Mark Noll\u2019s 1995 book The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind<\/a><\/em> hit a raw nerve when he\u00a0declared\u00a0\u201cThe scandal of the evangelical mind is that there is not much of an evangelical mind.\u201d He argued that Evangelical scholarship had a minimal presence in doing serious academic research, and that they need to\u2014and can\u2014do better.<\/p>\n His followup book in 2011,\u00a0Jesus Christ and the Life of the Mind<\/a><\/em>, is Noll\u2019s theological vision for how to move forward\u2014and I don\u2019t mind adding that Noll devoted about 15 pages favorably discussing\u00a0Inspiration and Incarnation: Evangelicals and the Problem of the Old Testament<\/em>\u00a0<\/a>as a (not the<\/em>) constructive model for moving forward.<\/p>\n Noll\u2019s books have been a wake up call for many and I think his comments are perceptive and penetrating.<\/p>\n But I wonder if\u00a0Noll may be too\u00a0optimistic.<\/p>\n In my\u00a0experience, the real problem isn\u2019t so much\u00a0a failure on the part of Evangelicals to engage the world of thought. Evangelicals earning higher degrees and publishing their findings in the wider intellectual community isn\u2019t what\u2019s needed.<\/p>\n The real scandal of the Evangelical mind is that we are not allowed to use it.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Calling for Evangelical involvement in public academic discourse is useless if trained Evangelicals are legitimately afraid of what will happen to them if they do.<\/p>\n A more basic need is the\u00a0creation of an Evangelical culture where the exercise of the Evangelical mind is expected and encouraged.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n But,\u00a0with\u00a0few exceptions, that culture does not exist. The\u00a0scandal\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0Evangelical mind is that degrees, books, papers, and other marks of prestige are valued\u2014provided you come to predetermined conclusions.<\/strong><\/p>\n Biblical scholarship is the recurring focal point of this type of scandal.<\/p>\n *Sure, dig into evolution and the ancient context of Genesis, but by golly you\u2019d better give me an Adam when you\u2019re done.<\/p>\n *Knock yourself out with scholarship on the Pentateuch, but make sure at the end of it all you affirm that Moses basically wrote it.<\/p>\n *Be part of cutting edge archaeological studies, but when you\u2019re done we want to see you affirm the historicity of\u00a0the exodus and conquest of Canaan pretty much as the Bible describes them, regardless of what others say.<\/p>\n *Do whatever work you need to do, but when\u00a0the\u00a0dust settles, explain how your conclusions fit with inerrancy.<\/p>\n![\"Scandal](\"https:\/\/thebiblefornormalpeople.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/evangelical_mind-1.jpg\")
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