fundamentalists used the bible to guide their actions throughout the 1920's. Fundamentalists also rejected the modernity of the "Roaring Twenties" that increased the impulse to break with tradition and witnessed Americans beginning to value convenience and leisure over hard work and self-denial.