Trusting Non-Christians

Last updated on: May 8, 2020 at 5:30 pm by D. G. Hart

Trusting Non-Christians 2020-05-08T17:30:56-04:00 D. G. Hart

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

When you recommend worldview w-w as Protestants have ever since Francis Schaeffer popularized some of Abraham Kuyper’s ideas, it may come as a surprise when you also praise the outlook of authors and editors who are not necessarily Christian, at least for understanding the past.

But that is exactly what Thomas Kidd does in a recent post about choosing books about history:

There are three great ways to discern the intellectual value of a book. First, consider the author’s profile. Does the author have a position or track record that would suggest that he or she is a qualified expert in the topic? If you’re reading on a specifically Christian history topic, for example, does the person hold a position at a seminary or similar scholarly employer that suggests they have credentials and trustworthiness? Conversely, one of the most common warning signs is when an author parlays political, religious, or media connections in order to write on a history topic on which they (or their co-author/ghost writer, who did most of the work) have no obvious expertise.

… Second, look at the publisher. Some publishers traffic mainly in junk food history, while others stake their brand on publishing highly qualified, respected authorities. (I am speaking here mostly of the secular publishing business; many at TGC know the Christian publishing business far better than I do.) Trade publishers like Knopf and Basic Books, and academic houses like Yale and Oxford University Press, base their reputations on doing books that are readable but are serious, influential, and academically credible. Rarely books at such presses turn out not to be credible, but in general these are the types of presses that base their business on hitting the sweet spot—intellectual seriousness plus readability. (Major academic presses like Oxford tend to have both academic and trade book divisions—their books that are priced less than about $30 are the trade books.)

Finally, use reliable sources to vet books before you buy. The primary reason that I subscribe to The Wall Street Journal is because of their book reviews (daily, and in their weekend book review section). They generally only review books from credible authors and presses, and use credentialed experts to do the reviews. Reading reviews in the Journal, the New York Review of Books, and similar outlets, introduces me to a wide range of books that I might be interested in reading, but are not in my field. (It is part of my job to keep up with books in colonial and Revolutionary American history, the history of evangelicalism, and related topics—I tend to find out about such books through more specialized academic sources like history journals.)

The closest Kidd gets to a Christian w-w is in the first point. You may want to read someone who teaches at a seminary if you’re going to read about Christian history. Otherwise, the editors at trade presses like Basic Books or at university presses such as Oxford and Yale are likely not going to be readers of The Gospel Coalition’s publications. The same goes for the book review editors at the Wall Street Journal or New York Review of Books.

This is a rare recognition of the value of non-Christian worldviews outlooks. It makes sense since Kidd himself publishes at these presses and as a member of the academic guild he regularly relies on scholars who have no stake in matters of faith but have lots of insights into the past. This is why the insistence of worldview w-w thinking makes little sense.

By the way, Kidd’s point about junk food vs. academic history is one that could well extend to the world of Protestant theology. Protestants have plenty of outlets for popular theology — Ligonier, Gospel Coalition, Modern Reformation, and Reformation 21 come to mind. And they also have academic theology published in journals such as Calvin Theological Journal, Westminster Theological Journal, and The Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society. But what about a middle brow theological journal, one that is not written for academics but also not designed to teach basic doctrine to the uninitiated? Where do you go to read an author work out theological questions in a non-technical way? Roman Catholics do this at publications like First Things, Commonweal, and America. Why can’t Protestants do that also?

Image

Previous Post

May 7, 2020

Church Responses to Quarantine

Next Post

May 12, 2020 Can Love Save Liberalism

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 2016 Presidential Election 2020 Presidential Election Apocalypse Bible in American Life Biblical authority Books and culture Calvinism Church Life Civil Religion Culture Wars Doctrine evangelicalism Gullibility Heaven and Hell Intellectual life Jesus Ministry modernity moralism Nationalism New Testament Old Testament Otherworldiness Otherworldliness Paul Peter Piety Popular culture Protestantism Psalms Puritans Race Roman Catholicism sacred/secular distinction Sex Shameless Self Promotion Sports Ten Commandments U.S. politics Uncategorized vulgarity worship

Select a Month January 2022 October 2021 August 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz