As I read this first chapter, I found myself largely agreeing with what Noll was proposing; evangelicals have and do seem to be absent from the public square when it comes to intellectual vigor. He suggests that one of the reasons this is so is because we bow to the 'urgencies of the moment' (12) and prop up that which seems ready to topple. We succeed at proclamation, evangelism, charity, justice, and generosity toward supporting certain Christian institutions but fail when it comes to developing our minds and assisting other evangelicals to develop their minds.
I wonder (and Noll seems open here) what should be done in our own lives to stymie this flood and prepare the way for even reversing its flow. Each of the members of this blog seems to be capable and in a unique enough life situation to address this problem by becoming a professor at a research university if he desired. But is that what we do? Part of my uneasiness in continuing to a doctoral degree in Christian studies is that the market is already flooded with Christians doing this, as Noll points out. Why not stand at a different post where Christians are absent? Do we form evangelical publications? Do we support others that are bridging this gap? I suppose I just wonder that if Noll raises a true critique, how do we as individuals and as communities respond?
Blog on!
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Monday, May 26, 2008
Welcome- The Scandal of The Evangelical Mind
Alright people, this is the way we can get our conversation up and going on this widely known and widely praised book. I've been meaning to read it for sometime and this will help get us going in manageable chunks.
The rules are simple. We each post once per week and we respond to at least one other post once per week.
Let the reading and dialoguing begin.
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