The Rowdy Bible Debate
A theological debate between an ex-rev and a professor turns into a shouting match, leaving the audience divided and the town of Chehalis unsettled.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
We are grieved to learn that the interesting debate between ex-Rev. C. B. Reynolds and Prof. Clark Braden, regarding God and the Bible, ended almost in a row. It seems both parties got along well enough until they came to a close and were on the home stretch. Here, we are told, the professor warmed up, and unfortunately became a little excited and too personal. Mr. Bowen, one of the moderators, arose and protested. Mr. Reynolds followed suit, saying that he had stood insults long enough and now proposed to withdraw. The audience here hissed and groaned and for a time it looked ominous. However, order was restored and Mr. Braden finished his speech, after which the audience filed out of the hall quite tired, and discussed the subject on their way home. Some were for Braden, others for Reynolds, and it's hard telling who won. Religious discussions, though full of interest, always cause heart-burning and dissension.
“Religious discussions, though full of interest, always cause heart-burning and dissension.”
Public discourse in the Pacific Northwest has always been a contact sport. Whether it’s 19th-century theology or 21st-century zoning meetings, the town hall remains a place where intellectual curiosity frequently boils over into civic friction.
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