William Bell Riley
Encyclopedia
William Bell Riley was known as "The Grand Old Man of Fundamentalism." After being educated at normal school in Valparaiso, Indiana
, Riley received his teacher's certificate. After teaching in county schools, he attended college in Hanover, Indiana
, where he received an A.B. degree in 1885. He served several Baptist churches in Kentucky
, Indiana
, and Illinois
, in addition to studying at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
in Louisville, Kentucky
.
along with an Evangelical Seminary.
Theologically, Riley was a Baptist
traditionalist who believed in the New Hampshire Confession of Faith of 1833, the most popular Baptist creed of the 19th century. His first major work was an exposition of the Confession and in 1922 he tried to get the Northern Baptist Convention to adopt it as its binding statement of faith.
Riley was the editor of The Christian Fundamentalist from 1891 to 1933. In 1919 Riley founded the World Christian Fundamentals Association
. Riley was president of the Minnesota Baptist State Convention in 1944-45. When Riley died in 1947, Billy Graham
conducted the funeral services. At the time of his death Northwestern Bible School
was the second largest Bible School in the world with some 1,200 students enrolled.
(later run by T. T. Martin
). While the anti-evolution crusade is often thought of as a Southern phenomenon, two of its foremost leaders, Riley and John Roach Straton
, were from Minneapolis and New York City respectively. In the early 1920s Riley promoted a vigorous anti-evolutionary campaign in the Northwest and it was Riley's World Christian Fundamentals Association
that wired William Jennings Bryan
urging him to act as counsel for the association in the Scopes Trial
.
Riley and Bryan tried to remove all teaching of evolution from public schools. One of the creationists in their movement, T. T. Martin claimed that German soldiers who killed Belgian and French children by giving them poisoned candy were angels compared to those who spread evolution ideas in schools. Riley also claimed that "an international Jewish-Bolshevik-Darwinist
conspiracy to promote evolutionism in the classroom" was behind the changes in curriculum occurring in the 1920s. Riley advocated a form of "Day-Age Creationism
".
The main objection that Riley had to evolution was:
Valparaiso, Indiana
Valparaiso is a city in and the county seat of Porter County, Indiana, United States. The population was 31,730 at the 2010 census, making it the 2nd largest city in Porter County.-History:...
, Riley received his teacher's certificate. After teaching in county schools, he attended college in Hanover, Indiana
Hanover, Indiana
Hanover is a town in Hanover Township, Jefferson County, Indiana, along the Ohio River. The population was 3,546 at the 2010 census. Hanover is the home of Hanover College, a small Presbyterian liberal arts college. Hanover is also the home of Southwestern High School...
, where he received an A.B. degree in 1885. He served several Baptist churches in Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, and Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, in addition to studying at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary , located in Louisville, Kentucky, is the oldest of the six seminaries affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention . The seminary was founded in 1859, at Greenville, South Carolina. After being closed during the Civil War, it moved in 1877 to Louisville...
in Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
.
Biography
Riley began his ministry as pastor of the First Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota and served there for forty-five years, and another five as pastor emeritus. Riley wrote a number of texts on Christian Evangelism and founded the Northwestern Bible Training SchoolNorthwestern College (Minnesota)
Northwestern College is a private Christian college located in Roseville, Minnesota, and is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. Established in 1902 as Northwestern Bible and Missionary Training School by Dr...
along with an Evangelical Seminary.
Theologically, Riley was a Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
traditionalist who believed in the New Hampshire Confession of Faith of 1833, the most popular Baptist creed of the 19th century. His first major work was an exposition of the Confession and in 1922 he tried to get the Northern Baptist Convention to adopt it as its binding statement of faith.
Riley was the editor of The Christian Fundamentalist from 1891 to 1933. In 1919 Riley founded the World Christian Fundamentals Association
World Christian Fundamentals Association
World Christian Fundamentals Association, was an interdenominational organization founded in 1919 by the Baptist minister William Bell Riley of the First Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was originally formed to launch "a new Protestantism" based upon premillennial interpretations of...
. Riley was president of the Minnesota Baptist State Convention in 1944-45. When Riley died in 1947, Billy Graham
Billy Graham
William Franklin "Billy" Graham, Jr. is an American evangelical Christian evangelist. As of April 25, 2010, when he met with Barack Obama, Graham has spent personal time with twelve United States Presidents dating back to Harry S. Truman, and is number seven on Gallup's list of admired people for...
conducted the funeral services. At the time of his death Northwestern Bible School
Northwestern College (Minnesota)
Northwestern College is a private Christian college located in Roseville, Minnesota, and is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. Established in 1902 as Northwestern Bible and Missionary Training School by Dr...
was the second largest Bible School in the world with some 1,200 students enrolled.
Evolution
In 1923 Riley set up the Anti-Evolution League of Minnesota, which blossomed the following year into the Anti-Evolution League of AmericaAnti-Evolution League of America
The Anti-Evolution League of America was an Adamist organization created in 1924 a year after William Bell Riley founded the Anti-Evolution League of Minnesota. The first president was the Kentucky preacher Dr. J. W. Porter and T. T. Martin of Mississippi was field secretary and editor of the...
(later run by T. T. Martin
T. T. Martin
T. T. Martin, in full Thomas Theodore Martin was an Christian evangelist who became one of the most important figures of the anti-evolution movement in the 1920s...
). While the anti-evolution crusade is often thought of as a Southern phenomenon, two of its foremost leaders, Riley and John Roach Straton
John Roach Straton
Dr. John Roach Straton was a noted pastor. Straton was born into a Baptist pastor's home, the son of Rev...
, were from Minneapolis and New York City respectively. In the early 1920s Riley promoted a vigorous anti-evolutionary campaign in the Northwest and it was Riley's World Christian Fundamentals Association
World Christian Fundamentals Association
World Christian Fundamentals Association, was an interdenominational organization founded in 1919 by the Baptist minister William Bell Riley of the First Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was originally formed to launch "a new Protestantism" based upon premillennial interpretations of...
that wired 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...
urging him to act as counsel for the association in 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...
.
Riley and Bryan tried to remove all teaching of evolution from public schools. One of the creationists in their movement, T. T. Martin claimed that German soldiers who killed Belgian and French children by giving them poisoned candy were angels compared to those who spread evolution ideas in schools. Riley also claimed that "an international Jewish-Bolshevik-Darwinist
Jewish Bolshevism
Jewish Bolshevism, Judeo-Bolshevism, and known as Żydokomuna in Poland, is an antisemitic stereotype based on the claim that Jews have been the driving force behind or are disproportionately involved in the modern Communist movement, or sometimes more specifically Russian Bolshevism.The expression...
conspiracy to promote evolutionism in the classroom" was behind the changes in curriculum occurring in the 1920s. Riley advocated a form of "Day-Age Creationism
Day-Age Creationism
Day-age creationism, a type of old Earth creationism, is an interpretation of the creation accounts found in Genesis. It holds that the six days referred to in the Genesis account of creation are not ordinary 24-hour days, but rather are much longer periods...
".
The main objection that Riley had to evolution was: