1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910781529803321

Autore

Stephens Randall J. <1973->

Titolo

The anointed [[electronic resource] ] : evangelical truth in a secular age / / Randall J. Stephens, Karl W. Giberson

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Cambridge, Mass., : Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2011

ISBN

0-674-07208-1

0-674-06267-1

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (381 p.)

Altri autori (Persone)

GibersonKarl

Disciplina

277.3/082

Soggetti

Evangelicalism - United States

Intellect - Religious aspects - Christianity

Christian conservatism - United States

Conservatism - Religious aspects - Christianity

Christianity and politics - United States

Church and state - United States

Christianity and culture - United States

United States Church history

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

The answer man -- The amateur Christian historian -- The family of God -- Trust me, the end is near -- A carnival of Christians -- Made in America.

Sommario/riassunto

American evangelicalism often appears as a politically monolithic, textbook red-state fundamentalism that elected George W. Bush, opposes gay marriage, abortion, and evolution, and promotes apathy about global warming. Prominent public figures hold forth on these topics, speaking with great authority for millions of followers. Authors Stephens and Giberson, with roots in the evangelical tradition, argue that this popular impression understates the diversity within evangelicalism-an often insular world where serious disagreements are invisible to secular and religiously liberal media consumers. Yet, in the face of this diversity, why do so many people follow leaders with dubious credentials when they have other options? Why do tens of



millions of Americans prefer to get their science from Ken Ham, founder of the creationist Answers in Genesis, who has no scientific expertise, rather than from his fellow evangelical Francis Collins, current Director of the National Institutes of Health?Exploring intellectual authority within evangelicalism, the authors reveal how America's populist ideals, anti-intellectualism, and religious free market, along with the concept of anointing-being chosen by God to speak for him like the biblical prophets-established a conservative evangelical leadership isolated from the world of secular arts and sciences.Today, charismatic and media-savvy creationists, historians, psychologists, and biblical exegetes continue to receive more funding and airtime than their more qualified counterparts. Though a growing minority of evangelicals engage with contemporary scholarship, the community's authority structure still encourages the "anointed" to assume positions of leadership.