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In an editor's note to the very first issue of Books & Culture (September/October 1995), I quoted the Native American poet Joy Harjo: "There's no sense engaging evangelical Christianity. You can't engage something like that, because they don't encourage interaction and thinking for youself." Having heard Harjo read her spellbinding, incantatory poetry, I hoped that the first issue of B&C might change her impression of evangelicals. But then again, maybe not, since

Christians—not only evangelicals, but all those who affirm the central tenets of the faith—are distinguished precisely by their disbelief in the ability of human beings to think for themselves. The more strenuously, the more proudly a person proclaims that freedom, the more surely, like Raskolnikov, he is in the grip of sin.

Isn't it just this humbling understanding of the reality of sin, and the transcending reality of grace, that evangelicals should bring to the table for the "genuine intellectual exchange" envisioned by Alan Wolfe? May it be so.

Visit Books & Culture online at BooksandCulture.com or subscribe here.

Alan Wolfe's "The Opening of the Evangelical Mind" (Atlantic Monthly), Judith Shulevitz's "Alan Wolfe Turns Evangelical" (Slate), and Gene Edward Veith's "Whose Mind Needs Opening?" (World) are all available online.

The Discovery Institute's Center for the Renewal of Science and Culture has another response to Shulevitz's article, which it calls a "bigoted rant" and notes that "Slate has already begun editing out her gaffs."

The Christianity Today Weblog commented on Wolfe's article shortly after the article was published.

Those with access to a Christian college library may be interested in Nancey Murphy's "Phillip Johnson on Trial: A Critique of His Critique of Darwin," which was published in the March 1993 issue of Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith. The article does not appear to be available online.

See also John Wilson's recent Christianity Today article, "Your Darwin Is Too Large | Evolution's significance for theology has been greatly exaggerated" (May 25, 2000)

Books & Culture's articles on science are available here.

Books & Culture Corner appears Mondays at ChristianityToday.com. Earlier Books & Culture Corners include:

The Light Still Shines | A Harvard-sponsored conference looks at the future of religious colleges. (Oct. 9, 2000)

RU-486 Uncovers a Lie—And It's Not Just About Abortion | Think the abortion pill is indicative of postmodernity? You're wrong. (Oct. 2, 2000)

Pencils Down Part II | Think your vote matters? You poor, misguided fool. (Sept. 18, 2000)

Pencils Down, the Election's Over | According to political scientists, Al Gore has already won. (Sept. 11, 2000)

Humans and Other Animals | How much do we share with the birds of the air and the beasts of the field? (Aug. 28, 2000)

Cardinal Mahony's Baloney Sandwich | The public face of Catholic social teaching. (Aug. 21, 2000)

In Praise of Miscegenation | Racial categories don't mean what they used to. Hallelujah. (Aug. 14, 2000)

"Give 'Em Hell, Harry!" | Looking back at the 1948 presidential campaign. By Elizabeth Jacoway (Aug. 7, 2000)

Roaring Lambs | The Evangelical Culture of Euphemism, Part 3. (July 31, 2000)

The Evangelical Culture of Euphemism, Part 2 | Should we distinguish between public and private discourse? (July 24, 2000)

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October (Web-only) 2000, Vol. 44