Where Shall My Wond'ring Soul Begin? : The Landscape of Evangelical Piety and Thought

by Mark A. Noll (Editor), David F. Wells (Contribution by), Dallas Willard (Contribution by)

Beginning with Jonathan Edwards's powerful preaching and Charles Wesley's graceful hymnody, modern evangelicalism has emerged as an important expression of the Christian faith. This volume celebrates evangelicalism at its best. Produced in conjunction with the establishment of a new professorship in evangelical theological studies at Harvard Divinity School, Where Shall My Wond'ring Soul Begin? explores evangelicalism's shared religious features, its intellectual agenda, and the impact of its deeply felt religious commitments on contemporary culture.

97 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2000

About the author

Mark A. Noll (born 1946), Francis A. McAnaney Professor of History at the University of Notre Dame, is a progressive evangelical Christian scholar. In 2005, Noll was named by Time Magazine as one of the twenty-five most influential evangelicals in America. Noll is a prolific author and many of his books have earned considerable acclaim within the academic community. The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind , a book about the anti-intellectual tendencies within the American evangelical movement, was featured in a cover story in the popular American literary and cultural magazine, Atlantic Monthly. He was awarded a National Humanities Medal in the Oval Office by President George W. Bush in 2006.

Reviews

[Jacob Aitken · Rating 3 out of 5]

These are a series of essays that were presented to the Harvard Chair of Evangelical thought.

Evangelicalsim at its best (Mark Noll) manifested itself in its hymondy. Despite the differences between Evangelicals, their hymnody maintained a cohesive witness centered around the cross, social concern, and a struggling ecumenicism.

"Christ-Centered Piety" (Dallas Willard) expresses itself in three ways: conviction, conviction, and testimony. AMong other ways which evangelicals can express themselves pietistically, WIllard notes two: discipline (implying that Christ was a teacher as well as Lord) and reason (Arguing that since he was divine he was the smartest man who ever lived).

"Committment to Scripture" (William Abraham) challengingly argues that the canon should be viewed as a list and not as a criterion for truth. Perhaps he could have been more clear. He interestingly notes that Evangelicals view Scripture with a foundationalist epistemology. This adds an interesting spin to the essay without really contributing to the thesis.

"Trinitarian Theology" (Alister McGrath) urges Evangelicals to focus more on the trinity and notes that such a view implies God as Creator. The implication of that being a renewed interest in the natural sciences and in natural theology.

"Disciplined Spirituality" (Cheryl Sanders)starts and ends great but the middle of the essay got off track concerning the Civil rights movement. Now I will grant her conclusion was powerful, but the premisses were too weak to support it.

"Evangelical Ethics" (Richard Mouw) distinguishes between personal reflection and social action and notes that there should not be any distinction. He then focuses his essay on ecclesiology (remnat church), eschatology (world end catastrophically), and epistemology (antithetical thinking between unbelievers and believers). He gives interesting insights but I disagree with his conclusions.

"Living Tradition" (David Wells) is probably the most exciting essay of the book. He argues that tradition protected the faith from Modernity and will protect it from postmodernity. He has the best conclusion of all.

The Book was a short, interesting read, one that I finished in a day. I advise one to get it and read critically. The best essays were by Noll and Wells.