Postconservative evangelicals greet the postmodern age - Cover Story

Christian Century, May 3, 1995 by Roger E. Olson

ARE "EVANGELICAL" and "theologically conservative" synonymous? Are all evangelical theologians conservative? Most observers--both inside and outside the large and diverse subculture of North American evangelical Christianity--would probably answer yes. Evidence is growing, however, that some theologians who insist on wearing the label "evangelical" (or cannot escape it even when they try) are shedding theological conservatism. A new mood, if not movement, in North American evangelical theology can be described as "postconservative." The best analogy is to "postliberal" theology--the posture of theologians who see themselves moving beyond liberalism while preserving some of its qualities.

Postconservative evangelicals continue to hold to four defining features of evangelicalism (to use the widely cited categories formulated by David Bebbington): conversionism, or an emphasis on the "new birth" as a life-changing religious experience; biblicism, a reliance on the Bible as ultimate religious authority; activism, a concern for sharing the faith; and crucicentrism, an emphasis on Christ's atoning work on the cross. But they no longer make their chief role that of defending historic orthodoxy--especially Reformed scholasticism--against the "acids of modernity."

Postconservative evangelical theologians often find themselves more comfortable in the Evangelical Studies Group of the American Academy of Religion (begun around 1980) than in the Evangelical Theological Society. In fact, the former group, which attracts hundreds to its annual meeting, is a primary breeding ground for the new postconservative mood. It tends to regard the older, stodgier ETS as held captive by an old guard of scholars obsessed with battles over inerrancy, higher criticism and liberal theology in general.

Is postconservatism simply a stage on the way to all-out modernist and liberal theology? Are these mostly younger evangelicals slipping down the slope toward heterodoxy? Many of them would say that the old guard of evangelical theology has itself been slipping down a disastrous slope for at least two decades (since the publication of Harold Lindsell's Battle for the Bible)--back toward fundamentalism. Postconservatives might echo the famous saying of Baptist theologian Bernard Ramm: "Let us remember, brethren, that it is as possible to sin to the right as to the left!"

Postconservatives are convinced that both modernist and fundamentalist slopes are sides of the same cultural Mt. St. Helens--modernity. Like the volcano of the Northwest, modernity is virtually extinct--it's passe. It is no longer a majestic hunting ground for, or a sinister Postconservatives are exploring new cultural landscapes and encountering new opportunities and dangers along the way. To them, both theological liberalism (in all its varieties) and theological conservatism (with as many varieties) were and still are obsessed with "the modern mind." The new landscape is "postmodernity" and has barely been explored.

POSTCONSERVATIVE evangelicalism is a small and diverse movement. Its adherents share a few common concerns, not a tight agenda. They are, to begin with, eager to engage in dialogue with nonevangelical theologians' and they seek opportunities to converse with those whom conservative evangelicals would probably consider enemies. At the recent AAR meeting these postconservative evangelicals held a forum with Paul Knitter, a "pluralist" on the subject of other religions, and Jurgen Moltmann, an ecumenical theologian. Both commented informally that they found their evangelical conversation partners surprisingly open and the discussion stimulating and challenging.

Other evangelicals are reaching out to nonevangelicals to heal divisions caused by conflicts over modernity--clearly a postconservative move. Messiah College, an evangelical liberal arts institution with roots in the Mennonite tradition, is sponsoring a project titled "Reforming the Center: Beyond the Two-Party System of American Protestantism." In April, Wheaton College and InterVarsity Press sponsored a conference focusing on interaction between evangelicals and postliberals.

Postconservatives are also concerned with theology's domination by white males and Eurocentrism. While refusing to accept a version of the sociology of knowledge that would lead to doctrinal relativism, the new evangelicals acknowledge the inevitable influence of social location on theologians' endeavors. They seek to add the voices of women, people of color and Third World Christians to the chorus of evangelical scholarship. Here again, the Evangelical Studies Group has led the way by making sure that women and people of color are represented on its steering committee and on most panels.. The group will devote a session to evangelicalism and Hispanic theology at its November 1995 meeting.

One voice leading the way into evangelical theology's postconservative, multicultural future is William Dyrness of Fuller Theological Seminary. Dyrness recently edited a volume titled Emerging Voices in Global Christian Theology that includes chapters by leading evangelical thinkers from Eastern Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America. For the most part, postconservatives heartily embrace the work of Christians for Biblical Equality, and they encourage such feminist thinkers as Elaine Storkey and Mary Stewart Van Leeuwen.