{"id":11425,"date":"2017-02-02T21:15:39","date_gmt":"2017-02-03T05:15:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dminlgp.com\/?p=11425"},"modified":"2017-02-02T21:15:39","modified_gmt":"2017-02-03T05:15:39","slug":"the-quandry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/the-quandry\/","title":{"rendered":"The Quandry"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n

I am in a quandary. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0After reading and engaging with the concept of \u201cevangelicals\u201d, I thought I was easing in to a comfort zone of understanding and acceptance. \u00a0Bebbington\u2019s quadrilateral brought clarity and defined principles that caused this word to have definition.<\/p>\n

I pick up Mark Noll\u2019s, The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind, <\/em>and begin to question my embrace and acceptance of this nebulous group of Christians. \u00a0\u00a0Noll records the slant of H. Richard Niebuhr, \u201cFrom the perspective of 1930, the evangelical mind in America was dead, or at least perceptive commentators, including H. Richard Niebuhr, thought it was.\u201d[1]<\/a>\u00a0 In Noll\u2019s defense, he does believe there is a renewal of the evangelical intellectualism that is rising.<\/p>\n

Noll prescribes to the definition of \u201cintellectual depth\u201d as, \u201c\u2026a way of praising God through the mind\u201d.[2]<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0This is where the quandary set in. \u00a0I can agree with Noll\u2019s concept of intellectual depth being a reflection\"Image and an act of praising God. \u00a0The main concern is how to keep intellectual depth from sheer intellectualism that is relegated to an elite group of brilliant minds?<\/p>\n

Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mark Noll balances the definition and understanding of \u201cevangelicalism\u201d. \u00a0He states, \u201c\u2026evangelicalism\u201d has always been made up of shifting movement, temporary alliances, and the lengthened shadows of individuals.\u201d[3]<\/a>\u00a0 This combination of movement, alliances, and individuals has brought about the complexity of what an evangelical is, and how to understand this movement.<\/p>\n

Noll\u2019s \u201cscandal\u201d is the lack of scholarship within the evangelical movement. \u00a0The pendulum swing from lack can be pride.\u00a0 As Noll says, \u201cPride of intellectual accomplishment is a real threat to humble faith. \u00a0Intellectuals are susceptible to a temptation to trust in their wisdom as a substitute for trusting in the \u2018foolishness\u2019 of the gospel. \u00a0Appeals for learning must acknowledge the seriousness of these objections.\u201d[4]<\/a><\/p>\n

Noll points to the lack of scholarship, universities\/seminaries\/graduate schools, resources, and misdirected educational energies as contributors to this problem.[5]<\/a>\u00a0 Realizing that this book was written in 1994, was of interest also in light of Campbell and Garner\u2019s, Network Theology:\u00a0 Negotiating Faith in Digital Culture.\u00a0 <\/em>We live in a world where knowledge and technology increases faster than ever in the history of man. \u00a0We have access to more knowledge than man has ever had. \u00a0Have we grown intellectually to the worship of God with our minds? \u00a0I think not.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Analysis<\/strong><\/p>\n

The challenge to me is the accessibility to what truth is and what is anti-intellectualism? \u00a0Noll seems to take a shot when he says, \u201cThis problem may not have been as serious as it first seems, for, however much defenders of supernatural religion, especially Pentecostals and advocates of Holiness, may have turned away from the world\u2019s learning, their emphasis on the practical presence of God did represent pursuit of an essential Christian goal. \u00a0The problem came not with the goal, but with the assumption that, in order to be spiritual, one must no longer pay attention to the world.\u201d[6]<\/a><\/p>\n

I do believe that there has been decay in a solid understanding and defense of what we believe. \u00a0But\"Image intellectual increase disconnected from the practical presence of God and His holiness, can bring about a stool that is sure to fall over. \u00a0On the other hand God\u2019s presence and holiness is not an excuse for the lack of intelligence or superiority.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Mark A. Noll, The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind,<\/em>\u00a0 (Grand Rapids, MI:\u00a0 William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1994), 211.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Ibid., 239.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Ibid., 8.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Ibid., 31.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Ibid., 16-22.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Ibid., 123.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Introduction I am in a quandary. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0After reading and engaging with the concept of \u201cevangelicals\u201d, I thought I was easing in to a comfort zone of understanding and acceptance. \u00a0Bebbington\u2019s quadrilateral brought clarity and defined principles that caused this word to have definition. I pick up Mark Noll\u2019s, The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[147,808],"class_list":["post-11425","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-noll","tag-quandary","cohort-lgp6"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11425","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/68"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11425"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11425\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11425"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11425"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11425"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}