To compile this book, which is entitled Understanding Fundamentalism and Evangelicalism, Mr. George Marsden used selected essays that he wrote during the 1980s. With each essay, he included a narrative of the particular topic, plus he also provided some additional explanation about what he identifies as other important themes. Mr. Marsden admits that this book is not meant to be an exhaustive study but that it is intended to be an overview or introduction into the history of fundamentalism and evangelicalism in America. According to the opening Preface, he developed much of his text with a view toward political and scientific issues.
In 1991, when Mr. Marsden completed this book, he was a professor of the history of Christianity in America, at the Divinity School of Duke University. He is regarded as a leading authority of American fundamentalism and has also written other books, including Fundamentalism and American Culture - The Shaping of Twentieth Century Evangelicalism 1870-1925. As such, his qualifications for writing this book about understanding fundamentalism and evangelicalism appear to be well established.
In the Preface, the author indicated that the collection of essays in this book contains a narrative study of the subject. He also said that the majority of "this" narrative came from a section of Eerdmans' Handbook to Christianity in America. From reviewing his book, however, I had difficulty understanding what he meant by those remarks. First, since I do not have access to his original essays, I was not able to tell what constituted his essay and which part was the narrative. Also, I could not understand why he said that most of the narrative came from Eerdsmans when a quick glance at the list of acknowledgments on page ix indicates that the Eerdsmans' text was only used in Chapter One. These opening remarks do not take away from the material that he goes on to present. But they are confusing, and they do initially make the text more awkward and intimidating.
In the Introduction, Mr. Marsden attempts to define fundamentalism and evangelicalism. I enjoyed reading his remarks about fundamentalism, and as a Liberty University student, I especially liked reading about Dr. Jerry Falwell's influence on fundamentalism. Mr. Marsden admits in this section, however, that it is not easy to define evangelicalism, then he discusses the various strains of evangelicalism and basically shows that he is right. Coming up with a clear definition for evangelicalism probably cannot be done, so my opinion is that his Introduction would have been better titled, "Attempting to Define Fundamentalism and Evangelicalism." Renaming the Introduction with the addition of these few words would have been more accurate, plus this small modification would not have changed the focus of his discussion.
A positive aspect of his book is that Mr. Marsden used an inline outline structure throughout the text. He frequently broke up lengthy subjects by injecting section breaks, and these breaks were a very nice feature that made the book more readable. They also were useful for introducing new topics within each discussion.
This book was, in many ways, difficult for me to read, but in others, it was very enjoyable. Listed below are some of the features which I found to be most interesting and, in general, to be very well done.
A. Biographical Sketches. One of the things that I liked about this book was the author's biographical sketches. Mr. Marsden had a section in Chapter One, called "THE STARS," in which he discussed Henry Ward Beecher, Phillips Brooks, Josiah Strong, Russell H. Conwell, and Dwight L. Moody. Before reading that part of the text, I had not known that Dwight L. Moody started out as a successful business man. I had always assumed that he was an evangelist from the beginning and that he had remained an evangelist throughout his career. It was interesting to gain so much insight into the personal life of many of the key figures of the early days of this century.
Mr. Marsden also educated me concerning Dr. Billy Graham's beginnings. I had not realized that Dr. Graham started out as an evangelist for Youth for Christ, nor had I known that he was their first. I also had not been aware of Mr. C. I. Schofield's beginnings or of his reason for putting together the Schofield Reference Bible. Mr. Marsden provided a very comprehensive account of the events that led up to the development of that reference Bible, especially concerning the debate which had arisen at the turn of the century over dispensationalism and premillennialism. Until I read this book, I had not realized that Mr. Schofield was such an instrumental force of early dispensational beliefs, and I had not known that the Schofield Reference Bible was written primarily to proclaim those beliefs.
Throughout his book, Mr. Marsden has brought together the stories of men like D.L. Moody, Billy Sunday, C. I. Schofield, and W.B. Riley, but he has also included many of the contemporary figures of fundamentalism and evangelicalism, such as Dr. Falwell, Jim Bakker, Pat Robertson, and Billy Graham. Explaining the history of a movement by discussing the people involved on both sides of that movement is a very good way to teach history, and the author did a very good job in this regard.
B. Biblical Inerrancy. In addition to the biographical information, Mr. Marsden also provided a fair amount of detail about the role of inerrancy in the fundamentalist movement. I had not realized that much of the debate about this issue had occurred as a result of the early Twentieth Century trend towards Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution. The author showed the development of the inerrancy issue as it was then and as it has continued to be until the time of his writing.
C. Enlightenment Science. Until reading the author's chapter on evangelicals and enlightenment science and his chapter, "Why Creation Science?," I had not understood the impact of evolution during the Twentieth Century. I had known about the Scopes Trial, but I had not known that that trial was such a pivotal point for fundamentalism.
I had difficulty reading many parts of this book, but I found other parts to be very interesting. Rather than read about historical events, though, I would prefer to read about key personalities, and Mr. Marsden had plenty of those. In general, I found his book to be of academic quality and very good for reference, but I would not necessarily recommend it as casual reading or to someone who is only reading for enjoyment.
Tom of Spotswood "He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." (I John 5:12)
Index to Selected Essays And Book Reviews
GLA 2 - Inerrancy as an Issue in the Fundamentalist Movement: 1900 to the Present
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