[.ca] Fundamentalism and American Culture (ISBN 0195300475)

Quality History of an Important Period of American History:
The reviews above by Aitkin and Huchison are very helpful, but I felt it was important to add two points. The fourth part- Interpretations- deals with scholarly understanding of the movement within American Chistianity called fundamentalism. I found this to be especially helpful, a careful synthesis and interaction with the most important scholarly work in this area. I also found it to be a good demonstration of how a christian can do "history" with scholarly integrity. In this part, he also gives some interesting authors worth looking at later, of which he interacts. The last two pages of the book, the Epilogue, is something of Marsden's philosophy of history, and how it relates to theology and faith. Again, very worthwhile, and something I will share with friends who also have an interest in Christians doing scholarly work in history, He is always fair and evenhanded. In my opinion, the book is soild throughout, and very readable. Yet I learned more from the last fifty pages than the preceeding chapters.

Objective, Fair, and fearless:
The thesis of this book parallels that of George Marsden's similar book on American culture, Religion and American Culture, that Fundamentalism shaped and was shaped by the surrounding culture. Marsden builds upon the work of earlier historians of Fundamentalism, namely that of Ernest Sandeen's book The Roots of Fundamentalism: British and American Millenarianism. Sandeen's thesis is that Fundamentalism is the outgrowth of the "millenarian" movement that developed in late nineteenth-century American, especially through Bible institutes and conferences concerning the interpretation of biblical prophecies. Sandeen's thesis, according to Marsden, has much to commend it in connecting millenarianism and Princeton theology to the movement; however, it does not deal adequately with the militant anti-modernistic slant of the movement. Fundamentalism can briefly be defined as militant anti-modernist Protestantism that took on its own identity as a patchwork coalition of representatives of other movements. Overview of the Book Marsden divides his book into three sections (these sections are different in intent than the above themes. Marsden uses these sections to expand on his themes), Evangelicalism before Fundamentalism, the Shaping of Fundamentalism as a Movement, and the Crucial Years in which it gained popularity and its subsequent exodus of public life. In understanding the rise of Fundamentalism at the end of the nineteenth-century one must understand the backdrop from which it arose-nineteenth-century evangelicalism. Conclusion Marsden concludes the book by re-emphasizing his definition of Fundamentalism as a militant anti-modernist conservative force. For Marsden this should be the starting point for defining the movement. Militant anti-modernism applies to all types of Fundamentalism and any definition that goes beyond this must have qualifiers so that false stereotypes are not applied to the wrong group. As an Evangelical I enjoyed this book as I saw where the mind-set of conservatives and liberals developed. I also learned to what extent my own beliefs were influenced by this movement. I suggest that this book be read alongside another book on the shaping of American Christianity for a full understanding. I would also like to see an analysis of Fundamentalism from a more mainline perspective, although I believe Marsden is objective in this work. My main qualm with this book is in Part Three. In discussing the peak and soon-to-come fall of Fundamentalism, Marsden tried to put too many ideas into too few words. To keep up with him I had to re-analyze several chapters. However, due to the length of the book already, I can understand his attempt to save space. I would recommend this book to people of all political and religious persuasions so that they may have a fair understanding of this branch of early twentieth-century American religion.

Great Account of Important American History:
I read this book for a class on the history of Fundamentalism in America. The book was an excellent resource, and it often provided interesting theories about the development of Christian Fundamentalism in America. I found the history parts to be fascinating, and the interpretation of the history to be not as fascinating. Marsden's opinions about the facts were helpful at times, but confusing at other times. As a conservative Christian, this is a history account from an insider's view. Of the three books that I am reading on the subject, this book is the best of the three.

Best history of fundamentalism:
Prior to more recent historiography, most mainstream commentators and historians portrayed fundamentalists as rural, uneducated people, who lived in the West and the South, and who would not display such resistance to modernity if they lived in urban areas and were well-educated. In the last thirty years, however, this consensus was challenged by a number of historians. The two most influential monographs were written by Ernest Sandeen and George Marsden. In his "Roots of Fundamentalism: British and American Milleniarianism 1800-1930", Sandeen rejects the primacy of sociological interpretations, emphasizing the importance of theology. He views Fundamentalism primarily as a combination of premillenialism (particularly dispensational premillenialism) and the theology of Biblical inerrancy defended by Princeton Theological Seminary, with leadership of the movement located primarily in Northeastern urban areas. Marsden agrees to some extent with this perspective, but he believes that Sandeen's interpretation ignores other important contributions to the Fundamentalist movement. Marsden argues that a proper methodology will begin by examining Fundamentalism in 1925 and then will trace Fundamentalism back to its sources, instead of beginning with British and American millenarianism in 1800 and charting how the Fundamentalist movement grew out of them. Marsden asserts that Fundamentalism should be defined as "militantly anti-modernist Protestant evangelicalism." Marsden believes that Sandeen's analysis is important, and that is a helpful corrective for an excessive focus on the sociological roots of Fundamentalism. Certainly, premil-lenialism and biblical inerrancy are two very important "roots" of Fundamentalism. The problem with Sandeen's analysis, Marsden argues, is that "he mistook the roots he uncovered for the source of the entire movement." Marsden asserts that "what was called 'fundamentalism' in the 20s sprang from equally complex and tangled roots in nineteenth-century tra-ditions of revivalism, evangelicalism, pietism, Americanism, and varied orthodoxies." Marsden overemphasizes the extent to which Common Sense Realism buttressed the Princeton Theology. His analysis tends to make the Princeton Theologians appear more rationalistic than they really were. Also, it seems likely that someone like Warfield would be much more heavily influenced by his immersion in the Reformed tradition and his intense study of Augustine and Calvin than by Common Sense Realism. Finally, while Marsden does not go as far as does Sandeen in describing "inerrancy" as a nineteenth century innovation, his analysis tends to focus too much on Common Sense Realism as the source of inerrancy. There have been many inerrantists throughout the history of the church who have held to different epistemologies. These, however, are a few minor complaints about an obviously superior piece of historiography. Although Sandeen's "The Roots of Fundamentalism" helped correct an excessively sociological emphasis in the study of Fundamentalism, it, along with every other account of Fundamentalism, has been surpassed by Marsden's "Fundamentalism and American Culture." It is es-sential reading for anyone interested in the past and the fu-ture of American evangelicalism.

An accurate history of Fundamentalism in America.:
This book is for the scholar of either history or Theology. Marsden had it right when he said that the fundamental movement was a movement to defend "doctrine" not Christianity. The fundamental movement began because liberal theologians thought they had to defend Christianity from new advances in science (evolution). Men such as J. Gresham Machen and others knew that the Bible and its teaching (doctrine) has the answers to all of science questions. Because of the "defense" of Christianity against science, theologians began to regect Bible doctrine such as: Deity of Christ; Literal 6 day creation; Inspiration of Scripture; Christ's blood atonement for sinners; and Christ's ressurection. This is a great book for the scholar or student of history or Bible.