mht's Full Review: Mark A. Noll - The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind
Mark Noll, a former professor of mine and an outstanding historian who was recently inducted into the American Academy of Arts & Sciences (like an academic Hall of Fame), wrote this plea for academic/intellectual engagement by a group with which he identifies: evangelical Christians.
There has existed an increased interest in this group given the recent political shifts--since this group has been seen to have been highly influential in the political tectonics. Prof. Noll was recently featured in a Time magazine cover story on the most influential evangelicals. Noll heads up the Institute for the Study of American Evangelicals at Wheaton College (IL) and has researched this group more than perhaps anyone else alive today.
This book is a self-professed cri de couer (cry from the heart) in regards to the state of the mind of evangelicalism. Whether one is an evangelical Christian or not, this book contains thoroughly researched history, trenchant and subtle analysis, and nuanced yet passionate argumentation.
History
As a historian, Noll gives an intellectual history of American evangelicals, focusing much attention on the 20th century. However, the scope and breadth of his historical research surfaces as he writes about other times and places in history as well. The early portion of the book majors in historical narrative that fits within the theme of this book.
Anti-Intellectualism
Noll traces aspects of anti-intellectualism in general, but applies it more specifically in the evangelical context. He writes about the recognition of some evangelical groups that dissonance exists between the most cherished views of both the academic world and evangelical communities. As a result, a mutual suspicion sometimes exist. Noll writes how he has often wondered if he can be both an outstanding scholar (which he has been) as well as a tried-and-true evangelical (which he has been) at the same time. When I was doing a one-to-one independent study with him, he had 7 book contracts--not to mention all the articles he was cranking out!
Scandal
In sum, Noll indicates that there is not much of an evangelical mind when he wrote the book. He laments the dearth of deep, intellectual engagement by evangelicals.
He also writes about how the cross of Christ is considered a scandal (skandalon in the original Greek) to those who don't share the biblical teaching about it. Thus, the very goal of applying the biblical worldview to scholarship is seen as a scandal to some in the secularized academic world. Yet Noll places the bulk of the responsibility for the scandal squarely on the doorstep of evangelicals themselves, rather than any other group of people.
Incarnation
Noll writes that the fact that Jesus, fully divine in classic Christian doctrine, also came as a full human being, gives a certain dignity and legitimacy to the essential goodness of the material world--and the study thereof. Thus, studying the intricacies of molecular biology, the interactions within society as studied by sociologists, the distillation of life into literature, etc. can be studied with and because of one's devotion and fidelity, if that is one's calling. Indeed, Noll points to a denial of Jesus' full humanity and denying the original goodness of creation as flatly heretical.
Thoroughgoing Engagement
So Noll calls for thoroughgoing, rigorous Christian thinking to interpenetrate and inform the best of every academic discipline. He is less concerned that such scholarship receive human recognition or rewards than that it reflect the excellence in the very character of God, and be done out of love for Him.
He states that his book is a grateful footnote to the late Charles Malik (former UN General Assembly President, Ph.D. Harvard & academic), who exhorted evangelicals to a higher and greater level of intellectual/academic engagement. Malik's message, originally given at a speech dedicating the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College in 1979, became a book known as the "The Two Tasks".
Exemplary Disciplines
Noll uses a number of disciplines as examples in what he writes: philosophy, political science, the experimental sciences, etc. He talks in a laudatory fashion about the renaissance of Christian philosophy. Philosophers such as Arthur F. Holmes, Alvin Plantinga, William Lane Craig, and others have garnered greater respect for Christian philosophy due to the excellence of their work. Philosophy, however, has been somewhat exceptional in the quality and quantity of Christian engagement therein.
Signs of Renewal
Towards the end of the book, he wonders whether the scandal itself could be scandalized. While he gave indicators of renewal, he left the issue of whether a renewal would take place largely as a question.
However, in a recent 10 year reflection on the state of evangelical scholarship, he was more upbeat and positive about the evangelical state of mind. Prof. Noll himself has played a major role in the recent uptick in evangelicals learning better how to love God with their minds.
Another Lunch
I have had a bunch of lunches with Prof. Noll but recently, I enjoyed lunch again with him at the Library of Congress, where he holds a special research position.
He was his usual mild-mannered, modest and thoughtful self. He spoke of the rigors, the loneliness, the challenges of the academic life, even as he was continuing on after his visiting professorship at Harvard, the publication of his magnum opus "America's God", and attempts by other academic institutions (such as Duke) to pull him away from Wheaton College.
He has mentored and served as a role model to numerous evangelical scholars, even as he practices what he writes in this book. His cry from the heart about the state of the evangelical mind has reverberated both through the halls of academia as well as the sanctuaries of this land. As such, at least in part, there has been greater scandalization of the scandal of the evangelical mind.
In this treatise on the state of the intellectual status of the evangelical movement, Mark Noll reminds us that modern evangelicals are the spiritual ...More at Christianbook.com
Mark Noll has written a major indictment of American evangelicalism. Reading this book, one wonders if the evangelical movement has pandered so much t...More at HotBookSale
Mark Noll has written a major indictment of American evangelicalism. Reading this book, one wonders if the evangelical movement has pandered so much t...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.