Blinded by the Light
One of the brightest intellects of the positive-mind movement skirted close to Nazi-appeasement — what lessons does that hold today?
Mainline American churches faced a crisis of mission in the 1920s and ’30s when congregants demanded practical help with the problems of life.
An answer came from Glenn Clark, a Presbyterian lay leader who devised a radical theory of prayer and mental causation drawn from mystical influences. Although this college educator and athletic coach didn’t strictly consider himself part of New Thought — the metaphysical movement based in affirmative thought — he brought mental-therapeutic principles into the pews of mainline congregations. He also wrestled with ethical demons, which, at times, gained the better of his judgment and highlighted gaps in the New Thought approach.
Clark was born in 1882 to a large and devout Christian family in Des Moines, Iowa. He became a young literature professor and coach at Macalester College, a Presbyterian liberal arts school in St. Paul, Minnesota. At Macalester, Clark developed ties to Christian Scientists and New-Thoughters, with whom he huddled in study sessions, prayer groups, and discussions.
Clark grew enamored of the ideas of an English scientist and spiritual seeker named F…
