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February 02, 2005
More on the Intellectual Evangelical
Mark addressed my post below, and I think he makes a strong case that while there is room for improvement, things aren't nearly as bad as they seem. But allow me to flesh out my own idea a little bit. I'm thankful for men like Ravi Zacharias and Lee Strobel, but in terms of intellectual conservatism - in the tradition of Russell Kirk, William F. Buckley, Norman Podhoretz and George Will - where are we as evangelicals? I'm not trying to throw stones; I'm twenty-three and still trying to read my way through the conservative canon, to say nothing of the Western canon as a whole.
I said in my original post at Matt Crash! that I felt blogs and Dobson-esque social activism can be a good thing (though not neccesarily). I stand by that, but I wonder if, in addition to our great theologians, apologists and philosophers, evangelicals will ever have a Bill Buckley or a Norman Podhoretz?
(Note: I originally attributed Mark's post to Jim, but have since made a correction. Also note the comments section in my post below that Rick and our pal DaddyPundit have reminded me that the Weekly Standard's Terry Eastland is also an evangelical. I stand corrected.)
Posted by Matt at February 2, 2005 08:51 AM
Comments
Evangelicals may one day have a Buckley or a Podhoretz (and may already), but what would it take to get someone other than evangelicals to notice?
Posted by: Drew at February 2, 2005 11:10 AM
I would argue that right now they clearly don't. If one existed, he/she would probably have a job right now at a major publication or think tank. This is not an issue of bias or anything else. I think talent and effort are still rewarded in this country. The thing about WFB or Podhoretz is that made a concerted to be involved in politics and society. I've yet to see any evangelical, on an intellectual level, move towards engagement in politics or cultural matters. I'll take this up again later. Work calls...
Posted by: Matt at February 2, 2005 12:19 PM
Don't forget about the front-line warriors in the Evolution/Intelligent Design controversy. Philip Johnson, Michael Behe, and William Dembski, among others, are taking the debate right to academia and influencing the educational establishment.
Posted by: John G at February 2, 2005 12:36 PM
Again, I'm speaking of politics and culture. Conservatism in the traditional sense, but I'm thankful for the contributions these men make.
Posted by: Matt at February 2, 2005 12:59 PM
We've seen how Johnson and Behe have been treated by the mainstream. I'm not sure other evangelical thinkers would be treated any differently.
Posted by: Drew at February 2, 2005 01:45 PM
Again, I'll get into this later. I'm starting to think I wasn't clear enough in my initial post. I'm not talking about going to work for the NYT. I'm talking about getting a job with a major conservative think tank or publication. As we've already established, there's hardly an evangelical to be found.
Posted by: Matt at February 2, 2005 03:11 PM
Although not quite meeting your criteria, I think that Gilbert Meilaender and Robert P. George come pretty close? J. Budziszewski may be another.
Posted by: Mark Sides at February 2, 2005 03:17 PM
I'd have to throw Os Guinness' name into the mix for any list of Evangelical Intellectuals.
Fit Bodies, Fat Minds is a classic in this milieu, and his work at The Trinity Forum is outstanding.
Posted by: Jared at February 3, 2005 03:14 PM