A Report on the Place of Writing in Christianity

Christianity is a religion of writing. The Written Word is our standard and guide. In fact, we are told not to go beyond the bounds of what is written (1 Cor. 4:6). Writing is an art, yet it is an art form that nearly everyone is capable of learning. It is not an esoteric, mysterious, mystical ability that some possess and others do not. Good writing is mostly a learned, practiced discipline. Of course, to some this art comes more naturally than to others (and I can personally think of quite a few who are far better at it than I).

In the final analysis, however, we can all learn to be accomplished writers. Many authors write something every day, even if it isn't very good or they erase it immediately after writing it. But they write. Every day. I know that I do not live up to this standard. I would encourage any and all Christians to develop writing skills. Christianity needs committed, serious scholars to continue developing a Christian worldview.

Which gives me something of a segue (albeit weak) into the actual topic of this post, which is the state of current Christian scholarship.

In 1976, Dr. Gary North wrote that

. . . in the twentieth century, they [Christians] have abandoned the world of scholarship to the secularists. They confine their writing to simple tracts, sentimental biographies, pietistic devotional literature, and, at best, to antiquarian theological studies. With the exception of the Wycliff translators--significantly, a labor of language--Christians have made little impact on the world of ideas and scholarship.[1]

This trend that Dr. North describs above can be traced back (at the very least) to the Scopes Monkey Trial in the 1920s when "fundementalist" Christianity lost disasterously (in terms of respectability) to the secular evolutionists and sceptics. After that time, Christianity largely attempted to retreat from the overlying culture, scared to put itself under the scathing ridicule of the sceptics and secularists, who eagerly stepped into the intellectual void. This trend was still dominant in 1976 when North wrote those words. I do not necessarily believe that they are entirely accurate of the current intellectual climate.

Today, evangelical and fundementalist Christians are putting themselves out there again, determined to reclaim what was lost, intellectually and socially, from the secularist intruders. Even major, neo-evangelical organizations like InterVarsity are publishing highly intellectual books,[2] and all recognizing a Biblical worldview and how the evidence fits in a Christian worldview. This is happenning slowly, perhaps more slowly in the "mainstream" than some (such as myself) would like, but it is occuring nevertheless.

However, most of the advanced Christian scholarship being done today are from two sources, 1) the creation science movement,[3] and 2) the Reformed position,[4] both of which are growing rapidly.[5]

Thanks to the work of Cornelius Van Til[6] and his followers[7], the concept of Presuppositionalism (or worldview) has spread throughout Christian thinking. So much so that it is common place for normal, average Christians (and even the wider culture) to talk about "worldviews," "interpretations," "bias," "presuppositions," "ultimate committments," and the like.

Ideas tend to float around a culture. Those who do not read as a habit merely absorb the culture's ideas. This is what Christianity has been doing. Similarly, a movement or belief which does not produce books and literature does not introduce ideas into a culture. I believe that Christianity to be slowing reasserting itself as a leading idea-producer. That's what Christians should be doing. They should be setting the terms of the discussions by leading the culture by example. What I am describing will not be easy or simple. There will be incredible resistance to evangelical Christians reasserting themselves into the culture and taking the lead. I mean, what non-Christian says to himself, "you know what we need? We need some consistant, strong, confident, evangelical Christians leading this culture"?! But ultimately, our worldview is the only worldview that does not result in a complete death of meaning and understanding.[8] So let us continue to reassert ourselves into this culture, and let us continue to develop our Christian worldview for every field of knowledge, science, history, political science, economics, etc.

References:
[1] Gary North (ed.), Foundations of Christian Scholarship: Essays in the Van Til Perspective (Valecito, CA: Ross House Books, 1976), p. 332

[2] See James W. Sire, Habits of the Mind: Intellectual Life as a Christian Calling (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000); James W. Sire, Discipleship of the Mind: Learning to Love God in the Ways We Think (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1990); James W. Sire, The Universe Next Door: A Basic Worldview Catalog (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 4th Ed., 2004); Douglas Groothuis, Truth Decay: Defending Christianity Against the Challenge of Postmodernism (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000); Chawkat Moucarry, The Prophet and the Messiah: An Arab Christian's Perspective on Islam & Christianity (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2002); Franscis Schaeffer, The God Who Is There (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 30th Ed., 1998); James A. Herrick, The Making of the New Spirituality: The Eclipse of the Western Religious Tradition (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2004), as well as numerous others.

[3] See such tomes as John Woodmorappe, Noah's Ark: A Feasibility Study (El Cajon, CA: Institute for Creation Research, 1996); John Woodmorappe, The Mythology of Modern Dating Methods (El Cajon, CA: Institute for Creation Research, 1999); John Woodmorappe, Studies in Flood Geology (El Cajon, CA: Institute for Creation Research, 1993); Gary Bates, Alien Intrusion: UFOs and the Evolution Connection (Green Forest, AR: Master Books, 2004); Jonathan Sarfati, Refuting Compromise (Green Forest, AR: Master Books, 2004); Michael Oard, An Ice Age Caused by the Genesis Flood (El Cajon, CA: Institute for Creation Research, 1990); Larry Vardiman et al. (ed.), Radioisotopes and the Age of the Earth (El Cajon, CA: Institute for Creation Research, 2000); just to name a few.

[4] See Keith A. Mathison, When Shall These Things Be?: A Reformed Response to Hyper-Preterism (Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing, 2004); Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr., He Shall Have Dominion: A Postmillenial Eschatology (Tyler, TX: Institute for Christian Economics, 1992); Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr., The Greatness of the Great Commission: The Christian Enterprise in a Fallen World (Tyler, TX: Instititute for Christian Economics, 1994); Greg Bahnsen and Kenneth L. Gentry Jr., House Divided: The Breakup of Dispensational Theology (Tyler, TX: Institute for Christian Economics, 1989); Robert A. Peterson, Hell on Trial: The Case for Eternal Punishment (Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishign, 1995); Peter Jones, The Gnostic Empire Strikes Back: An Old Heresy for the New Age (Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1992); Harry Reeder with David Swavely, From Embers to a Flame: How God Can Revitalize Your Church (Phiilipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed, 2004); Kenneth L. Gentry Jr., Before Jerusalem Fell: Dating the Book of Revelation: An Exegetical and Historical Argument for a Pre-A.D. 70 Composition (San Francisco, CA: Christian Universities Press, 1997); and many, many others.

[5] I find this statement from the 2005 InterVarsity Press catalog interesting. In regards to Calvinism's impact in evangelical circles, they describe Calvinism as a "dominant perspective within evangelical theology."

[6] See Cornelius Van Til, The Defense of the Faith (Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1976); Cornelius Van Til, Christian Apologetics (Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1978 [2003]); and his other numerous works.

[7] Van Til's followers include Greg Bahnsen, Kenneth L. Gentry Jr., Gary North, Rousas John Rushdoony, George Grant, Gary DeMar, Ray Sutton, Francis A. Schaeffer, and others.

[8] Rousas John Rushdoony, The Death of Meaning (Valecito, CA: Ross House Books, 2002); Rousas John Rushdoony, The Word of Flux: Modern Man and the Problem of Knowledge (Valecito, CA: Ross House Books, 1998).