On the shelf next to the Sugar Creek Gang series, you’ll likely find at least a few Danny Orlis books on any fundamentalist boy’s bookshelf. In 1954, author Bernard Palmer wrote Danny Orlis and the Charging Moose the first of fifty-two books staring Orlis as the teenage hero with the heart of gold. Unless one has read of Danny’s adventures they may never realize what a hotbed of crime and intrigue the woods of northern Minnesota can be.
Of course not every story takes place in Minnesota, our fearless hero manages to get involved in everything from being a bush pilot to playing football to having adventures on the Alaskan highway. Not bad for a young lad who is barely old enough to shave.
And it’s not just high crime and wild adventures either, by the 1970’s Danny (who was somehow still a teenager) was also tackling the tough moral issues in stories such as The Live-In Tragedy and A Teen-Age Marriage.
There are many lessons to be learned from books like these: capture the bad guys, resist peer pressure, and above all avoid the charging moose.
The other night I opened the pages of my copy of “History of Fundamentalism in America†by George W. Dollar [BJU Press, 1973] and a pamphlet fell out. A quick glance revealed that the pamphlet (also written by Dollar) was a comprehensive listing of Schools, Mission Boards, Magazines, Radio Broadcasts and Conferences/Camps along with a rating of their fundamentalism.
As the intro says:
The following is a partial list of fundamental agencies according to their militant, moderate, or modified (New Evangelical) stand, affiliations, associations and direction at the present time. This will be much more meaningful after a study of the author’s A History of Fundamentalism in America where the reasons for the classifications are simply and plainly stated.
For some reason this document fascinates me. For one thing, half of the institutions and publications listed don’t exist 30 years later (or at least I’ve never heard of them in the years I’ve drifted through fundy circles). The ones that are still around aren’t talking to each other. They would be offended if they were put in the same column.
There’s apparently no copyright on this leaflet so I’ve scanned it in for your perusal. Take a look at it HERE
Judgment day is a favorite subject for fundamentalists. The thought of the wicked finally getting their dues makes them positively cheerful. Even more delightful is the idea that the whole of humanity will get to see every sin and evil though committed by their friends and neighbors up on the heavenly big screen. What a day that will be.
This threat of public humiliation in front of (literally) God and everybody is a great motivator for fundies and is carefully taught to fundamentalists children. “Some day, we’ll all watch you up there on that screen and we’ll know everything you’ve thought, said, smoked, climbed or yodeled. You’d better watch out!” It’s even better than threatening a child with the wrath of Santa Clause.
It may seem strange that God would feel the need to remind us of sins that He said He has as good as forgotten about. But then, what’s the fear motivation in absolute forgiveness? Too much grace just isn’t useful.
Hopefully there will be popcorn to go with the movie.
Fundamentalists evangelists wear many different hats — not the least of which is the position of showman and entertainer. Most evangelists have some kind of hook, and act that is their signature. Ventriloquism, art, magic shows, karate (but the good kind not the evil eastern mysticism kind) demonstrations are par for the course. Many evangelists also sing and play instruments.
Now while some speakers will stick with guitar, piano, or trumpet others get a bit more…creative. You’ve never lived until you’ve been serenaded for 15 minutes by an accordion or heard How Great Thou Art scraped out on a muscial saw. But the prize for uniqueness goes to those few (including evangelist Hal Webb) who have mastered the art of playing the theremin.
For those of you who have never had the privilege of seeing one of these in action, the theremin is an instrument that has two antennas that adjust volume and pitch based on how far or close the players hands are to the antennas. So the evangelist literally moves his hands through the air in front of the instrument to produce the music. It’s the sort of thing that would have had you burned at the stake during the middle ages but makes for a great performance during special services. You can check out some video of one being played here
On the shelf next to the Sugar Creek Gang series, you’ll likely find at least a few Danny Orlis books on any fundamentalist boy’s bookshelf. In 1954, author Bernard Palmer wrote Danny Orlis and the Charging Moose the first of fifty-two books staring Orlis as the teenage hero with the heart of gold. Unless one has read of Danny’s adventures they may never realize what a hotbed of crime and intrigue the woods of northern Minnesota can be.
†by George W. Dollar [BJU Press, 1973] and a pamphlet fell out. A quick glance revealed that the pamphlet (also written by Dollar) was a comprehensive listing of Schools, Mission Boards, Magazines, Radio Broadcasts and Conferences/Camps along with a rating of their fundamentalism.
Judgment day is a favorite subject for fundamentalists. The thought of the wicked finally getting their dues makes them positively cheerful. Even more delightful is the idea that the whole of humanity will get to see every sin and evil though committed by their friends and neighbors up on the heavenly big screen. What a day that will be.
Fundamentalists evangelists wear many different hats — not the least of which is the position of showman and entertainer. Most evangelists have some kind of hook, and act that is their signature. Ventriloquism, art, magic shows, karate (but the good kind not the evil eastern mysticism kind) demonstrations are par for the course. Many evangelists also sing and play instruments.