A Place at the Table: George Eldon Ladd and the Rehabilitation of Evangelical Scholarship in America [Hardcover]

John A. D'Elia (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 16, 2008 | ISBN-10: 0195341678 | ISBN-13: 978-0195341676

George Eldon Ladd was a pivotal figure in the resurgence of evangelical scholarship in America during the years after the Second World War. Ladd's career as a biblical scholar can be seen as a quest to rehabilitate evangelical thought both in content and image, a task he pursued at great personal cost. Best known for his work on the doctrine of the Kingdom of God, Ladd moved from critiquing his own movement to engaging many of the important theological and exegetical issues of his day.

Ladd was a strong critic of dispensationalism, the dominant theological system in conservative evangelicalism and fundamentalism, challenging what he perceived to be its anti-intellectualism and uncritical approach to the Bible. In his impressive career at Fuller Theological Seminary, Ladd participated in scholarly debates on the relationship between faith and historical understanding, arguing that modern critical methodologies need not preclude orthodox Christian belief. Ladd also engaged the thought of Rudolf Bultmann, the dominant theological figure of his day. Ladd's main focus, however, was to create a work of scholarship from an evangelical perspective that the broader academic world would accept. When he was unsuccessful in this effort, he descended into depression, bitterness, and alcoholism. But Ladd played an important part in opening doors for later generations of evangelical scholars, both by validating and using critical methods in his own scholarly work, and also by entering into dialogue with theologians and theologies outside the evangelical world.

It is a central theme of this book that Ladd's achievement, at least in part, can be measured in the number of evangelical scholars who are today active participants in academic life across a broad range of disciplines.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"George Ladd was arguably the leading 'new evangelical' biblical scholar in the mid-decades of the twentieth century. He was also a person whose life and work were filled with intriguing tensions and contrasts. John D'Elia tells this poignant and fascinating story well." --George M. Marsden, Francis A. McAnaney Professor of History at the University of Notre Dame, and author of Fundamentalism and American Culture

"In this poignant and gracefully written account, John D'Elia unflinchingly but sympathetically recounts the personal and professional torments of George Eldon Ladd. Making extensive use of Ladd's own files, D'Elia sketches the twin paradoxes of Ladd's life: although eager to find 'a place at the table' of the larger scholarly community, Ladd deemed his own efforts towards that end a failure, and although he wrote extensively of the presence of the kingdom, he struggled to taste its fruits in his own life. Ironically, Ladd never truly understood his greatest legacy his crucial role in the development of evangelical biblical scholarship. D'Elia offers a welcome tribute to Ladd's legacy." --Marianne Meye Thompson, George Eldon Ladd Professor of New Testament, Fuller Theological Seminary

"D'Elia's biography of George Eldon Ladd is powerful and perceptive. He introduces us to a person who is spiritual and ambitious, intelligent and insecure, bold and troubled all at the same time. This is compelling reading for anyone interested in either the intellectual history of Evangelicalism or the movement's continuing struggle to secure and maintain 'a place at the table' of the mainstream scholarship." --Douglas Jacobsen, Distinguished Professor of Church History and Theology at Messiah College, and author of Thinking in the Spirit: Theologies of the Early Pentecostal Movement

About the Author

John A. D'Elia is the Senior Minister of the American Church in London. He is a graduate of UCLA, Fuller Theological Seminary, and the University of Stirling in Scotland. He is from Burbank, California.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (June 16, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195341678
• ISBN-13: 978-0195341676
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 1 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,428,703 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars The Already/Not Yet of Ladd's Personal & Professional Life October 18, 2008

By Trevin Wax

Format:Hardcover

Fifty years ago, evangelicals were mired in endless debates over theories about the Last Days. Dispensational theology dominated the outlook of most evangelical scholarship and (for many) had become a key doctrine that determined whether one was orthodox or not.

Evangelical scholars found themselves largely ignored by the wider world of academia. Many happily ignored the academy in return. The scholarly dimension of evangelical identity was faltering as the movement was plagued by in-house squabbles and debates.

Into this defining era of evangelical controversy came George Eldon Ladd, professor of New Testament at Fuller Seminary from 1950-82 and one of the most important voices in 20th century evangelicalism. Though Ladd may remain unknown to most evangelicals in the pews, he left a legacy that continues to bear fruit within the evangelical academy. His theology also brought to many evangelical churches a new openness to different eschatological interpretations.

Ladd broke through the sterile debates about whether the kingdom of God was a present, spiritual reality or a future, earthly reality. He popularized a view of the kingdom as having two dimensions: "already/not yet." Ladd was also one of the first solid evangelical scholars to go outside the fundamentalist camp in order to interact with liberal scholars in the academy, men like Rudolph Bultmann.

John A. D'Elia has recently completed a fascinating biographical look at this evangelical theologian. A Place at the Table: George Eldon Ladd and the Rehabilitation of Evangelical Scholarship in America (Oxford University Press, 2008) details Ladd's early life, his conversion and his academic preparation. D'Elia describes the difficulty Ladd had in obtaining his own education. He shows how Ladd's childhood negatively affected his later life, specifically his marriage and family life.

A Place at the Table is much more than a biographical sketch of Ladd's life. D'Elia cautiously enters into the theological discussion he describes in order to spotlight Ladd's contributions to evangelical scholarship and his interactions with scholars from outside the evangelical world. Those who read D'Elia's book will receive an education, not merely regarding the historical aspects of Ladd's interesting life, but also regarding the theological debates of the time.

Readers like myself may be surpised by the fact that Dispensationalism was viewed as a test of orthodoxy for evangelicals in the 1950's. Ladd showed great courage in going against the Dispensational tide. His appeal to evangelicals to not blacklist each other over secondary issues is one of his most admirable qualities.

A Place at the Table is an educational look at Ladd's life and accomplishments - the good, bad, and the ugly. D'Elia does not shy away from describing Ladd's personal failures. Ladd lived many years with a crumbling marriage, a neglected family, and a heavy drinking problem. Obsessed with his desire to make a splash in the broader acadmic world, Ladd is crushed by another theologian's negative review of his work. In the last decade of his life, Ladd came to see his attempts at engaging scholarship outside of evangelicalism as a "fool's dream," and he entered a period of depression from which he never fully recovered.

And yet, D'Elia's biography shows rays of hope in Ladd's later life. As a scholar passionate about the Great Commission, Ladd would often get choked up when talking about the gospel. He deeply mourned the loss of his wife. Amazingly, some of his most difficult years personally were some of his most productive professionally.

A Place at the Table provides valuable lessons for seminary students or other evangelical scholars. Ladd's example serves to remind us of the importance of cherishing our families. Ladd's example also serves as a warning against overestimating the opinions of others. And D'Elia's description of the theological debates of the 1950's provides some needed perspective regarding the debates that are currently raging in evangelicalism today.

Readers of A Place at the Table may be disappointed to discover that Ladd is not a larger-than-life hero, but a flawed Christian whom God used mightily in spite of his sins and failures. One senses the "already/not yet" nature of the kingdom pulsating through the narrative of Ladd's life. Had Ladd's personal life demonstrated a little more of the "already," perhaps the story would have had a different outcome. After finishing the book, I felt a strange mixture of sadness and hopefulness, and a deep yearning for the "not yet" which Ladd so strongly proclaimed.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book About A Great Scholar With A Bad Life February 24, 2009

By Shane Kastler

Format:Hardcover

This book gives a fascinating account of one of the twentieth century's most influential New Testament scholars. George Eldon Ladd had a sharp mind and a strong desire to influence the liberal scholarly community for the Kingdom of God. Though raised and brought to faith in a Dispensational church, Ladd grew up to reject Dispensationalism in favor of Historic Premillennialism, which differentiates from Dispensationalism in that it does not hold to a pre-tribulational rapture, nor a distinction between the nation of Israel and the Christian Church. Ladd was educated at Gordon College (today known as Gordon-Conwell); and after pastoring several New England Baptist churches, earned a Ph.D. from Harvard University. Though his doctoral studies were under the tutelage of a liberal advisor, Ladd retained his evangelical faith and sought to write a work, from a conservative theological perspective, that even the liberal's of the higher criticism camp, would have to appreciate. Unto this end, Ladd devoted his academic life, and in the process, sacrificed much of his family life.
In many ways, Ladd was a deeply troubled man, as D'Elia depicts in this work. Ladd had a cold relationship with his father, who appears to have been overbearing. And he was jealous of his younger brother, who was always more popular, athletic, and approved of by their father. Ladd eventually marries and has two children, but his commitment (obsession) with his studies leads to an alienation with his wife, and children. Beginning in the 1950's Ladd starts to struggle with alcoholism and eventually sexual sin (D'Elia implies that Ladd probably had an affair while on sabbatical in Germany and also made a pass at the wife of one of his students.) His alcoholism becomes worse, until eventually his employer, Fuller Theological Seminary has to reprimand and suspend him for one year. Ladd considers divorcing his wife, but never does. She dies in 1976. In 1980, Ladd, who by now is an uncontrollable alcoholic, has a stroke and spends his last two years in a nursing home, dying in 1982.
Though Ladd's psyche was always brittle, it seems that he was ultimately pushed over the edge in the 1960s shortly after completing his magnum opus. For ten solid years, he had worked on a book called "Jesus and the Kingdom" that was meant to be a work to engage the liberal scholars of the day. One book reviewer, Norman Perrin, panned the book in a theological journal, and Ladd absolutely fell apart. From that point on, he considered his life a failure and he slid deeper and deeper into emotional duress and alcoholism. Friends, colleagues, and family all tried to help him but he refused. Ultimately his behavior cost him numerous relationships, including those of his children who rarely spoke to him. This is the tragedy of Ladd's life, and a lesson for those who would put work, even God's work, ahead of their relationship with the Lord and the family he has given them to care for. But Ladd's academic achievements were indeed profound.
While dispensational theology was the predominant conservative view of the day, Ladd confronted it with some of its unbiblical and extreme tendencies. In so doing, he was much maligned by leading dispensationalists such as John Walvoord, but he added another, much needed perspective to the debate regarding eschatology. Ladd is still considered the most prominent twentieth century spokesman for the millennial view known as Historic Premillennialism, and is widely read on the subject even today.
Ladd also wrote a Theology of the New Testament, that some have considered on par with John Calvin's "Institutes of the Christian Religion" in its scope and influence. Clearly Ladd had something to offer the world of Christian scholarship. But sadly, his personal life didn't coincide with his stated, written beliefs.
My conclusion of this work is that it is a tremendous read for those interested in the theological academy, and for those who would like a glimpse into the personal life of this truly tragic figure. D'Elia does a masterful job of weaving the scholarly achievements of Ladd with his personal life in way that is interesting, albeit sad. Ladd's life and work have much to teach us in both positive and negative ways. D'Elia brings this out clearly in a book that is both intellectually challenging, and personally interesting. I recommend its reading, and the reading of Ladd's work, without reservation.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Important and accessible June 30, 2008

By D. Pickett

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is an important read for anyone interested in Evangelicalism in American society and academia, even more so for seminary grads or students in, from, or interested in American Evangelical traditions. D'Elia is exhaustive in his use of sources, but presents the material in a very readable narrative, telling Ladd's poignant story within the larger story of Evangelical scholarship in the mid to late 20th century. I've spent very little time studying Ladd's writing, but found his story fascinating.