Benefits and pitfalls of conservative evangelicalism
During the latter half of the twentieth century, conservative evangelicalism became increasingly influential in the mainline denominations. Taylor examines why this happened, the benefits and pitfalls this has for the Presbyterian Church, and what Christians interested in social activism can learn from conservatives.
Citing this Excerpt
Oral History Interview with J. Randolph Taylor, May 23, 1985. Interview C-0021. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007) in the Southern Oral History Program Collection, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Full Text of the Excerpt
- BRUCE KALK:
-
Could you comment briefly on the resurgence of Protestant evangelicalism
in the form of the contemporary born-again movement, particularly its
strength in the Presbyterian church?
- J. RANDOLPH TAYLOR:
-
It is a phenomenon, and there are reasons for it. One is that we live in
a very complex age. Some of the issues we've talked about of
peace and justice and so forth are very complicated, almost insoluble
problems. Thus, it's an era in which it's very
satisfying to find simple answers, to find concrete answers to complex
issues. If you can say, "This is the Word, this is the Way, you
must follow this. Follow me, and I will lead you to truth,"
you're going to get a following in a time when everybody is
scared. So part of this is personal reaction to
social fear. It's more complicated than that, though. I think
the mainline churches have probably been inconsiderate of conservative
evangelical members for the past several decades. In part, throughout
the nineteenth century, there was only a kind of conservative
evangelical tradition. It was only with the twentieth century that there
emerged a new sense of openness to alternate approaches, a breadth of
search for truth, social involvement, activism, and an emphasis on
praxis or practice rather than upon theory and
theology. The result of that has been that for the past probably three
decades, conservative evangelicals have felt marginalized in most of the
mainline churches. There is a new sense of militancy on their part,
basically saying, "We want a piece of the action. We want some
influence in this." And that's what we have been
finding in the Presbyterian Church, that partly what happened in union
was that we found each other across a divide where we really
weren't speaking very effectively to each other before.
There's one other thing, in addition, and that is the whole
church growth movement, which is a sociological phenomenon. During these
past decades, what's also emerged is some of the human
sciences have become much more sophisticated. The whole matter of how
you communicate with people, how you use the media effectively, all that
sort of thing. What makes for growth in a corporate structure of human
beings is affecting the church, because what we know now sociologically
is that simplistic answers do make for growth; complex questions do not.
Churches that are trying to grapple with issues like justice and
women's rights and world hunger and so forth have got to face
a new phenomenon, and that is that that's hard to
communicate simply over the TV, and
it's very hard to get people to get in massive groups to
attend to. So conservative evangelicals, who are less disposed to deal
with those complexities--and that's not pejorative;
that's just historically where their position has
been--have taken to the media with a great deal more
effectiveness and have taken to larger churches and growing churches
with a good bit more effectiveness. Now there's a helpful
shift taking place. The conservative evangelical community itself is
becoming much more socially conscious. There's an
organization in Washington called Sojourners that's headed up
by authentic conservative evangelicals. They are on the forefront of
this whole peace movement. They are on the forefront of questioning the
Administration's position on Central America and so forth.
It's one of those things where there's change
taking place on both sides of the ideological spectrum, but I think the
reasons for the growth that's been remarkable on the right is
in part what I've just said.
- BRUCE KALK:
-
And how significant a part of the Presbyterian Church would you say the
evangelical movement constitutes?
- J. RANDOLPH TAYLOR:
-
It's hard to put numbers there, but I'd say
it's very significant. Without knowing what the percentage
is, I'd say it's very significant. This is part of
the result of my pilgrimage on reunion: I think it very important. I
think it's authentic. I want them involved. I think they help
correct a shallow activism that is instinctive to those of us who are
oriented toward justice issues. We are very quick to find satisfaction
in being able to change the structures. We need to be reminded by our
brothers and sisters that when you change the structures, you still have
not changed the nature of the people who live and
implement those structures, and so you're still dealing with
the old human dilemma and the predicament of human history and the
problem of sin. So each needs the other to keep it honest and to make it
authentic.