
A Place at the Table: George Eldon Ladd and the Rehabilitation of Evangelical Scholarship in America
John A. D'Elia
(Author)Description
Ladd was a strong critic of dispensationalism, the dominant theological system in conservative evangelicalism and fundamentalism, challenging what he perceived to be its anti-intellectualism and uncritical approach to the Bible. In his impressive career at Fuller Theological Seminary, Ladd participated in scholarly debates on the relationship between faith and historical understanding, arguing that modern critical methodologies need not preclude orthodox Christian belief. Ladd also engaged the thought of Rudolf Bultmann, the dominant theological figure of his day. Ladd's main focus, however, was to create a work of scholarship from an evangelical perspective that the broader academic world would accept. When he was unsuccessful in this effort, he descended into depression, bitterness, and alcoholism. But Ladd played an important part in opening doors for later generations of evangelical scholars, both by validating and using critical methods in his own scholarly work, and also by entering into dialogue with theologians and theologies outside the evangelical world.
It is a central theme of this book that Ladd's achievement, at least in part, can be measured in the number of evangelical scholars who are today active participants in academic life across a broad range of disciplines.
Product Details
Publisher | Oxford University Press |
Publish Date | June 16, 2008 |
Pages | 304 |
Language | English |
Type | |
EAN/UPC | 9780195341676 |
Dimensions | 9.3 X 6.4 X 1.1 inches | 1.3 pounds |
About the Author
Reviews
"The coming of age and acceptance of Evangelical scholarship such as that produced by the Fuller faculty and students has been glacial but noticeable. ...The book is well worth the time of anyone interested in that story and Ladd's contribution to it." --Theological Studies "The most insightful and interesting biography of an academic that this reviewer has ever read. ...a thoroughly researched work that does justice to Ladd's great contributions while not engaging in the hero-worship that marks that type of biography termed a 'hagiography'." --The Master's Seminary Journal"A gripping account of a man who was an integral part of the renaissance of postwar evangelical scholarship. ...John D'Elia has done all of us a service in this biography." --Books & Culture"With an amazing trove of personal letters and memoranda at his disposal, D'Elia relates with journalistic panache Ladd's debates with John Walvoord, his support of the Revised Standard Version translation of the Bible, and his explication of Rudolf Bultmann's theology for conservative readers...D'Elia supplies a vivid sidebar to the sweeping histories of modern Christian intellectuals." --Church History"A Place at the Table is not an ordinary biographical sketch, but a composite of Ladd's life and a critical analysis of the theological issues of the time. Thus those who read this book will have a clearer picture of the current theological perspectives of the time. D'Elia did an excellent work of presenting Ladd's legacy of intellectual and spiritual benefits."--Seminary Studies"D'Elia's scholarship is excellent and this book deserves to be on the shelves of every theological library. . . Ladd single-handedly reinvigorated evangelical scholarship and D'Elia tells that very story. . . We are in debt to this very fine and judicious study . . ."--Jesus Creed blog
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