When Streams Diverge

Scholars continue to study the origins of fundamentalist religion in the twentieth-century. The importance of this study is evident to all who would seek to understand the complex political and religious currents influencing the modern world. This study focuses on the Emergence of Protestant fundamentalism in Los Angeles, beginning with late nineteenth-century trends towards religious radicalism and culminating in the splitting of radical and moderate fundamentalist groups an the Bible Institute of Los Angeles in the late 1920s. Highlighted in this study are the complex tensions between mainline Protestants and an emerging sectarian trend among those who would become militant fundamentalist, which continues to shape Protestant religion today.
'Dan Draney's insightful and thoroughly researched study of John Murdock MacInnis is a much-welcomed addition to the growing corpus of writings on the history of American fundamentalism. Far more than a simple biography or even a study of religious opposition to modernism, it provides an extensive examination of an important (but previously overlooked) figure from early twentieth-century North American religious history. Readers will benefit from Draney's Insight into the nuanced theology of fundamentalism, its significance in Los Angeles (and in the Western United States) and its complex ecclesiological dimensions. This study will reshape current thinking of the origins and nature of fundamentalism in America. As such, it deserves extensive notice from the scholarly community.'
Grayson Carter, Associate Professor of Church History, Fuller Theological Seminary SW, Phoenix Arizona, USA
'This important book offers much more than a probing account of an important episode in the history of American fundamentalism. Draney invites us to consider the influence of Southern California culture on the broader fundamentalist movement and deepens our knowledge of both in the process.'
John A. D'Ella, author of A Place at the Table: George Eldon Ladd and the Rehabilitation of Evangelical Scholarship in America
'In When Streams Diverge Daniel Draney offers the fascinating story of a little-known but all-important moment in American Christianity. The scandal produced by John Murcoch MacInnis's book seemed to catch everyone off guard, including MacInnis himself. Here the twists and turns that occurred in public among the colorful leaders of the many varieties of early-twentieth century Protestantism are traced with great care. Students, scholars, and innocent bystanders who want to understand the development of religion in Los Angeles and the evolution of fundamentalism in America need to read this book. Draney's account offers new insight into the ways institutions and individuals react to one another and in the process shape society, including local and national religious cultures.'
Philip Goff, Director, Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture and Professor of Religious Studies and American Studies, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN, USA and Co-Editor, Religion and American Culture: A journal of Interpretation
Daniel W. Draney is an adjunct instructor in the field of American Religious History at Fuller Seminary, where he received his PhD in 1996. He specializes in the study of modern radical religious movements.