The BioLogos Forum: Mark Noll
Mark Noll is a historian, essayist and professor specializing in the history of American Christianity. Since 2006 he has been the Francis A. McAnaney Professor of History at the University of Notre Dame. His books include America’s God: From Jonathan Edwards to Abraham Lincoln; God and Race in American Politics: A Short History and The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind, which has been widely recognized for making a strong appeal for a better approach to intellectual life among American evangelicals.
Series by Noll
A.D. White’s “Warfare between Science and Theology” (3 Parts)
In this series, Mark Noll shows that the long-enduring metaphor of warfare between science and dogmatic theology as suggested by White is inaccurate. After introducing Andrew Dickinson White and his views on the science-faith interaction, Noll offers his own counter-argument for philosophical and historical reasons. "Come and See": A Christological Invitation to Science (5 Parts)
This series written by Mark Noll seeks to understand science through a Christ-centered lens. Noll initially looks at the historical conflicts that have hindered a marriage of scientific knowledge to Biblical wisdom. He then does a 100 year-old case study of how B.B. Warfield retained a “commitment to the goal of harmonizing a sophisticated conservative theology and the most securely verified conclusions of modern science.” Overall, if one accepts that nature is created and sustained by Jesus Christ, the author explains, then one must conclude that looking at nature is, in fact, the best way to learn about nature. Finally, current problems raised by the attempt to harmonize Scripture and science, such as the idea of randomness, are discussed. Posts by Noll
Essays by Noll
Come and See: A Christological Invitation for Science
August 2011
This sample chapter from Mark Noll's book Jesus Christ and the Life of the Mind, looks at the relationship between science and scripture.
Evangelicals, Creation, and Scripture: An Overview
November 2009
Mark Noll, historian and author of The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind, enumerates 15 attitudes, assumptions, and convictions he considers to be most influential in inciting anti-intellectual sentiment among evangelical Christians. He also traces the historical background of these ideas and how they continue to affect the relationship between science and faith today. This essay was presented at the November 2009 Theology of Celebration Workshop.
Science, Religion, and A. D. White: Seeking Peace in the 'Warfare Between Science and Theology'
August 2010
Mark Noll, historian and author of The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind, describes how Andrew Dickson White relentlessly advocated a view of history in which Science and Dogmatic Theology have always been at war with one another. Noll identifies 16 reasons why White’s notion of warfare is mistaken.