The State of the Evangelical Mind: Reflections on the Past, Prospects for the Future

Abstract

More than two decades after Mark A Noll’s The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind (Eerdmans, 1994), Todd C Ream, Jerry Pattengale, and Christopher J Devers offer an edited collection that strives to “assess the state of the evangelical mind, identify its unique contributions, and chart a way forward” (p. 13). The book includes a foreword by Richard J Mouw, an introduction by the editors, six chapters, and a conclusion. In the introduction, the editors refer to Noll’s landmark study as the catalyst for “an intellectual renaissance” (p. 1), which resulted in numerous projects and publications that advanced intellectual work in evangelical communities. Briefly following a description of the ensuing “intellectual renaissance” that Noll provoked, the editors then detail the attenuation of his book’s influence, which they connect to economic and cultural realities in the United States, such as the recession of 2008, the divisive presidential election of 2016, and the publication of works such as Mark Labberton’s Still Evangelical? Ten Insiders Reconsider Political, Social, and Theological Meaning (InterVarsity Press, 2018). In chapter 1, Noll himself expands upon the “intellectual renaissance” mentioned in the introduction, charting the rise and fall of publications and communities such as Books & Culture, Reformed Journal, the Institute for the Study of American Evangelicals, and the Pew Evangelical Scholars Program. He concludes that Evangelicals are increasingly attending to their intellectual development but that they are becoming less distinct from other Christians, such as mainline Protestants or Catholics, which has resulted in the depletion of a specifically evangelical mind. Chapter 2, written by Jo Anne Lyon, examines 18th-century Evangelicalism alongside the 21st-century church and encourages readers to recommit to practicing the virtues of love, justice, and mercy in their ministries. In chapter 3, David C Mahan and C Donald Smedley provide insights into the role of campus ministries, such as InterVarsity Christian Fellowship and Cru, in the cultivation of the evangelical mind. In chapter 4, Timothy Larsen applies John Henry Newman’s The Idea of a University to 21st-century Christian colleges. He briefly addresses several pertinent International Journal of Christianity & Education