By: Aaron Cole on February 2, 2017
Summary: The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind by Mark A. Noll is a great historical journey on the lack of intellectual exploration and emphasis by the Evangelical community in how the church relates to the world academically, politically, scientifically, economically, and culturally. Noll’s opening statement summarizes the book best: “The scandal of the evangelical mind…
By: Aaron Peterson on February 2, 2017
I’m sure that this cartoon will ruffle a few feathers for some members of our cohort. For me, this cartoon is not funny. As a satire, it is a bit sad and actually mostly true. The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind by Mark Noll explains why this is the case. Even given the fact that…
By: Marc Andresen on February 2, 2017
Thinking is not terminal, although one might get the impression that Evangelicals think it is. Mark Noll opens his book, The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind with a scandalous statement. “The scandal of the evangelical mind is that there is not much of an evangelical mind.” He states, “Notwithstanding all their other virtues, however, American…
By: Stu Cocanougher on February 2, 2017
In a typical hour-long crime drama, one of the catchphrases that the witty detective has in his arsenal of axioms is “follow the money.” That phrase took new meaning for me as I read “The Great Transformation” by Karl Polanyi. Austrian economist Karl Polanyi wrote his landmark work on world economic markets during the 1940’s while living…
By: Geoff Lee on February 2, 2017
A review of “The Great Transformation” by Polanyi This book looks at how we used to live before we turned everything into something that has a price. The great transformation of the title refers to the before and after of the industrial revolution and the transition from a society based on householding (living off…
By: Garfield Harvey on February 2, 2017
“It is simply impossible to be, with integrity, both evangelical and intellectual” (98, Kindle). This I believe is the challenge of many modern day scholars who are both evangelicals and intellectuals. It is not so much the impossibility of integrity, rather, the challenge to suggest that evangelicals are becoming more intelligent. Jason, one of my…
By: Jason Kennedy on February 2, 2017
Mark Noll’s Scandal of the Evangelical Mind is an attempt to describe the dearth of intellectualism in the modern evangelical church. Leaning on Bebbington, Noll describes Evangelical as those who believe in conversion, Biblicism, activism, and crucicentrism (p.8). Noll does not go much further, but seems to lump all evangelicals together when he states his…
By: Jim Sabella on February 2, 2017
Summary The self-regulating market is often billed as the means of reaching utopia on earth. It is said that the market, if left to adjust itself, will solve labor, hunger, property, social issues, and the balance of power. According to Polanyi, this is a fallacy. “Such an institution could not exist for any length of…
By: Mary Walker on February 2, 2017
Socialism has been embraced by many as they look around and see the poverty and injustice in the culture. Who will take the responsibility for that? In his book, The Great Transformation, Karl Polanyi taught that democratic movements of the people along with restraints on big business would bring about the free society envisioned by…
By: Claire Appiah on February 2, 2017
Mark Noll wrote this book in 1994, at a time when the global landscape had quite a different appearance, tone, and structure. But, he presents a timeless thesis in this book which is still relevant and challenging for readers today. This book is centered on what the author considers the scandalous “life of the mind”…
By: Rose Anding on February 2, 2017
Introduction As the times change, so does the approach and avenues of attracting followers to different religions.[1] Christianity is and remains one of the oldest religions, and attracts the largest following, in the world. However, the ever-changing human lifestyle of the secular world threatens the maintenance and spread of Christian evangelical beliefs globally.[2] To…
By: Katy Drage Lines on February 1, 2017
I recognize from the outset that I am stepping far outside of my comfort zone to discuss economics and economic social history. Yet the foundational understanding for how goods are perceived and exchanged is inextricably intertwined with other aspects of our daily life—religion, politics, philosophy, etc. How, then, do we attempt to understand Karl Polanyi’s…
By: Lynda Gittens on February 1, 2017
GREAT TRANSFORMATION by POLANYI Transformation – We all experience change. The world has experienced change. We communicate, dress, worship, and shop differently from the nineteenth century due to technology. Polanyi focused in his book on the challenges of politics and economics on society from the nineteenth-century through the twentieth century according to reviewer Anne Mayhew.…
By: Kristin Hamilton on February 1, 2017
A free market society is good for everyone, right? In it, everyone has the same opportunity to succeed and make something of themselves. Or as my high school economics teacher put it, “Capitalism and free markets allow us to succeed or fail on our own efforts and merits.” That statement made total sense to a…
By: Jennifer Dean-Hill on February 1, 2017
When progress comes at the price of people and their well-being, we are all in danger of not living with security, freedom, and respect. My mind wandered back to my education on the Industrial Revolution in America, when Polanyi said, “pauperism and progress are inseparable”(Kindle, 2875). To this day, it still disturbs me the price…
By: Pablo Morales on January 28, 2017
When Sofia, my first daughter was born, Baylor hospital showed us the latest technology they had implemented in their new facilities. The room had an HD camera connected to the Internet. With a simple private code we could connect through video with anybody around the world who wanted to see us. A year later, a…
By: Garfield Harvey on January 27, 2017
It is time that we at least entertain the idea that communication technology is the new nervous system. Entertaining such a thought is merely helping Christians respond with theological discernment to our culture that continues to evolve technologically. We often use the term “Old School” loosely to define those unwilling to conform to the new…
By: Chip Stapleton on January 27, 2017
As I was reading about contextual theology in our assigned works by Steven Garner and Stephen Bevans, I kept thinking about the ad campaign from Reese’s peanut butter cups. The ad (a picture from the commercial is on the left) was (in the most 80’s way possible) incredibly cheesy as it had two people, one…
By: Geoff Lee on January 27, 2017
Models of Contextual Theology This book deals with the three theological sources (loci theologici) of tradition, Scripture and culture and how these interact with each other in the formation of our theology. It offers us six models of contextual theology, each of which places different weight or emphasis on the three respective sources. It…
By: Kristin Hamilton on January 27, 2017
So this week I finally figured out my problem (okay, ONE of my problems)! In theological discussions, I have been expecting others to view theology contextually and, more to the point, to contextualize theology along the same model or lens which I use. I have to be honest, the idea that theology must always be…
