The Record meets with acclaimed academic Mark Noll – The Wheaton Record – The Wheaton Record

Source: The Record meets with acclaimed academic Mark Noll – The Wheaton Record – The Wheaton Record

A very good interview. Here is a small quote on evangelicalism:
‘If when people hear “evangelical” they think of something political first, then the serious meaning of the word is gone. ‘

And another one, on the Reformation:
‘I myself, I don’t think it’s appropriate either to be completely celebratory about the Reformation or completely negative about the breakup of western Christianity. But there were critical issues having to do with religious authority, location of the nature of divine revelation, the means by which God reconciles people to himself, critical issues having to do with the nature of religion in society, the authority of temporal rulers over spiritual rulers. All of those really important matters were adjusted, shaken up, reformed and revised in about a forty year period. So whether people realize it or not, certainly the Christian churches in the West — and to some extent where the churches have spread in the world — were the heirs of what happened then.

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Marsden and Noll on the Myth of The US as A Christian Nation

Now and then through the decades there’s a swell of complaints that America has strayed from its Christian roots. But others question whether the U.S. was ever designed to be a Christian nation. Notre Dame historians Mark Noll and George Marsden, authors of many works on early American history and on evangelical Christianity, consider current interpretations of the founding fathers. Skot Welch is guest host.

Is There No Evangelical Mind? – Update

Carson Clark has written another text that is worth considering. This time he responde to a post of Dr. Owen Strachen, Assistant Professor of Christian Theology and Church History at Boyce College in Louisville, Kentucky, published on the Patheos platform, in which Strachan criticises Mark Noll, author of The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind, for being, in his estimation, too pessimistic about the place of the mind in the evangelical environment.

NOTE: I have read today this article on the Associated Baptist Press website, announcing that Dr Owen Strachan took leadership of the very conservative complementarian group called the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. Now I understand why Strachan is so upset with Noll’s criticism of evangelical anti-intellectualism. I have also remembered where I have heard this guy’s name before. He was the one who last year, made the totally stupid statement that stay-at-home dads are “man-fails”. Now I get it. As we say in Romania, ‘it is not good to talk of the rope in the house where somebody hang himself’.

In his new post, Carson offers an eight point very well articulated ‘cordial rebuttal’ of Strachan’s criticism. Here they are for your evaluation (you may find HERE Carson’s entire post):

Mark Noll and George Marsden of America’s Christian Roots

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Now and then through the decades there’s a swell of complaints that America has strayed from its Christian roots. But others question whether the U.S. was ever designed to be a Christian nation. Notre Dame historians Mark Noll and George Marsden, authors of many works on early American history and on evangelical Christianity, consider current interpretations of the founding fathers. Skot Welch is guest host.

(Thanks to Carson Clark for this link.)

Mark Noll: Seeking Peace in the Warfare Between Science and Theology | Musings of a Hardlining Moderate

Mark Noll: Seeking Peace in the Warfare Between Science and Theology | Musings of a Hardlining Moderate.

I would like to suggest that all those interested in the relationship between religion and science should listen to Mark Noll’s lecture embeded in this blog post.

Thanks, Carson Clark.

David Neff – An Interview with Mark Noll on the Foundation of the Evangelical Mind

In 1994, Wheaton College historian Mark Noll published The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind—”an epistle from a wounded lover” that decried the anti-intellectualism of evangelical religious culture. Noll’s newest book, Jesus Christ and the Life of the Mind (Eerdmans, released in August), devotes far less space to criticism and offers instead a foundational vision: The basic truths of Christian faith are the key to Christian scholarship. Christianity Today editor in chief David Neff recently spoke with Noll (now teaching at the University of Notre Dame) about the book.

Although it’s not the main subject of Jesus Christ and the Life of the Mind, most people will want to know: Are you more optimistic today about the state of the evangelical mind than you were 17 years ago?

I am more optimistic, though not overwhelmingly so. The problems endemic to modern Western culture undercut Christian thinking the same way they undercut every other kind of serious intellectual life. The tendencies among evangelicals that undercut serious reflection are also still pretty strong—for example, the populism and the immediatism, the idea that if there is a problem, we have to solve it right away.

“Come and See”: A Christological Invitation for Science, Part 3 | The BioLogos Forum

“Come and See”:  A Christological Invitation for Science, Part 3 | The BioLogos Forum.

[Part I of this series may be read HERE.]

In Part II of this series, (taken from Mark Noll’s new book Jesus Christ and the Life of the Mind), Noll discussed a debate between two different schools of 13th century thought concerning the relationship of God’s being to that of all other beings. The outcome of this debate, he writes, exerted considerable influence on later Western history. One view, that of Thomas Aquinas, “held that this relationship is largely analogical, that is that while humans and the created world were certainly like God in many ways, the essence of God remained a mystery known only to himself.” So for example, “everything in the world, he [Aquinas] insisted, happened because of God’s direction. But some things happen contingently, or with the appearance of randomness. The logic of their contingency is perfectly clear to God, but because God in his essence is hidden to humans, humans may not be able to grasp how that which they perceive as random could be part of God’s direction of the universe.” The opposing view was held by Duns Scotus. “His position argued for the univocity of being. The only way to know the essence of anything is through its existence. Although God is much greater and much wiser than humans, his being and the being of all other things share a common essence.” It was Scotus’s views that prevailed. Noll believes that the fact that the western church sided with Scotus rather than Aquinas has had significant ramifications for how we think of divine activity in the natural world, and this in turn has played no small role in the current disconnect between mainstream science and evangelical Christianity. In today’s essay, Noll goes on to explore B.B. Warfield as a 100 year old case study of how one person retained a “commitment to the goal of harmonizing a sophisticated conservative theology and the most securely verified conclusions of modern science.” Although, we have posted a significant number of profound articles and video clips on our web-site, we are not sure we know of a single more poignant representation of what BioLogos seeks to do than what is demonstrated in this reflection upon the work of B.B. Warfield.

 

“Come and See”: A Christological Invitation for Science, Part 2 | The BioLogos Forum

“Come and See”:  A Christological Invitation for Science, Part 2 | The BioLogos Forum.

This is the second in the BioLogos series of excerpts from Mark Noll’s book Jesus Christ and the Life of the Mind.

In this, part II of the series, Noll “explores historical reasons for the difficulties besetting efforts at bringing scientific knowledge and biblical wisdom together.”

Jesus Christ and the Life of the Mind by Mark Noll | Thinking Matters

Jesus Christ and the Life of the Mind by Mark Noll | Thinking Matters.

You may listen (and download) at this link three lectures (and Q&A sessions) that Mark Noll did in 2009 on the topic of his new book Jesus Christ and the Life of the Mind.

Thanks to RomGabe for this link.

Mark Noll On a Christological Invitation for Science, Part 1 | The BioLogos Forum

Mark Noll On a Christological Invitation for Science, Part 1 | The BioLogos Forum.

This is the first from a BioLogos series of excerpts from Mark Noll’s new book Jesus Christ and the Life of the Mind. Absolutely remarcable.

Here are a few quotes: