Is the Scandal Over?

Plus: Family Research Council attacks Hindu prayer, then changes its tune.

Christianity Today September 1, 2000

The Atlantic Monthly examines evangelical scholarship

“The scandal of the evangelical mind,” historian Mark Noll famously wrote in 1994, “is that there is not much of an evangelical mind.” A half-dozen years later, there’s apparently enough of one for the cover of The Atlantic Monthly. Alan Wolfe’s “The Opening of the Evangelical Mind” is one of the year’s must-read articles, and is certainly becoming one of the most widely discussed around the Christianity Today hallways and the surrounding area (Wheaton College, thoroughly examined in the article, is down the street). “Conservative Christians have enlivened and enriched the humanities, political and social theory, and even empirical social science,” Wolfe writes. “At the same time, their success is uneven. There are not, and in all likelihood there never will be, similar developments in the natural sciences, and whereas there may be such a thing as Christian economists, there is no serious effort to create a Christian economics. Still, since the early 1960s … conservative Christians with roots in American fundamentalism have indeed created a life of the mind broader and more imaginative than anything previously found in their tradition. The big question is whether they can maintain it.” Speaking of uneven success, the article itself has its problems. Wolfe doesn’t quite understand evangelical higher education’s call for an integration of faith and learning and why Christian colleges have statements of faith. He too easily dismisses the assertion that the mainstream academy is often hostile to Christianity. And there are enough minor errors, (conflating Wheaton’s statement of faith and conduct code, for example) to frustrate readers familiar with “evangelical mind” issues. But it’s still an important article. Reading it online is even better than reading it in print, as The Atlantic has loaded the article with hyperlinks, discussion boards, links to relevant past Atlantic articles, and (best of all) Web-only e-mail interviews with Mark Noll, Richard Mouw, Alan Jacobs, and George Marsden. Warning: In print, the article is 17 pages long. Reading it, the interviews, and any relevant links you want to follow may take you the rest of the day.

Family Research Council backs off its criticism of Hindu prayer in Congress

Last week, the Family Research Council (FRC) got press for criticizing the U.S. House of Representatives for inviting a Hindu to give the invocation. (Click here for Weblog’s coverage of the invocation.) “Our founders expected that Christianity—and no other religion—would receive support from the government as long as that support did not violate peoples’ consciences and their right to worship,” noted the FRC’s Culture Facts Web publication. “They would have found utterly incredible the idea that all religions, including paganism, be treated with equal deference. … As for our Hindu priest friend, the United States is a nation that has historically honored the One True God. Woe be to us on that day when we relegate Him to being merely one among countless other deities in the pantheon of theologies.” A day later, the FRC “clarified” its statement. “It is the position of the Family Research Council that governments must respect freedom of conscience for all people in religious matters,” says a press release posted on the FRC Web site. “We affirm the truth of Christianity, but it is not our position that America’s Constitution forbids representatives of religions other than Christianity from praying before Congress. We recognize that decisions on this matter are the prerogative of each house of Congress.” (If anyone can find a link to the original Culture Facts article, please e-mail Weblog here and it will be added later today.)

Related Elsewhere

See our past Weblog updates:

September 21 | 20 | 19 | 18

September 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11

September 7 | 6 | 5

September 1 | August 31 | 30 | 29

August 25 | 24 | 23 | 22 | 21

August 18 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 14

August 11 | 10 | 9

July 27 | 25 | 24

Copyright © 2000 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Our Latest

Public Theology Project

The Star of Bethlehem Is a Zodiac Killer

How Christmas upends everything that draws our culture to astrology.

News

As Malibu Burns, Pepperdine Withstands the Fire

University president praises the community’s “calm resilience” as students and staff shelter in place in fireproof buildings.

The Russell Moore Show

My Favorite Books of 2024

Ashley Hales, CT’s editorial director for print, and Russell discuss this year’s reads.

News

The Door Is Now Open to Churches in Nepal

Seventeen years after the former Hindu kingdom became a secular state, Christians have a pathway to legal recognition.

The Holy Family and Mine

Nativity scenes show us the loving parents we all need—and remind me that my own parents estranged me over my faith.

Why Christians Oppose Euthanasia

The immorality of killing the old and ill has never been in question for Christians. Nor is our duty to care for those the world devalues.

China’s Churches Go Deep Rather than Wide at Christmas

In place of large evangelism outreaches, churches try to be more intentional in the face of religious restrictions and theological changes.

Wire Story

Study: Evangelical Churches Aren’t Particularly Political

Even if members are politically active and many leaders are often outspoken about issues and candidates they support, most congregations make great efforts to keep politics out of the church when they gather.

Apple PodcastsDown ArrowDown ArrowDown Arrowarrow_left_altLeft ArrowLeft ArrowRight ArrowRight ArrowRight Arrowarrow_up_altUp ArrowUp ArrowAvailable at Amazoncaret-downCloseCloseEmailEmailExpandExpandExternalExternalFacebookfacebook-squareGiftGiftGooglegoogleGoogle KeephamburgerInstagraminstagram-squareLinkLinklinkedin-squareListenListenListenChristianity TodayCT Creative Studio Logologo_orgMegaphoneMenuMenupausePinterestPlayPlayPocketPodcastRSSRSSSaveSaveSaveSearchSearchsearchSpotifyStitcherTelegramTable of ContentsTable of Contentstwitter-squareWhatsAppXYouTubeYouTube