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{"id":8455,"date":"2022-08-29T08:07:21","date_gmt":"2022-08-29T13:07:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rogereolson\/?p=8455"},"modified":"2022-08-29T08:07:21","modified_gmt":"2022-08-29T13:07:21","slug":"why-orthodox-rather-than-conservative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rogereolson\/2022\/08\/why-orthodox-rather-than-conservative\/","title":{"rendered":"Why \u201cOrthodox\u201d Rather than \u201cConservative?\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Why \u201cOrthodox\u201d Rather than \u201cConservative\u201d<\/p>\n

$\"\"$ <\/a> $\"\"$ <\/a><\/p>\n

Note: If you post a comment here, make sure it is relatively brief (no more than 100 words), on topic, addressed to me, civil and respectful (not hostile or argumentative), and devoid of links or photos.<\/p>\n

Recently here I stated that I am neither conservative nor non-conservative theologically. (The headline of a review my recent book \u201cAgainst Liberal Theology\u201d in \u201cChristianity Today\u201d labeled me \u201cnon-conservative.\u201d)<\/p>\n

I said in that blog essay that I prefer to be labeled \u201corthodox\u201d and I will add \u201cevangelical.\u201d Call me an \u201corthodox evangelical\u201d meaning, not liberal, not fundamentalist, not conservative among evangelicals. Among American evangelicals \u201cconservative\u201d tends to mean adhering to biblical inerrancy and plenary verbal inspiration and an overly literalistic interpretation of the Bible.<\/p>\n

After writing that blog essay, it occurred to me that I am in good company.<\/p>\n

When Fuller Seminary president E. J. Carnell was asked to write a book entitled \u201cThe Case for Conservative Theology\u201d he demurred and instead insisted on the title \u201cThe Case for Orthodox Theology.\u201d This was his contribution to a three volume set. The other volumes were \u201cThe Case for Theology in Liberal Perspective\u201d by L. Harold DeWolf and \u201cThe Case for a New Reformation Theology\u201d by William Hordern. (Hordern\u2019s book was originally intended to be titled \u201cThe Case for Neo-Orthodox Theology\u201d but, like Carnell, he wanted a different title and got it.) All three volumes were published by Westminster Press.<\/p>\n

In \u201cThe Case for Orthodox Theology\u201d Carnell, then a leading evangelical theologian, stated that \u201cconservative\u201d is often equated with \u201cfundamentalist\u201d and fundamentalism is \u201corthodoxy gone cultic.\u201d He preferred to be called \u201corthodox\u201d rather than \u201cconservative\u201d even though he admitted to being conservative compared with liberals and even neo-orthodox.<\/p>\n

Carnell\u2019s book was published at a time when Fuller Seminary was under attack for allegedly waffling on \u201cbiblical inerrancy.\u201d Being \u201cconservative\u201d among American evangelicals was becoming synonymous with being almost fundamentalist if not fundamentalist. Carnell, like Bernard Ramm and other leading evangelical thinkers, did not want to be considered part of the almost fundamentalist evangelical crowd that was putting tremendous pressure on Fuller Seminary.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m surprised that CT would label me \u201cnon-conservative\u201d as I have never called myself that. I have called myself \u201cpostconservative\u201d but always explaining that does not mean non-conservative or anti-conservative. It means wanting to transcend the elements of fundamentalism that remain within and among American conservative evangelicals such as (IMHO) The Gospel Coalition. It means wanting to keep the constructive task of theology open, not guided by culture but by fresh and faithful interpretation of the Bible. I explained all this very clearly in \u201cHow to Be Evangelical without Being Conservative.\u201d I suppose the title of that book justifies CT calling me \u201cnon-conservative.\u201d If so, then I claim Carnell as my model.<\/p>\n

*Footnote: I was a consulting editor and then contributing editor of CT for many years and wrote many articles that were published in the magazine. I was close with editor David Neff and executive editor George Brushaber. Then, a few years ago, CT dropped me from the masthead without explanation. Mark Galli was editor at that time. When I asked him why, he simply said it was to bring new people on board. If I was replaced by Scot McKnight, then it was a good change. I have nothing but respect for Scot. But I still don\u2019t quite understand why we couldn\u2019t both be contributing editors.*<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"