February 20, 2009
I just finished Mark Noll’s fine book and wanted to recommend it to any that are looking for some thought provoking reading. His historical analysis is eye-opening. As an evangelical, he is able to see both our strengths and our flaws with stunning clarity. I did not agree with the entire book but here are some opening thoughts . . . .
1. His contention that the evangelical paradigm of “grace destroying nature” or grace rescuing us from the material world has to be undone in order for evangelicals to fight back our escapist and Gnostic tendencies. Our kids can not live well if we do not exorcize these demons.
2. The two chapters are evangelical involvement in Politics and Science are immensely thought provoking. He points out the incredible historical coincidence that William Jennings Bryant’s “Cross of Gold” speech (which was, perhaps, the first nail in the coffin of our present economic debacle and inspiration for the Wizard of Oz story) was given during the same year that Pope Leo XIII published his Encyclical Rerum Novarum. Both dealt with the new economic realities of industrialism. Noll uses these as evidence of serious thought in some parts of the Christian world being contrast with evangelical tendencies stir hearts without careful considerations of the consequence. After the last few months of seemingly daily revelation of harmful economic fantasy, I found this chapter fascinating.
3. His chapter on evangelical involvement—or non-involvement—in science was even more thought provoking. He pushes us to think more deeply about the pre-suppositions that we need to carry into scientific study as evangelicals. He points out the veritable whirlwind of harm that comes to both science and to evangelicals as we have abandoned serious scientific research to other branches of Christianity or (mainly) to unbelievers. He seems to be prodding evangelicals to return to the Westminster Confessions view of God’s “two books”—the Book of Nature and the Book of Scripture. He chides evangelicals for really misusing the Books by mainly looking at Nature only as an apologetic tool for our theological presuppositions. Ouch! He mentions times in history when Christians have done this and reminds us that these believers’ view of both nature and Scripture suffered on account of their refusal to be diligent on both fronts. Ouch! He mentions Galileo. Ouch! I am not ready to alter anything I think because of the chapter, but I (we—the broader) church needs to think more about this.
Finally, one thing that I think he misses. He seems to think that commitment to the life of the mind will come from…commitment to the life of the mind. I am guessing not. The greatest need in the church—particularly in the evangelical church is a renewal in worship. When we are light in worship, when we appear before God with our own comfort on our minds, when we fail to see the gravity of worship; we will continue to live in a world without gravity. We will float like the ghosts that we are becoming. Serious worship, historically informed worship, passionate worship, is the first and foremost key to a serious commitment to the life of the mind. If we can not find ourselves and define ourselves before the throne of God, we will never have a reason for deeper thinking or deeper scholarship.
Worship is also the key to correcting the greatest sin of the evangelical community today—pride. When worship brings us before God’s throne, we know ourselves for what we are—sinners saved by grace—sinners in need of Christ and of the life of redeemed community. When we come to grips with this, we will be ready to listen to others, to seek wisdom (knowing that we lack it), to serve others and to know our own poverty. At the table, we can also know that God loves us, that He will feed us and provide for us and that we are His children. We are restored, through Christ (Matt. 28), and the world is cleansed. We can live together wisely and explore the world without fear.
Until serious, biblical, historically-informed worship returns to evangelical churches, the deep and scholarly learning that Noll rightly desires to see amongst the faithful will, I fear, be missing.
