Kindle
$20.00
Available instantly
Audiobook
$0.00
with membership trial
Hardcover
$17.98
Paperback
$6.91
Buy used:
$6.91
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime
FREE delivery Sunday, September 22 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Or Prime members get FREE delivery Friday, September 20. Order within 6 hrs 37 mins.
Used: Good | Details
Sold by United Book Distributors
Fulfilled by Amazon
Condition: Used: Good
Comment: Light general wear.

Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is a service we offer sellers that lets them store their products in Amazon's fulfillment centers, and we directly pack, ship, and provide customer service for these products. Something we hope you'll especially enjoy: FBA items qualify for FREE Shipping and Amazon Prime.

If you're a seller, Fulfillment by Amazon can help you grow your business. Learn more about the program.

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Mark A. Noll
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind Paperback – October 19, 1995

by Mark A. Noll (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 233 ratings
See all formats and editions
"The scandal of the evangelical mind is that there is not much of an evangelical mind." So begins this award-winning intellectual history and critique of the evangelical movement by one of evangelicalism's most respected historians.

Unsparing in his judgment, Mark Noll ask why the largest single group of religious Americans--who enjoy increasing wealth, status, and political influence--have contributed so little to rigorous intellectual scholarship in North America. In nourishing believers in the simple truths of the gospel, why have evangelicals failed at sustaining a serious intellectual life and abandoned the universities, the arts, and other realms of "high" culture?

Noll is probing and forthright in his analysis of how this situation came about, but he doesn't end there. Challenging the evangelical community, he sets out to find, within evangelicalism itself, resources for turning the situation around.
 
Previous slide of product details
  1. Print length
    274 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Eerdmans
  4. Publication date
    October 19, 1995
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 0.71 x 9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    9780802841803
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0802841803
  8. See all details
Next slide of product details
Books with Buzz
Books with Buzz
Discover the latest buzz-worthy books, from mysteries and romance to humor and nonfiction. Explore more

From the Publisher

The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind
with a new preface and afterword

Praise for THE SCANDAL OF THE EVANGELICAL MIND

Kristin Kobes Du Mez

Anthea Butler

Heath Carter

KRISTIN KOBES DU MEZ, author of "Jesus and John Wayne"

“More than a quarter century ago, Mark Noll issued a scathing indictment of the evangelical mind. The fact that the scandal has only intensified since then is a testament both to the depth of the problem Noll identified and to the urgent need to revisit its causes and reconsider its remedies at this critical juncture in evangelical history.”

ANTHEA BUTLER, author of "White Evangelical Racism"

“Mark Noll’s Scandal of the Evangelical Mind remains a fresh yet searing critique of anti-intellectualism in evangelicalism. The book is a powerful antidote for evangelicals swayed by soundbites, conspiracy theories, and political hucksterism. An eminent historian of the movement, Noll takes on a prophetic voice once again to save evangelicals from intellectual and spiritual death.”

HEATH W. CARTER, coeditor of "Turning Points in the History of American Evangelicalism"

“This book changed my life. Like countless others who grew up in the thick of the scandal, I found Noll’s ‘cri de coeur on behalf of the intellectual life’ at once revelatory and convicting. In this new edition Noll tackles the post-2016 landscape head on, considering whether ‘the evangelical mind’ is in fact an oxymoron—and ensuring in the process that this book will remain a must-read for decades to come.”

Mark Noll

Meet the Author

Mark A. Noll is the Francis A. McAnaney Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Notre Dame. His many other books include A History of Christianity in the United States and Canada, The Civil War as a Theological Crisis, Jesus Christ and the Life of the Mind, and America’s God: From Jonathan Edwards to Abraham Lincoln.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind, by Mark Noll, is "an epistle from a wounded lover." Noll loves God and he loves academics, but he is wounded because many of his colleagues deny the possibility of maintaining the integrity of both loves. Noll's epistle is a memoir, a historical study, and a wide-ranging piece of cultural criticism that argues, "The scandal of the evangelical mind is that there is not much of an evangelical mind." Noll considers the effects of evangelical intellectual atrophy on American politics, science, and the arts, and he ultimately offers wise and practical advice for readers who want to explore the full intellectual implications of the incarnation of Christ. --Michael Joseph Gross

Review

Christianity Today, Book of the Year (1995)

Booklist
"That anti-intellectualism is not inherent in evangelicalism Noll demonstrates by presenting evangelical intellectual history, primarily in the U.S., with scholarly thoroughness and journalistic accessibility. . . Noll well exemplifies what he prays evangelicals generally will learn to value again: thinking like a Christian."

Crisis
"Mark Noll is the McManis Professor of Christian Thought at Wheaton College, and so has a vested interest in adding to the number of thinking evangelicals. That he had the capacity to do so is demonstrated by this learned, lucid book. . . In any case, Noll's excellent book is likely to influence the development of the evangelical mind and deserves the widest discussion."

Dialog
"Noll's book provides a bold analysis of the history of evangelical thought in America. Scandal may itself be a history-making book. Named 'Book of the Year' by Christianity Today, this volume is a vigorous sign of the renewal of evangelical thinking for which its author calls. This book should be read by persons interested in enlightenment in America, the legacy of fundamentalism, and the relationship of evangelical Christianity to science and politics. This book should be required reading for anyone who still does not know the difference between a fundamentalist and an evangelical."

Equip for Ministry
"This book must be rated as one of the top ten books of the year, at least for our readers."

Evangelical Studies Bulletin
"This is a book that every American historian ought to read precisely because it makes one think hard about a subject and a discipline in a way that few books do. The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind brilliantly reverses the balance in the principle that the best scholarship is necessarily morally informed, a principle widely, if quietly, shared by the left and right."

Publishers Weekly
"Required reading for those seeking to understand the often peculiar relationship between Evangelical religion and secular culture, this is a brilliant study by—yes—a first-rate Evangelical mind."

Southwestern Journal of Theology
"This is a must read book. Its being named the 1995 Christianity Today Book of the Year is not undeserved. It sets the agenda for a very interesting discussion."

The Church of England Newspaper
"Agenda-setting work. . . A 'must-read' for any thinking evangelical."

Theology (U.K.)
"A most impressive book, combining passionate engagement with careful and rational analysis."

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0802841805
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Eerdmans (October 19, 1995)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 274 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780802841803
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0802841803
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.71 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 233 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Mark A. Noll

Mark A. Noll

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
233 global ratings
Spot on! Thank you, Dr. Noll - I share your frustrations. Brilliant and timely book.
5 out of 5 stars
Spot on! Thank you, Dr. Noll - I share your frustrations. Brilliant and timely book.
Helps the reader comprehend the recent susceptability to conspiracy theories, questions of science, and general aversion to deep thinking.
Hide
Thank you for your feedback
Sorry, there was an error
Sorry we couldn't load the review

Top reviews from the United States

arnold
5.0 out of 5 stars The pros and cons of Evangelism Christianity
Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2023
Verified Purchase
Mark Noll is part of the Evangelism Christianity age. He talks about what they are failing at and how they can fix it.
He realizes that the Evangelism age which followed the Fundamentalism age shows where they lack as a group to where they need to be as Christians. Even though the book was originally written in 1994 it was republished in 2022 as an updated book.
He explains what they are lacking and he holds back nothing. Since He is part of the Evangelism Christian age He knows what they are lacking and how they can fix it.
It is a great book and shows what they can do to fix the broken system.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Labarum
5.0 out of 5 stars With Friends Like This...
Reviewed in the United States on November 14, 2005
Verified Purchase
Mark A. Noll begins The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind with a staggering indictment. "The scandal of the evangelical mind", he writes, "is that there is not much of an evangelical mind." With those words begins perhaps the most sobering critique of the place of Evangelical Protestantism within major intellectual currents shaping the culture. This accusation was most striking as it came from within Evangelicalism itself by one of its leading scholars. Since the book's publication, some have applauded and others attacked its major theses, but most will grant that the intellectual landscape of the Evangelical movement was greatly impacted by Noll's criticism and serious new efforts dealing with Evangelicalism and modern culture issue must wrestle with Noll's work.

In the four sections of The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind (covering the importance of the scandal, an historical analysis of the scandal, negative repercussions of the scandal, and some hopeful signs of a renaissance in Evangelical thought), Noll meticulously builds a case that the Evangelical disengagement from intellectual pursuits has rendered it impotent to interact within the major intellectual currents of the day. Unable to develop a uniquely Evangelical approach to issues of higher culture, the Evangelical response - if any - is often dependent upon the work of scholars from Roman Catholicism and other Protestant traditions. This sterility of thought fosters a retreat into an Evangelical ghetto where the lack of interaction with competing ideas leaves faulty presuppositions unchallenged and its own fruitful sources untapped.

Noll is particularly to be commended for his excellent insights into the genesis of the current intellectual malaise. Pointing out the strong efforts of Puritans such as Jonathan Edwards to vigorously address the major intellectual themes of their day (following a long tradition of such efforts by Protestants since the Reformation), he traces a number of interacting factors joining together to produce the uniquely American strain of Protestantism. These include the populist revivals of the Great Awakening, the "common sense" Baconian approach to all inquiry promoted by the Scottish Enlightenment, and the spirit of anti-intellectualism spurred on by modernist views of the Bible and debate on the Darwin's evolutionary theories.

Noll sees in current Evangelical uses of Scripture an attempt to recycle ideas discarded elsewhere in the Church as lacking a proper appreciation for historical and cultural contexts. Locked into a system of thought indelibly marked by the nineteenth century, they find themselves unable to respond to intellectual movements far more complex than their narrow categories can handle.

Becoming more optimistic in the last section of the book, Noll focuses on signs of a possible renaissance of Evangelical thinking. Interestingly, much of what Noll views as positive signs are the result of influences from interactions with other Christians. In the process of pointing out many that Evangelical distinctives are not essential to Christianity, Noll seems to inadvertently suggest the way for Evangelicals to become more intellectually rigorous is to become less Evangelical.

It remains to be seen whether it is possible to reform Evangelicalism along the lines Noll poposes without becoming something else entirely. Whether one thinks of them as strengths or weaknesses, a downplaying of those aspects of Evangelicalism that Noll finds most disturbing (anti-intellectual strains of populism, self-righteous separatism, strict interpretations of Biblical inerrancy, methods of hermeneutics based upon outmoded theories of textual objectivity, dispensational approaches to eschatology, attacks on scientific theories) would so alter the landscape of the Evangelical movement as to lose any claim of continuity. Is it possible for a Christian who eschewed the imminent rapture, did not approach the Bible as a source of "proof texts", and reconciled his faith with evolution to be identified as an Evangelical? Without the emotional hold those distinctives generate would they not then descend into the same malaise as mainstream Protestantism?

Noll is not off target in his criticism, but the solution may not lie in Evangelicalism. Many thoughtful Evangelicals, disturbed by the anti-intellectual and ahistorical approaches to the faith common in their doctrine and worship, have resolved the issue by moving to the Anglican, Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, and Reformed traditions where a richer theology exists, a more dignified worship of God prevails, and intellectual inquiry is accorded a more vital role. Thus the best solution to the problem of the Evangelical mind may well lie in turning one's back on Evangelicalism.

Regardless of the future resolution of these issues, The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind is among the most important books on the state of American Christianity written in the last fifty years. For anyone attempting to understand the place of Christianity in American life, it is a must read. For Evangelicals themselves, it may be shocking to grasp the biases within their approaches to their faith, but it may also lead them to a more faith rooted more in the Gospel than in nineteenth century America.
58 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Mary M
4.0 out of 5 stars Church History Made Personal
Reviewed in the United States on August 17, 2014
Verified Purchase
I was gripped by this book and did not want to stop reading it until I was done. I read a lot of nonfiction, but seldom do finish them, even when I'm fascinated. So many things distract me, especially so many other books. But this book, difficult as it was, it was personal - like I was reading about my own extended family. It shed light on things that have been troubling me most of my life.
I had been wanting to read some church history for a while and have investigated a lot of the books available on amazon. This is the one I happened on though, by accident. Church history made personal.
I've read some complaints here that it's very hard to read - well it is kind of. I found it fascinating enough that I struggled through. Some things I probably missed - not sure if it was because of his lack of clarity or my own ineptitude. Would have appreciated a little more clarity early on in the book about what was meant by baconian science. This figured big in Noll's description of the evangelical mind - it wasn't until late in the book that I got a bit more clarity on what was meant by baconian science - still not sure I understand it 100%. I have enough experience with evangelicalism though, that I think I have a pretty good intuitive feel for what he was talking about.
Another thing I will say regarding how difficult the book is - he did dedicate it to the faculty and trustees of Wheaton College. Those were the people he wanted to have front row seats for this - the rest of us may have to struggle a bit. But it was fascinating and worth the struggle.
I have a list now of people and ideas mentioned that I want to do further reading on. It really was a good read.
I had Dr. Noll as a history professor many years back.
If evangelicalism is a part of your life and you want to do some thinking - this is a book for you - I think you'll like it.
22 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
John Doyle
5.0 out of 5 stars A charitable volume on what is wrong with evangelicalism
Reviewed in Canada on October 7, 2022
Verified Purchase
Written a quarter of a century ago, the book is both prophetic and e ncouraging. I think it could have prevented some of the evangelical failures of the Trump Era, if we had listened carefully.
Report
richelle matthieu
4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
Reviewed in France on November 3, 2016
Verified Purchase
Ce livre très lucide et très clair sur le rapport entre les évangéliques nord-américains et l'activité intellectuelle, écrit par un historien lui-même évangélique mais passé maître dans l'auto-critique (ravageuse mais constructive) du mouvement, a fait date. Il mérite encore d'être lu. Pour une "mise à jour" de l'opinion de Mark Noll sur le sujet, on peut lire son article paru en 2004 dans la revue First Things ([...])
One person found this helpful
 Report
Dylan Van Gaalen
5.0 out of 5 stars Refreshing
Reviewed in Canada on January 12, 2022
Verified Purchase
Very informative. Written by an evangelical so it does not have an agenda against evangelicalism but it gives an honest account of why evangelicalism is where it is today (or at least in the 1990s) in the United States. You don’t have to be “all heart and no head” to be a Christian, but evangelical history in the US (and Canada) have made that a difficult reality to take hold of.
Report
George Parker
5.0 out of 5 stars Required Christian Reading
Reviewed in Canada on June 14, 2014
Verified Purchase
Evangelicals need to read, study and discuss this book. If we are to have a real Christian experience, we need to learn how to think in a world where our minds have been really messed up. This book is a start to the road on which God is encountered in a meaningful way. Our thought systems have been seriously censored by the philosophies of the last few centuries - time to leave the fog of man's empty philosophies and find the Creator's ways of truly living in His world.
One person found this helpful
 Report
TheologyPunk
5.0 out of 5 stars Aamazing
Reviewed in Canada on December 4, 2014
Verified Purchase
This book says many things that many Christians desperately need to hear!! I hope that one day the scandal will be over, and there certainly has been great effort into repairing the damage done by the Scandal, but it is not over yet.
Report