George McCready Price
Encyclopedia
George McCready Price (26 August 1870 – 24 January 1963) was a Canadian
creationist. He produced several anti-evolution
and creationist works, particularly on the subject of flood geology
. However, his views did not become common amongst creationists until after his death, particularly with the modern creation science
movement starting in the 1960s.
, Canada
. His father died in 1882 and his mother joined the Seventh-day Adventist Church
. In 1887, she married another member and for several years thereafter the couple worked as itinerant sellers of Seventh-day Adventist co-founder Ellen G. White
's books in the Maritime Provinces of Eastern Canada
. Price then became a student at Battle Creek College (now Andrews University
) between 1891 and 1893, before returning to selling books. In 1896, he enrolled in a one-year teacher training course at the Provincial Normal School of New Brunswick (now the University of New Brunswick
), where he took some elementary courses in some of the natural sciences, including some mineralogy
, which was Price's sole formal training in science.
Price taught at a series of small-town schools from 1897 onwards, including at a high school in Tracadie between 1899 and 1902. Here he met socially Alfred Corbett Smith (head of the medical department at a local leprosarium), who loaned him scientific literature in his possession. Since his faith held that the Earth was young, Price concluded that geologists had misinterpreted their data. In 1902, Price completed the manuscript Outlines of Modern Christianity and Modern Science before leaving Tracadie to serve brief and unsuccessful stints as an Adventist evangelist on Prince Edward Island
and head of a new Adventist boarding academy in Nova Scotia
. He briefly returned to book-selling in 1904, and then moved to New York
in an unsuccessful attempt to become a magazine and newspaper writer.
In a response to a plea from his wife, the Adventist church employed Price as a construction worker first in Maryland. He then was, for a short time, principal of a small Adventist school in Oakland, California
before moving again and becoming a construction worker and handyman at a newly purchased Adventist sanitarium in Loma Linda
, where he self-published Illogical Geology: The Weakest Point in the Evolution Theory in 1906. In Illogical Geology, Price offered $1000 "to any one who will, in the face of the facts here presented, show me how to prove that one kind of fossil is older than another."
From 1907 to 1912 Price taught at the Seventh-day Adventist run College of Medical Evangelists, now known as Loma Linda University
, in Loma Linda, California which awarded him a B.A.
, based partially on his authorship and independent study. From 1912 to 1914 he taught at the Fernando Academy in San Fernando, California
, and from 1914-1916 at Lodi Academy
, Lodi, California
.
Beginning in 1920 Price taught at Pacific Union College
, Angwin, California
, where he was awarded an M.A.
(described by Ronald L. Numbers as a "gift"). From 1924 to 1928 Price taught at Stanborough Missionary College
in Watford, England, where he served as president from 1927 to 1928. He then taught at Emmanual Mission College (now Andrews University
) in Berrien Springs, Michigan
from 1929 to 1933, and Walla Walla College
near Walla Walla, Washington
from 1933 to 1938.
Whilst Price liked to claim that his book-selling travels gave him invaluable "firsthand knowledge of field geology", his "familiarity with the outside world" remained rudimentary, with even his own students noting that he could "barely tell one fossil from another" on a field trip shortly before he retired.
In 1943 He moved to Loma Linda, California, where he died 20 years later at the age of 92.
, president of Stanford University
, and a leading American expert on fossil fishes, wrote a review of Price's Illogical Geology, in which he stated that Price should not expect "any geologist to take [his work] seriously." This led to a correspondence over the next twenty years in which Price once promised "to become an evolutionist within twenty-four hours" if "the foremost ichthyologist in the world" could prove that one fossil was older than another, and Jordan attempted to enlighten Price that his views were:
Jordan also unsuccessfully urged Price to "undertake some constructive work in Paleontology in the field and in laboratories."
Price's 1913 book The Fundamentals of Geology, an expanded version of Illogical Geology, presented his "Law of Conformable Stratigraphic Sequences" which states "any kind of fossiliferous rock may occur conformably on any other kind of fossiliferous rock, old or young." This law he claimed "is by all odds the most important law ever formulated with reference to the order in which the strata occur."
Yale
geologist Schuchert's review of The New Geology for the magazine Science stated that Price was "harboring a geological nightmare". However, the creationists welcomed the new book. Harry Rimmer
claimed that it was "a masterpiece of REAL science [that] explodes in a convincing manner some of the ancient fallacies of science 'falsely so called'". Within a couple of years, Price appeared prominently in several conservative religious periodicals. A Science editor described him as "the principal scientific authority of the Fundamentalists".
Price's defense of creation science (and attacks on evolution) first achieved wide notability in 1925 when his theories and arguments were utilized heavily by William Jennings Bryan
in the famous Scopes Trial
. Bryan had appealed to Price for assistance, but Price was busy teaching in England. Price advised Bryan to avoid science during the trial if possible. During the trial, defense counsel Clarence Darrow
, sneered "You mentioned Price because he is the only human being in the world so far as you know that signs his name as a geologist that believes like you do . . . every scientist in this country knows [he] is a mountebank and a pretender and not a geologist at all."
Price's ideas were borrowed again in the early 1960s by Henry M. Morris
and John Whitcomb in their book The Genesis Flood
, a work that skeptic Martin Gardner
calls "the most significant attack on evolution...since the Scopes trial
". Morris, in his 1984 book History of Modern Creationism, spoke glowingly of Price's logic and writing style, and referred to reading The New Geology as "a life-changing experience for me".
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
creationist. He produced several anti-evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
and creationist works, particularly on the subject of flood geology
Flood geology
Flood geology is the interpretation of the geological history of the Earth in terms of the global flood described in Genesis 6–9. Similar views played a part in the early development of the science of geology, even after the Biblical chronology had been rejected by geologists in favour of an...
. However, his views did not become common amongst creationists until after his death, particularly with the modern creation science
Creation science
Creation Science or scientific creationism is a branch of creationism that attempts to provide scientific support for the Genesis creation narrative in the Book of Genesis and disprove generally accepted scientific facts, theories and scientific paradigms about the history of the Earth, cosmology...
movement starting in the 1960s.
Biography
Price was born in Havelock, New BrunswickHavelock, New Brunswick
Havelock, New Brunswick is a Canadian rural community in Kings County, New Brunswick.Havelock was named after Sir Henry Havelock and was previously known as Butternut Ridge.Havelock is at the junction of Route 885 and Route 880...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. His father died in 1882 and his mother joined the Seventh-day Adventist Church
Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...
. In 1887, she married another member and for several years thereafter the couple worked as itinerant sellers of Seventh-day Adventist co-founder Ellen G. White
Ellen G. White
Ellen Gould White was a prolific author and an American Christian pioneer. She, along with other Sabbatarian Adventist leaders, such as Joseph Bates and her husband James White, would form what is now known as the Seventh-day Adventist Church.Ellen White reported to her fellow believers her...
's books in the Maritime Provinces of Eastern Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Price then became a student at Battle Creek College (now Andrews University
Andrews University
Andrews University is a Seventh-day Adventist university in Berrien Springs, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1874 as Battle Creek College in Battle Creek, Michigan, it was the first higher education facility started by Seventh-day Adventists, and is the flagship university of the Seventh-day...
) between 1891 and 1893, before returning to selling books. In 1896, he enrolled in a one-year teacher training course at the Provincial Normal School of New Brunswick (now the University of New Brunswick
University of New Brunswick
The University of New Brunswick is a Canadian university located in the province of New Brunswick. UNB is the oldest English language university in Canada and among the first public universities in North America. The university has two main campuses: the original campus founded in 1785 in...
), where he took some elementary courses in some of the natural sciences, including some mineralogy
Mineralogy
Mineralogy is the study of chemistry, crystal structure, and physical properties of minerals. Specific studies within mineralogy include the processes of mineral origin and formation, classification of minerals, their geographical distribution, as well as their utilization.-History:Early writing...
, which was Price's sole formal training in science.
Price taught at a series of small-town schools from 1897 onwards, including at a high school in Tracadie between 1899 and 1902. Here he met socially Alfred Corbett Smith (head of the medical department at a local leprosarium), who loaned him scientific literature in his possession. Since his faith held that the Earth was young, Price concluded that geologists had misinterpreted their data. In 1902, Price completed the manuscript Outlines of Modern Christianity and Modern Science before leaving Tracadie to serve brief and unsuccessful stints as an Adventist evangelist on Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...
and head of a new Adventist boarding academy in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
. He briefly returned to book-selling in 1904, and then moved to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in an unsuccessful attempt to become a magazine and newspaper writer.
In a response to a plea from his wife, the Adventist church employed Price as a construction worker first in Maryland. He then was, for a short time, principal of a small Adventist school in Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
before moving again and becoming a construction worker and handyman at a newly purchased Adventist sanitarium in Loma Linda
Loma Linda
Loma Linda may refer to:* Loma Linda, California, a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States**Loma Linda Academy, a K-12 college preparatory WASC-accredited school run by the Seventh-day Adventist Church...
, where he self-published Illogical Geology: The Weakest Point in the Evolution Theory in 1906. In Illogical Geology, Price offered $1000 "to any one who will, in the face of the facts here presented, show me how to prove that one kind of fossil is older than another."
From 1907 to 1912 Price taught at the Seventh-day Adventist run College of Medical Evangelists, now known as Loma Linda University
Loma Linda University
Loma Linda University is a Seventh-day Adventist coeducational health sciences university located in Loma Linda, California, United States. The University comprises eight schools and the Faculty of Graduate Studies...
, in Loma Linda, California which awarded him a B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
, based partially on his authorship and independent study. From 1912 to 1914 he taught at the Fernando Academy in San Fernando, California
San Fernando, California
San Fernando is a city located in the San Fernando Valley, in northwestern region of Los Angeles, California, United States. The population was 23,645 at the 2010 census, up from 23,564 at the 2000 census.-History:...
, and from 1914-1916 at Lodi Academy
Lodi Academy
Lodi Academy is a co-educational Seventh-day Adventist private school located in Lodi, California. Lodi Academy, first known as the Western Normal Institute, opened its doors as a boarding school in 1908. Professor E. D. Sharpe served as the first President. In 1968, Lodi Academy became a day...
, Lodi, California
Lodi, California
Lodi is a city located in , in the northern portion of California's Central Valley. The population was 62,134 at the 2010 census. The California Department of Finance's population estimate as of January 1, 2011 is 62,473....
.
Beginning in 1920 Price taught at Pacific Union College
Pacific Union College
Pacific Union College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Angwin, California, United States. It is the only four-year college in Napa County, California....
, Angwin, California
Angwin, California
Angwin is a census-designated place in Napa County, United States. California. It is part of the northern San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 3,051 at the 2010 census. Its area code is 707. Its two zip codes are 94508 and 94576. It is in the Pacific time zone.The town was named in 1874 for...
, where he was awarded an M.A.
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
(described by Ronald L. Numbers as a "gift"). From 1924 to 1928 Price taught at Stanborough Missionary College
Newbold College
Newbold College is a Seventh-day Adventist higher education provider located in Binfield, Berkshire, England; 40 miles west of London. It offers courses in Theology, Business Management, Arts & Social Studies as well as English Language and is accredited by the University of Wales Lampeter...
in Watford, England, where he served as president from 1927 to 1928. He then taught at Emmanual Mission College (now Andrews University
Andrews University
Andrews University is a Seventh-day Adventist university in Berrien Springs, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1874 as Battle Creek College in Battle Creek, Michigan, it was the first higher education facility started by Seventh-day Adventists, and is the flagship university of the Seventh-day...
) in Berrien Springs, Michigan
Berrien Springs, Michigan
Berrien Springs is a village in Berrien County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,862 at the 2000 census. The village is located within Oronoko Charter Township. Berrien Springs is best known for its Seventh-day Adventist community and Andrews University...
from 1929 to 1933, and Walla Walla College
Walla Walla University
Walla Walla University is a University offering liberal arts, professional, and technical programs located in College Place, Washington, just a few miles from Walla Walla. The current President is John McVay. It was founded in 1892 and is affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church.The...
near Walla Walla, Washington
Walla Walla, Washington
Walla Walla is the largest city in and the county seat of Walla Walla County, Washington, United States. The population was 31,731 at the 2010 census...
from 1933 to 1938.
Whilst Price liked to claim that his book-selling travels gave him invaluable "firsthand knowledge of field geology", his "familiarity with the outside world" remained rudimentary, with even his own students noting that he could "barely tell one fossil from another" on a field trip shortly before he retired.
In 1943 He moved to Loma Linda, California, where he died 20 years later at the age of 92.
Reception
David Starr JordanDavid Starr Jordan
David Starr Jordan, Ph.D., LL.D. was a leading eugenicist, ichthyologist, educator and peace activist. He was president of Indiana University and Stanford University.-Early life and education:...
, president of Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, and a leading American expert on fossil fishes, wrote a review of Price's Illogical Geology, in which he stated that Price should not expect "any geologist to take [his work] seriously." This led to a correspondence over the next twenty years in which Price once promised "to become an evolutionist within twenty-four hours" if "the foremost ichthyologist in the world" could prove that one fossil was older than another, and Jordan attempted to enlighten Price that his views were:
Jordan also unsuccessfully urged Price to "undertake some constructive work in Paleontology in the field and in laboratories."
Price's 1913 book The Fundamentals of Geology, an expanded version of Illogical Geology, presented his "Law of Conformable Stratigraphic Sequences" which states "any kind of fossiliferous rock may occur conformably on any other kind of fossiliferous rock, old or young." This law he claimed "is by all odds the most important law ever formulated with reference to the order in which the strata occur."
Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
geologist Schuchert's review of The New Geology for the magazine Science stated that Price was "harboring a geological nightmare". However, the creationists welcomed the new book. Harry Rimmer
Harry Rimmer
Harry Rimmer was an American creationist, evangelist and writer of anti-evolution pamphlets. He is most prominent as an early pioneer in the creationist movement in the United States.-Early life:...
claimed that it was "a masterpiece of REAL science [that] explodes in a convincing manner some of the ancient fallacies of science 'falsely so called'". Within a couple of years, Price appeared prominently in several conservative religious periodicals. A Science editor described him as "the principal scientific authority of the Fundamentalists".
Price's defense of creation science (and attacks on evolution) first achieved wide notability in 1925 when his theories and arguments were utilized heavily by William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan was an American politician in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. He was a dominant force in the liberal wing of the Democratic Party, standing three times as its candidate for President of the United States...
in the famous Scopes Trial
Scopes Trial
The Scopes Trial—formally known as The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes and informally known as the Scopes Monkey Trial—was a landmark American legal case in 1925 in which high school science teacher, John Scopes, was accused of violating Tennessee's Butler Act which made it unlawful to...
. Bryan had appealed to Price for assistance, but Price was busy teaching in England. Price advised Bryan to avoid science during the trial if possible. During the trial, defense counsel Clarence Darrow
Clarence Darrow
Clarence Seward Darrow was an American lawyer and leading member of the American Civil Liberties Union, best known for defending teenage thrill killers Leopold and Loeb in their trial for murdering 14-year-old Robert "Bobby" Franks and defending John T...
, sneered "You mentioned Price because he is the only human being in the world so far as you know that signs his name as a geologist that believes like you do . . . every scientist in this country knows [he] is a mountebank and a pretender and not a geologist at all."
Price's ideas were borrowed again in the early 1960s by Henry M. Morris
Henry M. Morris
Henry Madison Morris was an American young earth creationist and Christian apologist. He was one of the founders of the Creation Research Society and the Institute for Creation Research...
and John Whitcomb in their book The Genesis Flood
The Genesis Flood
The Genesis Flood: The Biblical Record and its Scientific Implications is a 1961 book by young earth creationists John C. Whitcomb and Henry M...
, a work that skeptic Martin Gardner
Martin Gardner
Martin Gardner was an American mathematics and science writer specializing in recreational mathematics, but with interests encompassing micromagic, stage magic, literature , philosophy, scientific skepticism, and religion...
calls "the most significant attack on evolution...since the Scopes trial
Scopes Trial
The Scopes Trial—formally known as The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes and informally known as the Scopes Monkey Trial—was a landmark American legal case in 1925 in which high school science teacher, John Scopes, was accused of violating Tennessee's Butler Act which made it unlawful to...
". Morris, in his 1984 book History of Modern Creationism, spoke glowingly of Price's logic and writing style, and referred to reading The New Geology as "a life-changing experience for me".
External links
- George McCready Price and ‘Flood Geology’, Ronald L. Numbers