I admit that it seems a bit rushed, but I was asked to cut a third by a previous editor before Aaron decided to take over this essay. It included points about the apostasy of American Protestant universities, a more recent example being Mercer, as being much more significant to the topic of Evangelical thought than closed-minded church-l…
I admit that it seems a bit rushed, but I was asked to cut a third by a previous editor before Aaron decided to take over this essay. It included points about the apostasy of American Protestant universities, a more recent example being Mercer, as being much more significant to the topic of Evangelical thought than closed-minded church-ladies in the pews, who Noll blames.
But I'd also point out that we should be saying "is" and not "was," since Noll is still active today. I used at least two of his books in this review, iirc, and argued with him about these very topics until my university president gave me the stink-eye for publicly disagreeing with the guest speaker.
And you are right, I could write an entire essay by itself on the problem with the idea that "science" is this neutral thing that we all study, Christian and secular, and that secular standards are the neutral way of approaching these topics. And probably another on the way that contemporary Christian social science is flooded with ideological assumptions from the secular world that aren't compatible with an authentic Christian worldview. But I'm not being paid by an Evangelical-Protestant college to write such things anymore, so what does that tell you about why Evangelical scholars are slowly drifting towards the Tiber?
Thanks for the explanation. It seems a lot could be done with the higher-ed angle and to me that's the most interesting part of the discussion.
On one hand, American Protestant universities liberalizing and secularizing is a phenomenon that at least dates back to circa 1700 when a little New England college called "Harvard" started to do so.
One question worth asking is, "How does Notre Dame remain elite by secular standards and yet also remain half-orthodox?" I think a large part of the reason is that "half-orthodox" has been the mostly stable state of Catholicism for a while. Catholics place more value on unity than Protestants. When a Protestant organization starts to tip left or heretical, it's never a stable situation. There either needs to be a decisive reaction or the whole thing will be quickly lost.
There will be a reckoning for schools like Mercer, which after its secularization falls into the category of "schools with no reason to exist". That is to say, without a meaningful Baptist identity, a non-elite private school like Mercer has nothing important to distinguish it from UGA up the road aside from a much higher price tag. In the demographics-driven college enrollment crash that will accelerate around 2025, I expect non-elite secular private schools like this will take the brunt of the damage.
I admit that it seems a bit rushed, but I was asked to cut a third by a previous editor before Aaron decided to take over this essay. It included points about the apostasy of American Protestant universities, a more recent example being Mercer, as being much more significant to the topic of Evangelical thought than closed-minded church-ladies in the pews, who Noll blames.
But I'd also point out that we should be saying "is" and not "was," since Noll is still active today. I used at least two of his books in this review, iirc, and argued with him about these very topics until my university president gave me the stink-eye for publicly disagreeing with the guest speaker.
And you are right, I could write an entire essay by itself on the problem with the idea that "science" is this neutral thing that we all study, Christian and secular, and that secular standards are the neutral way of approaching these topics. And probably another on the way that contemporary Christian social science is flooded with ideological assumptions from the secular world that aren't compatible with an authentic Christian worldview. But I'm not being paid by an Evangelical-Protestant college to write such things anymore, so what does that tell you about why Evangelical scholars are slowly drifting towards the Tiber?
Thanks for the explanation. It seems a lot could be done with the higher-ed angle and to me that's the most interesting part of the discussion.
On one hand, American Protestant universities liberalizing and secularizing is a phenomenon that at least dates back to circa 1700 when a little New England college called "Harvard" started to do so.
One question worth asking is, "How does Notre Dame remain elite by secular standards and yet also remain half-orthodox?" I think a large part of the reason is that "half-orthodox" has been the mostly stable state of Catholicism for a while. Catholics place more value on unity than Protestants. When a Protestant organization starts to tip left or heretical, it's never a stable situation. There either needs to be a decisive reaction or the whole thing will be quickly lost.
There will be a reckoning for schools like Mercer, which after its secularization falls into the category of "schools with no reason to exist". That is to say, without a meaningful Baptist identity, a non-elite private school like Mercer has nothing important to distinguish it from UGA up the road aside from a much higher price tag. In the demographics-driven college enrollment crash that will accelerate around 2025, I expect non-elite secular private schools like this will take the brunt of the damage.