• Directories
    • Business Directory
    • Church Directory
    • Organization Directory
  • Advertise
  • Donate
  • Help
  • Log In

MENUMENU
  • Learning
        • Leader’s Edge
          • Author Interviews
          • Book Summaries
        • Book Reviews
          • Book Look
          • EMQ Book Reviews
        • Publications
          • Anthology
          • Evangelical Missions Quarterly (EMQ)
          • Missiographics
        • Podcasts
          • The Mission Matters
          • Members Only Feed
          • Missions Podcast DirectoryNew
        • Topics
          • COVID-19 Resources
          • Diaspora Missions
          • Global Issues Updates
          • Member Highlights
          • Mobilization
          • Muslim Missions
          • Support Raising
          • UkraineNew
        • Media Library
          • Conferences
          • Global Issue Updates
          • On Mission
          • Thought Leader Briefings
          • Webinars
          • Workshop
          • View All
  • Programs
    • Accreditation
    • Bible Certificate
    • Church Missions Coaching
    • Cohorts
    • Cybersecurity
    • ImproveNew
    • Mission Jobs
    • Missions DataNew
    • Publish
    • RightNow Media
    • The Mission App
    • Women’s Development
  • Events
          • Calendar
          • In-Person Events
          • Virtual Events
          • Event Recordings
          • Awards
        • Premier Events
          • Mission Leaders Conference
          • On Mission
        • Upcoming Events

          • Webinar: An Introduction to the Theology and Practice of Cross-Cultural Risk
            Thu May 26 2022, 12:00pm EDT
          • Pocket Guide to Being a Missions Pastor: 5 Things Every Missions Pastor Needs to Know
            Wed Jun 1 2022, 01:00pm EDT
          • From Harlem to the World - the Local Church Mobilized for Global Missions
            Wed Aug 3 2022, 01:00pm EDT
        • View All Events
  • Research
          • Missions DataNew
          • Missiographics
          • Research Reports
        • Popular Research
          • Compensation Reports
          • COVID-19 Resources
          • Field Attrition Report
          • View All Reports
        • Contribute
          • Current Research Projects
          • Volunteer
  • About Us
        • Who We Are
          • Our Contribution
          • Meet the Team
          • Board Members
          • History (1917–present)
        • Our Beliefs
          • Statement of Faith
          • Community Standards
        • Awards
        • Partner with Us
          • Advertise
          • Donate
          • Sponsorships
          • Volunteer
        • Help
          • Contact Us
          • Advertising Specs
          • Branding Guidelines
  • Join
        • Learn
        • Learn what you cannot learn anywhere else.

        • Meet
        • Meet people you otherwise won’t meet.

        • Engage
        • Engage in a community like none other.

          • Benefits
          • Benefits for Churches
          • Pricing

Sponsored Content

Upcoming Events

  • Webinar: An Introduction to the Theology and Practice of Cross-Cultural Risk
    Thu May 26 2022, 12:00pm EDT
  • Pocket Guide to Being a Missions Pastor: 5 Things Every Missions Pastor Needs to Know
    Wed Jun 1 2022, 01:00pm EDT
  • From Harlem to the World - the Local Church Mobilized for Global Missions
    Wed Aug 3 2022, 01:00pm EDT
  • Innovation Leaders Discussion
    Mon Aug 8 2022, 01:00pm EDT
  • Peer 2 Peer for Communications and Marketing Staff: Communications and the Mission of God: Aligning organizational communications with God's purposes
    Thu Aug 18 2022, 01:00pm EDT

View all events »

Topics

author interview CEO Church Church Missions Church Mission Team Church Planting COVID-19 Cross Cultural Skills Diaspora Disciple Making Discipleship Focus Future Innovation Islam Justin Long Leadership Management Member Care Missiology Missionaries Mission Finance and Administration MLC2019 MLC2020 MLC2021 Mobilization muslim Muslim Diaspora Networks Partnership Podcast Presenter Pursuing Partnerships Series Research Risk Short-Term Missions Spirituality support raising Training Trends Unengaged Unreached Weekly Roundup Women Women in Leadership

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Apostles of Reason: The Crises of Authority in American Evangelicalism

Posted on April 1, 2015 by Ted EslerApril 1, 2015

by Molly Worthen

Oxford University Press

—Reviewed by Lee Beach, assistant professor, Christian ministry, McMaster Divinity College

If evangelicals were to subject themselves to the psychologist’s couch, then they might be unnerved by the diagnosis that they are schizophrenic. One aspect of their personality believes passionately in the authority of the Bible and their need to submit to it; however, the other side is fiercely independent and struggles with whom to trust in terms of how the Bible is to be understood. While this kind of personality disorder may be considered a debilitating sickness, Molly Worthen states that it is evangelicals’ “greatest affliction and their most potent source of vitality” (p.7).

Worthen is assistant professor of history at the University of North Carolina, and in this volume she explores the historic struggle with authority that characterizes evangelicalism. The book offers a thoughtful, highly-readable overview of how American evangelicals have conceived of and practiced biblical authority throughout the twentieth century. It engages the intellectual trends, institutions, and individuals that shaped the debate throughout those years.  

Worthen’s tracing of history provides insight into the nature of Western evangelicalism as a movement that is characterized by the paradox of having developed from a solid intellectual tradition yet also contains a strong anti-intellectual bias. While longing to be taken seriously in the corridors of secular academic life, it also prides itself on being steadfastly pragmatic with a focus on action. The missionary movement demonstrates the latter as it employs the evangelical strength of being culturally adaptable. It also exacerbates the struggle with authority as it consistently raises the question of how the teachings of the Bible relate to a non-Christian culture. 

Worthen explores the “culture wars” of the twentieth century in America and how evangelicals sought to change what they perceived as a slide away from traditional values. Perhaps what is more interesting than the battle between the church and the culture at large is the reality of the culture wars that were ongoing among evangelicals themselves. Within the movement, there arose (and remains) an evangelical “left” and an evangelical “right.” Both parties brought a decidedly different vision to the cultural battle and the book considers the competing visions of the two and how each one
approached scripture and its “authority” differently.

These issues, along with others that the book considers, illustrate the ongoing struggle for identity that is at the core of evangelicalism. The struggle with how to properly employ the Bible in that pursuit is at the heart of the struggle. That is why this is a serious book that helps contemporary evangelicals situate themselves in the ongoing debate about scriptural authority, hermeneutics, and interpretation. 

If one is to engage in this discussion, then it is good to understand where we are in the conversation. Worthen’s book will help all serious evangelicals reflect on that. It is also a beautiful reminder that it may in fact be evangelicalism’s inner struggles that give it its energy to continually engage constructively with the world.     

Check these titles:

Balmer, Randall. 2014. Redeemer: The Life of Jimmy Carter. New York: Basic Books.

Wright, N.T. 2011. Scripture and the Authority of God: How to Read the Bible Today. New York: Harper One.

….

EMQ, Vol. 51, No. 2 pp. 226, 228. Copyright  © 2015 Billy Graham Center for Evangelism.  All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced or copied in any form without written permission from EMQ editors.

GoToOlder PostNewer PostAll PostsBook ReviewsEMQSectionVolume 51 - Issue 2

Comments are closed.

Subscribe to Our Mailing List

Keep up to date with our community.

Menu

  • Home
  • Directories
  • Advertise
  • Donate
  • Contact Us

Join

  • Join
  • Benefits
  • Learn
  • Meet
  • Engage

Help

  • Contact Us
  • Terms
  • Cookies Policy

About Us

  • Who We Are
  • Statement of Faith
  • Awards
  • Resources
Missio Nexus Logo

© Missio Nexus. All rights reserved.
As an Amazon Associate Missio Nexus earns from qualifying purchases.


PO Box 398
Wheaton, IL 60187-0398

Phone: 770.457.6677
678.392.4577

Annual Sponsors

ECFA Logo Brotherhood Mutual Logo

Subscribe to our Mailing List

Membership website powered by MembershipWorks