The Four Horsemen of the Gloomy Decades
A.W. Tozer describes the despondent intellectual mood of the 1920s and 1930s, characterized by materialism, pessimism, cynicism, and skepticism.
A.W. Tozer addresses the pervasive pessimism that followed World War I, describing how materialism, pessimism, cynicism, and skepticism became the dominant attitudes of the 1920s and 1930s. He notes that intellectuals across various fields succumbed to these gloomy perspectives, leading to a general sense of despair about the future, particularly regarding prophecy and civilization's fate. Tozer critiques the liberal religious response of the time, which, while optimistic, was based on a misguided interpretation of scripture. He emphasizes the need for genuine faith and hope amidst the prevailing darkness, urging believers to seek true understanding and trust in God's promises.
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Immediately following the first World War, a wave of pessimism swept over the literate world.
What the cause was I shall not go into here but, whatever it was, the intellectual mood of the ?20s and ?30s was thoroughly despondent. Materialism, pessimism, cynicism and skepticism were the four horsemen of those gloomy decades and they rode forth conquering and to conquer.
The scientists were materialistic, the philosophers skeptical, the novelists and biographers cynical and almost everyone pessimistic. Even the interpreters of prophecy were apprehensive, for they saw in the capture of Jerusalem by the British and the rise of the Roman Empire under Mussolini evidence of the nearness of the tribulation days, the coming of Antichrist and the collapse of civilization. About the only religionists on the Protestant side who managed to retain a little optimism were the liberals (?modernists? they were called in those days), and they were cheerful for a wrong reason. Out of the poetic passages of a Bible, in which they no longer believed, they wove delicate daisy chains, which have long since withered, and crocheted pretty religious doilies of which they are not now exactly proud and which they would willingly forget but cannot because their handiwork is still to be found among us--on the seventeen cent bargain table of the second-hand bookstores.
Sermon Outline
- The Intellectual Mood of the 1920s and 1930s
- Characterized by materialism, pessimism, cynicism, and skepticism
- The four horsemen of the gloomy decades
Key Quotes
“Materialism, pessimism, cynicism and skepticism were the four horsemen of those gloomy decades and they rode forth conquering and to conquer.” — A.W. Tozer
Application Points
- We must be aware of the intellectual and spiritual trends of our time and not be swept away by them.
- A false sense of optimism can be just as damaging as a pessimistic outlook if it is based on a lack of faith or a misunderstanding of Scripture.
- We must be careful not to create a false sense of security or optimism by ignoring the challenges and difficulties of our time.