Intellectual Christianity

[historyb]

In the thread Do we know the year of Christ's Return @JohnDB said in part this

Well I can get into a discussion on Pelagius/Augustine/Calvin disparities and similarities....
Or Syncretism of the Persian Empire in the Roman Empire and subsequently Judaism but who is going to be able to keep up?

I begin thinking after my response that intellectual Christianity is pretty much nonexistence anymore. We had the giants like JRR Tolkien and C.S. Lewis in days gone by but none I see none with some exceptions like NT Wright who I do think is on the level of Lewis and Tolkien.

Now I use to be an evangelical in the days of the past and you all know I gave that up. When I was in the Christian movement of evangelicalism I knew of no great Christian intellect, maybe AW Tozer but I literally never heard of him till recently and he was in the same generation as Lewis, Tolkien and the others. I can not place my finger upon any modern Christian intellect in the evangelical movement.

I know from my time in the evangelical movement that intellectual Christianity or anything was quite looked down upon. Even the movies are not that much into real deep thinking that have been produced so all this has me wondering, since this is primarily an evangelical board I thought maybe you all would know the answer to my question which is:

Are there any modern intellectual Christianity in the Christian evangelical movement?

 

[ChristisGod]

William Lane Craig
Alister McGrath
Albert Mohler

Are a few that come to mind.

 

[JohnDB]

In the thread Do we know the year of Christ's Return @JohnDB said in part this


I begin thinking after my response that intellectual Christianity is pretty much nonexistence anymore. We had the giants like JRR Tolkien and C.S. Lewis in days gone by but none I see none with some exceptions like NT Wright who I do think is on the level of Lewis and Tolkien.

Now I use to be an evangelical in the days of the past and you all know I gave that up. When I was in the Christian movement of evangelicalism I knew of no great Christian intellect, maybe AW Tozer but I literally never heard of him till recently and he was in the same generation as Lewis, Tolkien and the others. I can not place my finger upon any modern Christian intellect in the evangelical movement.

I know from my time in the evangelical movement that intellectual Christianity or anything was quite looked down upon. Even the movies are not that much into real deep thinking that have been produced so all this has me wondering, since this is primarily an evangelical board I thought maybe you all would know the answer to my question which is:

Are there any modern intellectual Christianity in the Christian evangelical movement?

Actually yes!
And things are done somewhat behind the scenes.
A friend of mine is a researcher who occasionally gets periods of time (paid for by someone) to go in and put together a research paper...
These papers get published in magazines and journals...IF the patron likes what was proven. If it gets published then it usually goes into some kind of literature or sermon prep book that Pastors pay for to use to preach sermons.
(Most pastor's use canned sermons)

The one I know is Todd Patterson...he regularly works in Slovakia at the local college and his wife works at Slovakia's only Christian School. (Capitol city)

You can Google him...
Last year I was at a retreat reading a paper he wrote a few years back and skipping the lectures... only to find out that the next lecture was covering the exact material in the paper that Todd wrote.

Some of the things that we talked about he has written unpublished papers on. But he could share the stuff with me orally.

But the research is basically owned by the patrons... usually with a particular theology to protect.

But research materials such as some of the finest anthropology, history, and etc from such publications as JANES (Journal of Ancient Near East Studies) and others like this are made available.

Often it's contextual research of language construction where the various manuscripts are compared and the researchers are looking for a completed theme that is disrupted by language that is thought to be accurate but isn't. (Usually minor)

Sometimes it's research into the references of Sifre or Talmud.

Let's put it this way...
Some of the leadership of various denominations know that some of their theologies are wrong...but do nothing about it.

 

[historyb]

Actually yes!
And things are done somewhat behind the scenes.
A friend of mine is a researcher who occasionally gets periods of time (paid for by someone) to go in and put together a research paper...
These papers get published in magazines and journals...IF the patron likes what was proven. If it gets published then it usually goes into some kind of literature or sermon prep book that Pastors pay for to use to preach sermons.
(Most pastor's use canned sermons)

The one I know is Todd Patterson...he regularly works in Slovakia at the local college and his wife works at Slovakia's only Christian School. (Capitol city)

You can Google him...
Last year I was at a retreat reading a paper he wrote a few years back and skipping the lectures... only to find out that the next lecture was covering the exact material in the paper that Todd wrote.

Some of the things that we talked about he has written unpublished papers on. But he could share the stuff with me orally.

But the research is basically owned by the patrons... usually with a particular theology to protect.

But research materials such as some of the finest anthropology, history, and etc from such publications as JANES (Journal of Ancient Near East Studies) and others like this are made available.

Often it's contextual research of language construction where the various manuscripts are compared and the researchers are looking for a completed theme that is disrupted by language that is thought to be accurate but isn't. (Usually minor)

Sometimes it's research into the references of Sifre or Talmud.

Let's put it this way...
Some of the leadership of various denominations know that some of their theologies are wrong...but do nothing about it.

Your friend reminds me of St. Luke

 

[BloodBought 1953]

In the thread Do we know the year of Christ's Return @JohnDB said in part this


I begin thinking after my response that intellectual Christianity is pretty much nonexistence anymore. We had the giants like JRR Tolkien and C.S. Lewis in days gone by but none I see none with some exceptions like NT Wright who I do think is on the level of Lewis and Tolkien.

Now I use to be an evangelical in the days of the past and you all know I gave that up. When I was in the Christian movement of evangelicalism I knew of no great Christian intellect, maybe AW Tozer but I literally never heard of him till recently and he was in the same generation as Lewis, Tolkien and the others. I can not place my finger upon any modern Christian intellect in the evangelical movement.

I know from my time in the evangelical movement that intellectual Christianity or anything was quite looked down upon. Even the movies are not that much into real deep thinking that have been produced so all this has me wondering, since this is primarily an evangelical board I thought maybe you all would know the answer to my question which is:

Are there any modern intellectual Christianity in the Christian evangelical movement?

C S Lewis believed in , and supported the Satanic Fairy Tale Of “Purgatory” .....proof that he had no understanding of True Christianity.....

 

[Enoch111]

Are there any modern intellectual Christianity in the Christian evangelical movement?

This is of absolutely no consequence. Christianity is supernatural and supra-rational. And only those who become as little children will enter into the Kingdom of God.

 

[Enoch111]

William Lane Craig

Craig says (mistakenly) that evolution is compatible with Christianity, so how can he be an evangelical?

 

[aspen]

He was sp

This is of absolutely no consequence. Christianity is supernatural and supra-rational. And only those who become as little children will enter into the Kingdom of God.

He was speaking about faith not intellect

 

[quietthinker]

Craig says (mistakenly) that evolution is compatible with Christianity, so how can he be an evangelical?

does he like Trump?

 

[ChristisGod]

Craig says (mistakenly) that evolution is compatible with Christianity, so how can he be an evangelical?

I was naming some intellectuals not that I agree with them.

 

[historyb]

This is of absolutely no consequence. Christianity is supernatural and supra-rational. And only those who become as little children will enter into the Kingdom of God.

Yes the anti-intellectual of evangelicalism, as if God didn't give an intellect. That's why evangelicals fall for everything and are afraid of other things because they leave brains at the door in modern evangelicalism. Didn't use to be like that but shysters got in and fooled evangelicals into the idea that thinking is bad, very bad and now they assume they must be dumb.

 

[Prayer Warrior]

Yes the anti-intellectual of evangelicalism, as if God didn't give an intellect. That's why evangelicals fall for everything and are afraid of other things because they leave brains at the door in modern evangelicalism. Didn't use to be like that but shysters got in and fooled evangelicals into the idea that thinking is bad, very bad and now they assume they must be dumb.

You paint evangelicals with a very broad brush, a lot of generalizations. You can’t possibly know what all evangelicals think. Even the term evangelical is a very general term.

 

[historyb]

You paint evangelicals with a very broad brush, a lot of generalizations. You can’t possibly know what all evangelicals think. Even the term evangelical is a very general term.

I was once one and seen first hand how anti intellectual evangelicals are, heck even I was because everyone around me was anti intellectual. You can see from here even a poster on this thread is anti intellectual. I asked for some and got 4 and I do know of one more. That's not many and I know that anti-intellectualism permeates evangelicalism. I hoped it had changed but it doesn't look like it. Not even @JohnDB can have an intellectual conversation here because it would be beyond most here

 

[Rudometkin]

Are there any modern intellectual Christianity in the Christian evangelical movement?

Did you mean, "Are there any modern intellectual Christians in the Christian evangelical movement?"?

 

[Prayer Warrior]

I was once one and seen first hand how anti intellectual evangelicals are, heck even I was because everyone around me was anti intellectual. You can see from here even a poster on this thread is anti intellectual. I asked for some and got 4 and I do know of one more. That's not many and I know that anti-intellectualism permeates evangelicalism. I hoped it had changed but it doesn't look like it. Not even @JohnDB can have an intellectual conversation here because it would be beyond most here

You didn’t attend all evangelical churches, and you didn’t know all evangelicals. But if you are saying that the evangelicals YOU knew were anti-intellectuals, so be it. But you are definitely overgeneralizing to apply that to ALL evangelicals.

BTW, you are aware that overgeneralization is a logical fallacy and not very intellectual, right?

 

[ChristisGod]

You didn’t attend all evangelical churches, and you didn’t know all evangelicals. But if you are saying that the evangelicals YOU knew were anti-intellectuals, so be it. But you are definitely overgeneralizing to apply that to ALL evangelicals.

BTW, you are aware that overgeneralization is a logical fallacy and not very intellectual, right?

There are plenty what I would call biblical intellectuals out there who have written some great works on theology, apologetics and commentaries, I have a library full of them.

 

[Prayer Warrior]

There are plenty what I would call biblical intellectuals out there who have written some great works on theology and commentaries, I have a library full of them.

I agree. One of them just went home to be with the Lord. I was very sad to see Ravi Zacharias go.

 

[Bobby Jo]

I agree. One of them just went home to be with the Lord. I was very sad to see Ravi Zacharias go.

Did not know that he had passed! He was the one I thought of qualifying as such, and this news is certainly heartbreaking for us!

With Best Regards,
Bobby Jo

 

[ChristisGod]

Colin Brown, Donald Guthrie, Beale & Carson, Daniel Wallace, Keener,Hendriksen, Kostenberger, Ridderbos, Bruce, Morris, Howard Marshall, Stott, Ware, Cole, Bauckham,Hurtado, Harris, Bowman, Morey, Letham,White, Packer, Licona,Habernas, McDowell, Geisler, Rhodes, Turek and I could keep going.

 

[ChristisGod]

I agree. One of them just went home to be with the Lord. I was very sad to see Ravi Zacharias go.

and J.I. Packer