We evangelicals sometimes don’t make as much room for people like Volf as we should. Even if listening to him would improve the evangelical church significantly.

Often, we either don’t understand more disciplined thinking and writing or we dismiss it.

I think a basic distrust of ‘intellectuals’ is at the heart of real world evangelicalism–the evangelical church outside of seminary professors and recent seminary graduates.

Hard to imagine a more life giving instinct if you want to encourage expressions of faith that wouldn’t make it in a seminary or university setting or among cultural elites. Evangelical and fundamentalist and pentecostal expressions of faith have the most potential to open the spiritual door to middle class folks and poor people (pretty much most of the world).

But there is a potential downside. Easy to feel ok about what can sometimes be our culturally encouraged ignorance of–in general–the best cultural and theological and scientific thinking.

If this makes any sense, I’m sort of glad most evangelicals and fundamentalists and pentecostals can’t figure out more of Volf.

But another part of me wishes we could :^)

I look forward to reading your thoughts!

Your comment totally made me laugh! I remember reading his book, After Our Likeness, and definitely finding my fair share of that which I could not understand.