What Constitutes a "Real University?"

Diploma mills seem to be all the rage today.  There are numerous "colleges" and "universities" that will send out a degree for $500 and your personal information.  There are ads all over the internet that will hook students up with these people who are more than willing to send a piece of paper for any ol' Joe (or Jane) who will pony up the money.  These universities are not really universities, but rather unelaborate money-making schemes meant to milk money out of people who have big egos and want letters after their name without work or people who need a degree for a promotion.  Some people have learned the hard way that even their payment doesn't pay off in the long run.

This topic brings up the discussion of what constitutes a real university.  I watched Bill Maher a few times many years ago, so I did not actually watch the show under discussion.  Maher, an evangelical atheist, complained about Mitt Romney giving a talk at Liberty University because "a) he's a liar and b) Liberty University isn't really a university."  Maher is at some level a comedian, but on another level his speech is often hate-filled toward those he disagrees with.  He complains about people of faith who want to spread their ideas and beliefs, yet he does not shy away from sharing his ideas and beliefs.  His discourse is frequently condescending toward those who disagree with him.  This atheist evangelism is interesting coming from a liberal.

Liberals are supposed to be tolerant of all views.  Tea Partiers would possibly consider me a commie liberal, even though I'm more of a 1950s kind of conservative sans the racism.  Liberals would definitely consider me too conservative on a few issues.  I refuse to drink the Kool-aid coming from either side without doing some digging of my own.  On one point, Maher's probably right--Romney (as well as most other politicians) has been less-than-truthful at times.  That being said, however, I defend people's right to their opinions and beliefs, even if I disagree with them.  In that regard, I'm much more liberal than most of the self-proclaimed "liberal" talking heads on TV.  Maher's evangelical atheism and the anger that seems to go with it is nothing more than another case of the infamous pot and the kettle.

That brings us to the other point, obvious from a cursory overview of American church history.  Is a university only a university if an evangelical atheist thinks it is?  A school started for religious purposes obviously doesn't count?  Apparently, Maher has forgotten that some of the most prestigious schools in America began, not as the massive world-renowned universities they are today, but rather as schools set up to train ministers.  Harvard began in 1636, just six years after the foundation of Massachusetts Bay.  Its purpose was to train ministers.  Yale began in 1701, largely because some people thought Harvard was getting a bit too liberal.  It, too, was a ministerial training school at first.  Same for Princeton, William & Mary, and Dartmouth.  In fact, of all the colleges started before the American Revolution, only Penn had no official religious affiliation.  Princeton even remained a bastion of evangelical orthodoxy into the twentieth century.

That brings us to the question of Liberty University.  In a reply given by the school's chancellor, Jerry Falwell, Jr. to Maher's claims, Liberty qualifies as a legitimate university on several levels.  Falwell pointed out correctly that the university is a regionally accredited school.  This is considered the gold standard by the US Department of Education.  An independent study by outsiders verified that Liberty achieves its educational goals.  Furthermore, the Liberty Law School is fully accredited by the ABA, which to some level testifies to its quality.  Will a degree from Liberty's Law School look as good to most people as one from Harvard?  Probably not.  But it will allow its bearer to sit for the bar exam and will allow the practice of law.  In this instance, Maher, the evangelical atheist, has no clue what he's talking about on multiple levels.  Not to mention, he's kinda hypocritical with his intolerance of views he finds intolerant.

The Old Church on Walnut Street Is Now Officially Published!

This week, in addition to wrapping up a survey of the US to 1877, I got word that my book is officially out and ready for purchase.  I've posted a couple of paragraphs here on a previous occasion, but a longer excerpt is available at the site where you can purchase The Old  Church on Walnut Street  for the low, low price of only $4.00.    

Below is an image of the book's cover.  I began work on the book around September 1, so the turnaround was fairly quick, as the editors decided to use a print-on-demand service.  The next installment of this community history series should come out within a year and, as mentioned elsewhere, will deal with the section of Grand Forks known as "Churchville."  My book comes out just in time, because the building itself is scheduled for demolition this Wednesday, according to the blog of one of my editors, Bill Caraher.

 In the fall, I'm scheduled to teach a course on Religion in American Society and Culture, which will deal with the history of ideas, political history, social history, and in some ways, even military history. 

My ultimate research for my Doctor of Arts is going to combine my previous work on local religious history (dealing with First Baptist of Grand Forks--noted in previous posts on my presentations at the Northern Great Plains History Conference in Mankato, MN, from September 2011 and the Red River Valley History Conference in Grand Forks from March 2011--and the Norwegian Lutherans and Church of God congregations that make up my book) up to either around 1920 or WWII. 

I've not decided the exact scope of the study.  There are several sets of church records in the UND library that I intend to utilize in my work as case studies in looking at how national trends impact the attitudes of religious organizations on the local level.  Until I get into this, at least I can enjoy having a published book.

My Book's Cover

Another Semester Under My Belt, Another Writing Project in the Works

It's currently one week into May.  I've completed two years of my doctoral studies and successfully completed comprehensive exams.  One would think that it'd be time to breathe.  Alas, I'm in Bismarck doing some archival research this week for another little writing project that I've taken on.  With all of these small projects, I'm hoping that my CV will become more marketable.

My book should come out shortly, as a proof copy has been approved.  The Old Church on Walnut Street: A Story of Immigrants and Evangelicals is just scheduled to be the first of a series of books on the story of Grand Forks.  The next installment is scheduled for release within the next year.  While my book focused upon one church that had relations to the Norwegian immigrant and evangelical Church of God communities in Grand Forks history, this second book will look into the broader neighborhood in which my church building sat.

Long-time residents speak of a part of Grand Forks known as "Churchville."  That area of the Near Southside neighborhood will be the topic of the next volume in the Community Land Trust Neighborhood History Series.  Some more information on the project, along with a map of the general landscape under consideration is available here.  I will not be the author of this second volume, as the editors want to provide others the opportunity of producing a short book.  With a new class to create (on the topic of American religious history) as wells as the writing project (not related to American Church History), I can't say I'm terribly disappointed.  I will provide more info on the new book as soon as I get it.

I Am Officially a Doctoral Candidate

I got the news Friday, around 2 pm, just as I was preparing to leave the office.  I had officially passed my four comprehensive exams.  A feeling of relief passed through my mind, as I then knew that I no longer have to worry about this hoop through which I must pass.  I have one lecture and one presentation left for this semester.  I will then have two of the three years of the Doctor of Arts program down.  Only one more to go.

I have one actual class to take, one to teach, and then the major writing project.  Hopefully, these will get done in the next year, and I will be able to walk in my really cool robe and hat that are way cooler than the traditional robe and mortarboard.  That will hopefully come next May.  Chances are that I will be way busy in the meantime, however.  Right now, I'm hoping to relax and get a round or two of golf in before starting on my next writing project.

In addition to the news that I passed the comps, my book also got approved last week.  Therefore, it was a pretty good all-around week.

Page Proofs for My Book

I have an online link to the page proofs for my new (and first) book.  Yesterday, the prof who is the editor of the series that this book inaugurates posted it to his blog.  If you read, please keep in mind that this is not the final version, but a nearly final version, so there may be a few typos in the text.  The Grand Forks Community Land Trust is planning to make a series out of this, and this organization is the actual publisher, with UND profs Bill Caraher and Bret Weber as the series editors.  Hopefully, this is at least a small contribution to the history of Grand Forks and the field of American church history, or at least North Dakota history.

Book Nearly Finished

Today, I got a proof of my upcoming book.  The book's title is The Old Church on Walnut Street: A Story of Immigrants and Evangelicals.  The immigrants in the story are Norwegians that flooded into Dakota Territory/North Dakota in the late nineteenth century.  The evangelicals are related to the Church of God (Anderson, Indiana) movement.  The book should be coming out in the next few weeks, but I though I would give a preview of the first couple of paragraphs from the introduction. Enjoy:

In early March 1944 World War II raged in Europe and the Pacific, and accounts from the front lines and the home front dominated the pages of the Grand Forks Herald.  A late winter blizzard swept through the Northern Great Plains, and the paper maintained a daily update on road conditions as North Dakotans dug their way out the snow.  Along with these headlines, the March 10 edition included a picture and caption that recorded smoke billowing from the Grand Forks Church of God as firemen worked to contain the flames.[i]  (See figure 1)  The building at 224 Walnut Street sustained extensive damage, but the church, undaunted, decided to repair the structure, which remained in service for the congregation until after the Grand Forks flood of 1997.  The flood accomplished what the 1944 fire did not.  Citing an unsound structure, the City of Grand Forks scheduled the old building for demolition in early 2012. 

The old Trinity Lutheran Church, built around 1905,[ii] was not terribly unique in design.  Although it was the last of the wood-framed churches in Grand Forks, many similar wood-framed church buildings continue to dot much of the American landscape, hearkening back to an idyllic time in the nation’s history.  Trinity Lutheran was not an imposing landmark on the city streetscape.  The church tended to blend in with the surrounding homes in the neighborhood, and the simplicity of the structure was very much in line with that of its congregation.  It was not the oldest church in town.  St. Michael’s Roman Catholic Church has expanded over time, but it still resides at the same lot it occupied in the early 1880s and the congregation it serves is the oldest in town.  However, Trinity Lutheran and the two assemblies that worshiped within its walls were an important link to local and national history.  The church at 224 Walnut Street was a tangible reminder of the immigrant struggles of early settlers on the Northern Plains as they attempted to integrate into their new homeland.  This connection to early Norwegian settlers made the building important to Grand Forks history. 

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[i] Grand Forks Herald, March 10, 1944.

[ii] The church first appeared on city fire insurance maps in August 1906.  The records available at United Lutheran Church do not indicate when the church was built.  There were earlier churches, but they have either moved or united with other bodies.

My Next Conference Presentation

On April 13, 2012, the Phi Alpha Theta history society at UND will hold the annual Red River Valley History Conference.  I presented a paper at this conference last year, and plan to do so again this year.  You can view some of my previous publications and book reviews here.  This year, my paper is based upon some research that I began back in 2008.  Below is a brief synopsis of my argument and findings.

While at the Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives, I was introduced to the work of H. Cornell Goerner, an important figure in the mid-twentieth century Southern Baptist establishment.  Alan Scot Willis in his 2004 work All according to God's Plan frequently described Goerner and others like him as progressive.  This progressivism related to race, and not theology, however.  Goerner supported improved race relations when many in the South did not.  I found Goerner interesting because of his involvement in mission work, but during my studies at UND, I began to look at his writings in a different way that was tied to one of the major themes in American church history.

As pointed out in the paper referenced above, one of the topics that I've studied is that of American exceptionalism.  From a quick perusal of some of his books (published by the Southern Baptist Convention's publishing arms), Goerner was a major believer in the idea of American exceptionalism.  He was glad that America devised the atomic bomb because it was the most Christian nation of the day.  In this area, current Southern Baptists would see little difference between his viewpoint and their own.  As mentioned above, Goerner's theology was fairly conservative.  He was not a fan of the social gospel, and he railed against theological liberalism.  He believed that salvation was for the individual, not society.  Most Southern Baptists and theologically conservative evangelicals (myself included) would agree with this belief. 

The big difference that shows a major change in political discourse, however, is related to the idea of social justice.  Today, politically conservative commentators rail against such programs as social security.  Glenn Beck argued that pastors who want social justice are closet communists and ties them to Hitler and Stalin.  Goerner wrote in the 1940s and 1950s for social justice and was glad for the improved working conditions then prevalent in the United States.  The ironic thing about this statement is that it appeared in the same book, America Must Be Christian, in which he stated that it was good that America got the bomb.  Goerner had no love for communism, noting that it kept people behind the iron curtain from hearing the gospel.  No one would have called him a radical liberal commie at the time.  He was part of the Southern Baptist mainstream establishment, and few have ever called the Southern Baptists one of the more liberal denominations in the nation.  What is the importance of this writing?  It shows that in terms of economic rhetoric, the current discourse is drifting toward that heard in the Gilded Age, rather than the post-war period that most people today seem to think was the most idyllic time in American history.