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'''William Bell Riley''' (1861-1947) based in Minneapolis, was one of the leading Fundamentalist theologians and preachers of the 1920s and 1930s. He was a Baptist from Kentucky, and was well educated at Hanover College and Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville, where he took a divinity degree in 1885.  In 1897 he became pastor of the First Baptist Church in Minneapolis, which he made famous.  He founded the Northwestern Bible and Missionary Training School, Northwestern Evangelical Seminary, and Northwestern College; they produced thousands of graduates.

'''William Bell Riley''' (1861-1947) based in Minneapolis, was one of the leading Fundamentalist theologians and preachers of the 1920s and 1930s.  

Riley was best known in the 1920s for defending the Bible and attacking Darwinians.

He was a Baptist from Kentucky, and was well educated at Hanover College and Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville, where he took a divinity degree in 1888.  In the 1890s he was pastor at the new Calvary Baptist Church in Chicago. The weekly meetings of the Chicago Baptist Ministers' Society often ended in angry exchanges, with Riley and other fundamentalists on one side and the liberal University of Chicago theologians on the other.

 

In 1897 he became pastor of the First Baptist Church in Minneapolis, which he made famous.  He was engaged in politics, opposing America's entry into the Spanish-American War in 1898. He denounced corrupt politics, and engaged in several crusades on behalf of prohibition.  In the 1930s he began to attack Communism with the same vehemence he had earlier reserved for theological liberalism. He also bitterly opposed the [[New Deal]] and President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]].

 

He was a powerful preacher. Standing over six feet tall, with curly black hair that gradually turned white, Riley made an impressive figure on the podium. He was a persuasive public speaker, gifted with a ready wit and a flair for the dramatic. He castigated sin as he saw it, including divorce, dancing, and all the "isms" of the day--socialism, Unitarianism, Mormonism, spiritualism, Catholicism, and liberalism. The worst of these was Darwinism, and more than anyone he turned Fundamentalism into a crusade against evil scientists. 

 

He founded the Northwestern Bible and Missionary Training School (1902), Northwestern Evangelical Seminary (1935), and Northwestern College (1944); they produced thousands of graduates.

 

 

After World War I, Riley became the leading organizer of the movement for [[Fundamentalism]]. He created, at a large conference in Philadelphia in 1919, the World's Christian Fundamentals Association (WCFA). It became the chief interdenominational fundamentalist organization in the 1920s, and Riley was president until 1929.  

Although the fundamentalist drive of the 1920s to take control of the major Protestant denominations failed at the national level, the network of churches and missions developed and controlled by William Bell Riley indicates that fundamentalism was very strong regionally. Riley's "empire" was organized around the Northwestern Bible and Missionary Training School in Minneapolis, which expanded to include a seminary, annual bible conference, a monthly magazine, and eventually to control the Minnesota Baptist Convention. Both rural and urban in character, the flourishing movement acted as a denominational surrogate and aimed at a militant orthodoxy of evangelical Christianity. Centralized in the person of Riley, however, it was unable to survive his death in 1947.<ref> William Vance Trollinger, Jr. "Riley's Empire: Northwestern Bible School and Fundamentalism in the Upper Midwest". ''Church History'' 1988 57(2): 197-212. 0009-6407 </ref>

Although the fundamentalist drive of the 1920s to take control of the major Protestant denominations failed at the national level, the network of churches and missions developed and controlled by William Bell Riley indicates that fundamentalism was very strong regionally. Riley's "empire" was organized around the Northwestern Bible and Missionary Training School in Minneapolis, which expanded to include a seminary, annual bible conference, a monthly magazine, and eventually to control the Minnesota Baptist Convention. Both rural and urban in character, the flourishing movement acted as a denominational surrogate and aimed at a militant orthodoxy of evangelical Christianity. Centralized in the person of Riley, however, it was unable to survive his death in 1947.<ref> William Vance Trollinger, Jr. "Riley's Empire: Northwestern Bible School and Fundamentalism in the Upper Midwest". ''Church History'' 1988 57(2): 197-212. 0009-6407 </ref>

In the 1920s Riley was involved in the anti-evolution movement and became a leader in the World Christian Fundamental Association which retained [[William Jennings Bryan]] in the [[Scopes Trial]] of 1925.   

Riley was best known in the 1920s for defending the Bible and for encouraging Fundamentalists to attack the teaching of Darwinism. As fundamentalists began an campaigns to pass state antievolution laws, Riley and the WCFA helped provide guidance and speakers for all critical areas. For example, his WCFA  retained [[William Jennings Bryan]] in the [[Scopes Trial]] of 1925.   

Riley led the opposition to the teaching of evolution in Minnesota schools. He sponsored speeches by William Jennings Bryan in the Twin Cities in 1922. His anti-evolution bill was decisively defeated in the Minnesota state legislature in 1927. Riley's chief target was the University of Minnesota, of which the students and president, Lotus Delta Coffman (1875-1938), provided the most effective opposition to Riley’s proposed anti-evolution law. Their resistance, based on the issue of academic freedom, together with lack of support for Riley's campaign from denominations other than the Baptists and from the general public, doomed the anti-evolution measure. Nevertheless, Minnesota came closer than any other northern State to passing such a law.<ref> Ferenc M. Szasz, "William B. Riley and the Fight against Teaching of Evolution in Minnesota." ''Minnesota History'' 1969 41(5): 201-216. 0026-5497 </ref>

Riley led the opposition to the teaching of evolution in Minnesota schools. He sponsored speeches by William Jennings Bryan in the Twin Cities in 1922. His anti-evolution bill was decisively defeated in the Minnesota state legislature in 1927. Riley's chief target was the University of Minnesota, of which the students and president, Lotus Delta Coffman (1875-1938), provided the most effective opposition to Riley’s proposed anti-evolution law. Their resistance, based on the issue of academic freedom, together with lack of support for Riley's campaign from denominations other than the Baptists and from the general public, doomed the anti-evolution measure. Nevertheless, Minnesota came closer than any other northern State to passing such a law.<ref> Ferenc M. Szasz, "William B. Riley and the Fight against Teaching of Evolution in Minnesota." ''Minnesota History'' 1969 41(5): 201-216. 0026-5497 </ref>

Riley wrote 60 books and numerous articles arguing that the Bible was verbally infallible and was an explicit revelation of God to man.  Riley's lasting contribution has been in his influence on Graham, the World Christian Fundamental Association, and the conservative nature of Minnesota Baptists.  

Riley wrote 60 books and numerous articles arguing that the Bible was verbally infallible and was an explicit revelation of God to man.  Riley's lasting contribution has been in his influence on Graham, the World Christian Fundamental Association, and the conservative nature of Minnesota Baptists.  

When Riley started preaching anti-Semitism in the 1930s, his fellow Fundamentalist preachers rejected and denounced his position.<ref> Trollinger, ''God's Empire'' (1991) [http://books.google.com/books?id=DE-HQpppDd8C&pg=PA78&dq=fundamentalism+anti-semitism&lr=&as_drrb_is=q&as_minm_is=0&as_miny_is=&as_maxm_is=0&as_maxy_is=&num=30&as_brr=0&as_pt=ALLTYPES online pages 77-79] </ref>

When Riley started preaching anti-Semitism in the 1930s in order to defeat the [[New Deal]], his fellow Fundamentalist preachers rejected and denounced his position and Riley lost most of his following outside Minneapolis.<ref> Trollinger, ''God's Empire'' (1991) [http://books.google.com/books?id=DE-HQpppDd8C&pg=PA78&dq=fundamentalism+anti-semitism&lr=&as_drrb_is=q&as_minm_is=0&as_miny_is=&as_maxm_is=0&as_maxy_is=&num=30&as_brr=0&as_pt=ALLTYPES online pages 77-79] </ref>

==Further reading==

==Further reading==

* William V. Trollinger, ''God's Empire: William Bell Riley and Midwestern Fundamentalism'' (1991) [http://books.google.com/books?id=DE-HQpppDd8C&pg=PA78&dq=fundamentalism+anti-semitism&lr=&as_drrb_is=q&as_minm_is=0&as_miny_is=&as_maxm_is=0&as_maxy_is=&num=30&as_brr=0&as_pt=ALLTYPES excerpts and text search]  

* Furniss, Norman F. ''The Fundamentalist Controversy, 1918-1931'' (1954)

* Trollinger, William V. ''God's Empire: William Bell Riley and Midwestern Fundamentalism'' (1991) [http://books.google.com/books?id=DE-HQpppDd8C&pg=PA78&dq=fundamentalism+anti-semitism&lr=&as_drrb_is=q&as_minm_is=0&as_miny_is=&as_maxm_is=0&as_maxy_is=&num=30&as_brr=0&as_pt=ALLTYPES excerpts and text search]  

===Primary sources===

===Primary sources===

* Trollinger, William Vance, Jr., ed. ''The Antievolution Pamphlets of William Bell Riley.'' (Creationism in Twentieth-Century America: A Ten-Volume Anthology of Documents, 1903-1961. Vol. 4.) New York: Garland, 1995. 221 pp.

* Trollinger, William Vance, Jr., ed. ''The Antievolution Pamphlets of William Bell Riley.'' (Creationism in Twentieth-Century America: A Ten-Volume Anthology of Documents, 1903-1961. Vol. 4.) New York: Garland, 1995. 221 pp.

[[Category:Fundamentalism]]

[[Category:Fundamentalism]]

[[Category:Baptists]]

[[Category:Baptists]]