The Unintended Consequences of Evangelical Cooperation

Last updated on: April 29, 2015 at 7:52 pm by Guest Contributor

The Unintended Consequences of Evangelical Cooperation 2015-04-29T19:52:58-05:00 Guest Contributor

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.

by Miles Mullin, II

R3 Contributor

Last year, Crossway announced the publication of David Wells’ God in the Whirlwind: How the Holy-love of God Reorients Our World, promoting this new book as “a remedy for evangelicalism’s superficial theology.” Merits of the book aside–and I am sure there are many–claiming a remedy for evangelicalism’s superficial theology demonstrates both unflagging optimism, and, more importantly, a misunderstanding of the nature of contemporary evangelicalism. In reality, a superficial theology is endemic to evangelicalism.

So I argue in my article, “Evangelicalism as Trojan Horse: The Failure of Neo-evangelical Social Theology and the Decline of Denominationalism,” which appears in the most recent edition of Criswell Theological Review. Further, I contend that while the cooperative, culturally-engaged, and evangelistic movement known as “the new evangelicalism” successfully expanded evangelical presence,visibility, and influence by building an evangelical coalition upon some core commitments, those efforts came with a cost. In the end, the unintended consequence of that expansion were the decline of denominational loyalty, vigor, and theological reflection about matters related to public life and the common good. Thus, while post-war evangelicals succeeded in “uniting for action,” they only did so by intuitively and intentionally downplaying their denominational theologies, traditions, and distinctions.

Ironically then, the “grand vision”–as my friend Owen Strachan is wont to call it–of neo-evangelical leaders towards a unified, theologically-grounded evangelical social vision and mission undermined the ability for participant denominations to do the same.

From the conclusion:

In the end, the “new evangelical” efforts towards social engagement accomplished much. At the same time, they contributed to the demise of denominational commitment and rigorous tradition-specific theological engagement with social issues by encouraging social efforts borne out of the minimalist theology which held the movement together. Throughout its early years, the National Association of Evangelicals rallied denominations around its motto “Cooperation without Compromise.” In practice, the neo-evangelical venture effectively undermined that sentiment, making continuing cooperation contingent on compromise. As political power increased for NAE-type evangelicals in the 1970s and beyond, a return to denominational rigor would have meant the fragmentation of the movement and a loss of cultural and political influence. In this way, cooperative evangelical efforts towards unified social action became a Trojan horse. The cooperation that looked like a gift to conversion-oriented denominations at mid-century undermined the theological rigor of those same denominations, replacing it with a blasé evangelicalism-of-the-public-square possessed of little depth.

You can read the rest of the article, as well as fine articles from Nathan Finn, A. Boyd Luter, Tyler Taber, Paul C. Maxwell, and Paul Winstead either in Criswell Theological Review 12/1 (Fall 2014) or on ATLA. I hope you will.

Follow Miles on Twitter @msmullin

Uncategorized

Previous Post

January 14, 2015

No Ma’am, We Will Not Forget: Phylicia Rashad, Bill Cosby, and Tamar

Next Post

January 15, 2015 Evangelical Masculinity: On the Christian call to "Act Like Men"

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Amy Steele Andre E. Johnson Book Reviews/Series Brian Foulks Call for Chapters Carol Howard Merritt Classes Conferences Contributors Crystal St.Marie Lewis Daniel White Hodge Earle Fisher Eulogy Fredrick Robinson Guest Contributions Henry McNeal Turner Institutes Interviews Joseph Boston Katherine Whitfield Kimberly Peeler-Ringer Lectures/Roundtables Natalie Bullock Brown R3 Book Series R3 Contributor Rashad Grove Readers Reflections Symposiums Teaching Traci Ellis Travis Harris Uncategorized Video

Select a Month June 2020 February 2020 December 2019 November 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 October 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 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz