In Pursuit of Purity: American Fundamentalism Since 1850

by David O. Beale

Men from nearly every denomination and all walks of life are a part of that from Lyman Stewart, a Christian businessman, to J.Greshman Machen, the learned Princeton professor; from the fiery evangelist Billy Sunday to the dignified pastor W.B. Riley. These colorful men were united by a common faithfulness to their Lord and Saviour. And their activities were as varied as their pastoring churches, evangelizing the lost, conducting Bible and prophetic conferences, exposing liberalism, establishing Christian schools and colleges, and publishing Christian literature.

Genres: History, Church History, Fundamentalism, Church

475 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1986

Reviews

[JM · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting viewpoint of the fundamentalist movement from a fundamentalist perspective. Unlike George Dollar's "The History of Fundamentalism in America," Beale goes out of his way to include non-Baptist groups in his history. However admirable it is to broaden the denominational scope in his history, he chose to focus solely on one current in the stream of the Fundamentalist movement. He spent his time focusing on the involvement that Bob Jones (Sr., Jr., and University) had in fundamentalism, but passes over central characters. He surprisingly makes few references to John R. Rice and the Sword of the Lord.
While this book is a great overview of the early years of fundamentalism, passing over major players in fundamentalist history is a serious concern. I make no attempt to plumb the author's reasons, but I don't know how accurate a history of a movement can be when the writer ignores its key facets.

[Melody Schwarting · Rating 2 out of 5]

While a good insider history of the American Christian fundamentalist movement, this book is unabashedly biased and generally unhelpful as an examination of anyone who does not self-identify as a fundamentalist. Beale was able to find many unpublished/self-published resources that are inaccessible to non-fundamentalists, which means that he gets angles others leave unexamined. Beale tirelessly exploits the worst parts of fundamentalism along the way. "The only true Fundamentalist," he writes, "is a fighting Fundamentalist. Tossing away his scabbard, the Fundamentalist must cling to the sword of the Spirit until it becomes a part of his very being...He must place that sword into the enemies' bosoms, and he must fight on and on until Christ returns." (357)

Beale's extensive research has its place in the history of fundamentalism, as a detailed insider examination of the movement. I expect objectivity from no historian. Yet, Beale's historiography is suspicious, and his frequent value judgments should be ignored.

[Josiah · Rating 1 out of 5]

It is helpful in covering some largely undiscussed pieces of American evangelical history, but it comes across as a bit overly biased in spots. On a bright note, it has a good chapter on the Des Moines University riot, an event I have found facts about hard to find. On a very negative note, the amount of racist connotations in the book is appalling, especially given it was published in the 1980s. Of course, perhaps I should not be surprised, given that the author was a professor at Bob Jones University, which prohibited interracial dating until 2000.

[Bob Bingham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written in a popular style, this book has some useful historical information about American fundamentalism. However, the author is very much biased in favor of fundamentalism (not surprising, given that he was a faculty member at Bob Jones Univ). So don't expect to find anything negative about fundamentalism's abuses in the book. To be fair, a lot of the abuses did not come to light until after this book was published.

[Chris Armer · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book presents a sketch of the developments that have taken place in the history of American Fundamentalism. The book is fairly easy to read and is organized well. Just one caveat. The book is written by a Fundamentalist and in favor of Fundamentalism. Therefore, it lacks the level of objectivity desired for a true historical work.

[Josue Guzman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es un tremendo libro que trata sobre el Fundamentalismo Histórico. Me enseñó que la defensa de la fe no pertenece a ninguna denominación y que es nuestro deber ser fieles a la Biblia más que a un nombre.

[Andy]

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