PDF Download The Making and Unmaking of an Evangelical Mind: The Case of Edward Carnell, by Rudolph Nelson
The Making And Unmaking Of An Evangelical Mind: The Case Of Edward Carnell, By Rudolph Nelson. Allow's check out! We will often figure out this sentence all over. When still being a children, mommy utilized to purchase us to consistently check out, so did the educator. Some publications The Making And Unmaking Of An Evangelical Mind: The Case Of Edward Carnell, By Rudolph Nelson are fully reviewed in a week as well as we require the obligation to sustain reading The Making And Unmaking Of An Evangelical Mind: The Case Of Edward Carnell, By Rudolph Nelson What around now? Do you still like reading? Is checking out only for you who have responsibility? Not! We below offer you a new publication entitled The Making And Unmaking Of An Evangelical Mind: The Case Of Edward Carnell, By Rudolph Nelson to review.
The Making and Unmaking of an Evangelical Mind: The Case of Edward Carnell, by Rudolph Nelson
PDF Download The Making and Unmaking of an Evangelical Mind: The Case of Edward Carnell, by Rudolph Nelson
The Making And Unmaking Of An Evangelical Mind: The Case Of Edward Carnell, By Rudolph Nelson When composing can change your life, when creating can improve you by offering much cash, why don't you try it? Are you still quite confused of where understanding? Do you still have no suggestion with exactly what you are going to create? Currently, you will require reading The Making And Unmaking Of An Evangelical Mind: The Case Of Edward Carnell, By Rudolph Nelson A great writer is a great visitor at once. You can define just how you create relying on exactly what books to read. This The Making And Unmaking Of An Evangelical Mind: The Case Of Edward Carnell, By Rudolph Nelson could assist you to solve the issue. It can be among the best sources to develop your writing skill.
As one of the window to open the brand-new world, this The Making And Unmaking Of An Evangelical Mind: The Case Of Edward Carnell, By Rudolph Nelson supplies its fantastic writing from the writer. Published in one of the preferred authors, this publication The Making And Unmaking Of An Evangelical Mind: The Case Of Edward Carnell, By Rudolph Nelson becomes one of one of the most ideal books recently. Actually, guide will not matter if that The Making And Unmaking Of An Evangelical Mind: The Case Of Edward Carnell, By Rudolph Nelson is a best seller or otherwise. Every book will certainly still give finest sources to get the user all finest.
Nevertheless, some individuals will certainly seek for the best seller book to read as the first recommendation. This is why; this The Making And Unmaking Of An Evangelical Mind: The Case Of Edward Carnell, By Rudolph Nelson is presented to fulfil your necessity. Some individuals like reading this publication The Making And Unmaking Of An Evangelical Mind: The Case Of Edward Carnell, By Rudolph Nelson due to this preferred publication, yet some love this due to preferred author. Or, numerous additionally like reading this book The Making And Unmaking Of An Evangelical Mind: The Case Of Edward Carnell, By Rudolph Nelson due to the fact that they really need to read this publication. It can be the one that truly enjoy reading.
In getting this The Making And Unmaking Of An Evangelical Mind: The Case Of Edward Carnell, By Rudolph Nelson, you could not always go by walking or using your motors to the book stores. Obtain the queuing, under the rainfall or warm light, and also still hunt for the unknown book to be during that book establishment. By visiting this web page, you could just hunt for the The Making And Unmaking Of An Evangelical Mind: The Case Of Edward Carnell, By Rudolph Nelson as well as you could discover it. So currently, this time around is for you to go for the download link as well as acquisition The Making And Unmaking Of An Evangelical Mind: The Case Of Edward Carnell, By Rudolph Nelson as your own soft data publication. You can read this book The Making And Unmaking Of An Evangelical Mind: The Case Of Edward Carnell, By Rudolph Nelson in soft data only and wait as yours. So, you do not have to fast put the book The Making And Unmaking Of An Evangelical Mind: The Case Of Edward Carnell, By Rudolph Nelson into your bag everywhere.
Edward John Carnell (1919-1967), philosopher-theologian and president of the Fuller Theological Seminary, played a singularly influential role in the emergence of mid-twentieth century influential role in the emergence of mid-twentieth century Protestant evangelicalism from its fundamentalist phase. This book uses Carnell's life and works as a lens through which to examine important developments in American religious history during his Carnell's importance was acknowledged both in and outside the evangelical tradition, but he paid a severe price for public recognition--overtly as the object of harsh criticism from right-wing opponents and internally as the victim of a psychological breakdown. The first half of the book takes a biographical approach, following Carnell's early life and education, while the second half of the book looks topically at the issues that shaped Carnell's career, providing helpful clues in the effort to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the evangelical movement he represented.
- Sales Rank: #6084517 in Books
- Published on: 2002-11-07
- Released on: 2002-11-07
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.98" h x .59" w x 5.98" l, .99 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 268 pages
Review
"A fascinating biography and theological critique of Carnell, one of this century's most important leaders of American Protestant evangelicalism...Nelson's book is an excellent example of the way in which biography can provide an angle for historical, cultural, and theological commentary." Religious Studies Review
From the Back Cover
The first half of this book takes a biographical approach to its subject, examining Carnell's early life and education, while the second half of the book looks topically at the issues that shaped Carnell's career and, as the author proposes, may have led to his psychological undoing. It offers a provocative view into the larger cultural tensions, unleashed by new modes of secular thought that challenged the framework of American religious life during the middle years of this century.
Most helpful customer reviews
23 of 26 people found the following review helpful.
Fascinating Story - But Beware of Author's Liberal Bias
By Shane Kastler
In The Making & Unmaking of an Evangelical Mind: The Case of Edward Carnell, Rudolph Nelson delves into the fascinating life and tragic death of one of the 20th century's most influential Christian philosophers, Edward John Carnell. After receiving simultaneous doctoral degrees from Harvard Divinity School and Boston University, Carnell blazed onto the theological scene in 1948 by winning the $5,000 first prize in a book contest sponsored by Eerdmans Publishing for his book: An Introduction to Christian Apologetics: A Philosophic Defense of the Trinitarian-Theistic Faith. Soon after the book was published, Carnell sought and was granted a professorship at the newly formed Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA. Though still a young man in his twenties, Carnell appeared ready to take the Christian academic community by storm. Instead, by the end of his short life some twenty years later...the "storm" had overtaken him. He died alone, in a hotel room, having overdosed on prescription sleeping pills. Adding further stigma to his name, the autopsy report stated that it was unable to determine whether the death was accidental or suicidal.
Early Life
Ed Carnell grew up as the third of four children born to a fundamentalist, Baptist pastor named Hubert Carnell. After bouncing around the Midwest, serving various churches, the Carnells eventually settled in Albion, Michigan, where Ed was a popular, though unimpressive student. Both his family and his friends were quite stunned when Ed, upon graduating from High School as a "C" student, announced his intentions to enter the ministry and to pursue training at Wheaton College in Illinois.
The college life, proved financially difficult for Carnell. Coming from a poor family, he had to make his way by working part-time in the school cafeteria. But, for the first time in his life, he excelled in the classroom. By sitting under the teaching of renowned Philosophy professor, Gordon H. Clark, Carnell found his wings, academically speaking. Clark's influence over many of the Wheaton student's was quite profound. An engaging, theologically Reformed, apologist educated at the University of Pennsylvania, Clark challenged and inspired his students to understand and properly defend the rationality of the Christian faith. This is exactly what Carnell set out to do.
After graduating from Wheaton, Carnell moved to Philadelphia to attend Westminster Theological Seminary. It was here that he encountered the teacher who was arguably the most influential Christian apologist of the 20th century, Cornelius Van Til. While Van Til influenced Carnell toward an Apologetic methodology that espoused man's presuppositional belief in the Christian God; Van Til's influence proved to be much less significant than Clark's had been. By the end of his writing career, Carnell had received some mild rebukes from Van Til for not having embraced the full-orbed presuppostionalism that he espoused. Van Til was also involved in a major controversy with Gordon Clark over Clark's ordination in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. The argument, over an extremely technical and theological point, led to a permanent schism between the two men, both of whom remained in the same denomination. Clark eventually left for a different brand of Presbyterianism, but undoubtedly, the damage done to Clark by Van Til, had a profound impact on Carnell.
Fuller Seminary
Carnell dutifully served Fuller Seminary as Professor of Theology for five years, but the situation at Fuller was contentious. Harold Ocknega had served during that time as President in Absentia, remaining in Boston where he pastored a church. He vacillated numerous times between moving to Pasadena to take up the Presidency full time and resigning to focus on his pastorate. But it was clear that the seminary needed on hand leadership. In 1957, into this void stepped Edward Carnell.
While it is frequently difficult for a person to go from colleague to supervisor, the transition seems to have been doubly hard for Carnell. Though the faculty sought an onsite President, they were divided in their agreement on Carnell's suitability for the position. Young, ambitious, and inexperienced Carnell appeared to be in over his head, and perhaps he was. Add to the mix that Carnell was by personality and temperament more suited for the classroom and study than he was the fundraiser and figurehead role of President and you have a recipe for disaster. Carnell made it clear time and time again that he was not a fundraiser, but an academician. Nevertheless, funds were extremely tight, and stress weighed heavily upon him. Though the seminary progressed under his leadership, he ultimately resigned in 1959 after a five year tenure, and returned to the classroom. But his life was never the same again.
Later Life & Tragic Death
Carnell had suffered from insomnia for much of his life; and the added strain of the presidency exacerbated his emotional state. At times, he fell into deep seasons of depression and sought relief through medication and electroshock therapy. His mental condition was further assailed by polemic assaults from the fundamentalist Christians of the day. Though Carnell once labeled himself a "fundamentalist" he ultimately preferred the term "evangelical." Fundamentalists were considered anti-intellectual, and legalistic in some of their views, and Carnell was anything but. He desired Christian scholarship to be rigorously academic and rational; and he confessed that he had grown up under a smothering brand of legalism that he found distasteful. Because of some of these comments, he was attacked by some fundamentalists, and the assaults took their toll.
It appears that in his later years, the medication and shock therapy influenced his teaching abilities. His once quick and sharp mind now took awkwardly long pauses when lecturing; and at times, he appeared to be distracted while in the classroom. The end came in 1967, when he was invited to address a Roman Catholic conference in Oakland, California. He had struggled for some time with remembering whether or not he had taken his sleeping medication, and his wife had gotten in the habit of dolling his pills out to him. But, he had done well for quite some time and was beginning to take care of the responsibility himself. Because of this, he attended the conference by himself and was scheduled to speak on noon of the second day. He never showed up and was found dead in his hotel room's bathroom floor. He was 48.
It seems that Carnell's death was more than likely accidental. A towel rack in the bathroom was pulled from the wall, indicating that he had fallen. Furthermore, several pill bottles were found in his room, with pills remaining in them. Typically if one is planning a suicidal overdose, they take all the pills they can. Finally, the level of barbiturates in his system was 3.5mg, and the average barbiturate suicide victim has between 6 and 8 mg. But, the coroner's report sealed his fate and left a permanent cloud over his name as a "possible suicide." Perhaps the suspicions are justified. After all, he was an insomniac, who suffered from severe depression, and had a history of mental anguish associated with his career. But the evidence points to the contrary; and in truth we will never know for certain.
Critique of Rudolph Nelson's Critique
Nelson's book is loosely divided into three parts. The first part examines Carnell's life in a largely biographical fashion. The second part examines his theological positions and professional struggles. The third part, shortest in length, makes final conclusions. Without question, the first part is the most interesting section of the book. One cannot help but be impressed and inspired by this poor, underachieving "C" student, who works his way up the academic latter to the point of attaining two doctorates by the age of 30. Nelson contends, rightly so, that if Carnell had stayed in the classroom he probably would have lived a long and fruitful life. As it was, his ascension to the Presidency proved to be the turning point, and downfall of his career.
The author's critique of Carnell's theology is predictable. Nelson confesses that he was once a "fundamentalist" until he saw the theological light and became a liberal. In his criticism of Carnell, he sneers frequently at Carnell's "primitive understanding" of the Bible and essentially dismisses him as an oaf because he never reached the enlightened position of denying the faith he claimed to possess. In essence, Carnell is ripped and labeled as an ignoramus because he didn't reject his Biblical beliefs and climb (or slide) to the heights (or depths) of higher critical liberalism. In fact, in reading Nelson's condescending critique of Carnell's beliefs, one could easily forget that Carnell was not a backwoods illiterate at all. He had a Ph.D. from Boston University, and a Th.D. from Harvard having written dissertations on the philosophy of the Danish thinker Soren Kierkegaard and the theology of Reinhold Niebuhr. The author seems aghast that one could attain such intellectual accomplishments and still be a Biblical Christian.
Nelson also implies that perhaps Carnell didn't really believe what he claimed to. Based on a comment by Carnell's brother, whom Edward was not especially close to, Nelson contends that Carnell suffered greatly because his mind refused to accept the Christian faith that he was taught to believe. Indeed Carnell does admit to struggles with doubt (as all people do), but nowhere in his writings, personal or private, does Carnell come anywhere close to denying the faith. He had his faults, and he had his struggles, but he remained devoted to the Christian faith to the end. It seems that Nelson makes a little too much of Carnell's occasional mentions of suicide in his writings. In his first book, An Introduction to Christian Apologetics, Carnell begins the book by writing of the struggles man faces in a fallen world. He mentions that these struggle are manifested most dramatically when once commits suicide. Nelson also comments on an alleged statement made by Gordon Clark in a debate with an atheist. Supposedly, when confronted with what he would do if Christianity proved to be false, Clark responded that he would kill himself because there would be no reason to exist. This statement of Clark's is found no where in print and was given to Nelson by an alleged witness to the debate. But regardless of whether or not it's true; to try and make a case for Edward Carnell's anguish over the believability of Christianity from such shoddy evidence is unconvincing.
Nelson ends the book with a brief conclusion in which he takes the stance of Carnell's death being accidental. And he suggests that his "primitive faith" combined with his foolhardy venture as a seminary President, pushed him over the emotional edge.
While I obviously didn't agree with all of Nelson's conclusion, I did enjoy the book and was fascinated by Carnell's life. The author did a thorough job, in my opinion, of presenting the biographical information in a highly readable fashion. However, the author's personal prejudice against conservative Christianity tainted his judgment towards Carnell and led to conclusions that were unjustified. I would recommend the book, with an exception. If one believes they can entertained by an interesting life story, while also warned about the possible pitfalls of entering a professions that doesn't suit them then read the book. But the Christian reader needs to be discerning and see through the polemic attacks the author makes on the Biblical, Christian faith.
The Making and Unmaking of an Evangelical Mind: The Case of Edward Carnell, by Rudolph Nelson PDF
The Making and Unmaking of an Evangelical Mind: The Case of Edward Carnell, by Rudolph Nelson EPub
The Making and Unmaking of an Evangelical Mind: The Case of Edward Carnell, by Rudolph Nelson Doc
The Making and Unmaking of an Evangelical Mind: The Case of Edward Carnell, by Rudolph Nelson iBooks
The Making and Unmaking of an Evangelical Mind: The Case of Edward Carnell, by Rudolph Nelson rtf
The Making and Unmaking of an Evangelical Mind: The Case of Edward Carnell, by Rudolph Nelson Mobipocket
The Making and Unmaking of an Evangelical Mind: The Case of Edward Carnell, by Rudolph Nelson Kindle
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar