The Gospel Coalition have announced that they are setting up the Carson Center for Theological Renewal. The aim of the centre is described as follows:
“As we see in Scripture and church history, spiritual renewal follows theological renewal when the ancient gospel of Jesus Christ recaptures our hearts and minds.” [1]
With that in mind, the intention is to provide theological resources for the church. Partly that’s through setting up a library of theological resources, particularly including resources authored by Don Carson who the centre is named after. Partly it is through the selection of “a select group of fellows -top Biblical scholars and theologians from around the world.” [2]
It looks like the centre will follow the same model as the recently inaugurated Keller Center for Cultural Apologetics. A number of us raised concerns about that particular endeavor and will have similar concerns here. Given that the former center became quickly embroiled in controversy over one of its fellows’ book publications and then the fall out over how TGC then cared for -or didn’t care for that fellow, I would have hoped that The Gospel Coalition would have learnt from their mistakes. It seems not.
To refresh our memories, the primary concerns that many of us had with the Keller Center were that it involved putting a living man on a pedestal. There are risks with putting a person onto that pedestal both in that it can lead to hero worship and pride and that also the person risks having their names permanently associated with any failings and fall out. Additionally, questions were asked, particularly when it came to the role of fellows about where accountability lay and how transparency might work. I don’t think those questions were ever answered.
Reading the news release about the Carson Center my concerns are further heightened. First, we have this.
“Around the world today, biblical illiteracy inhibits spiritual depth—not just in the shrinking church of the West but even in the growing churches of the South and East. But there’s no spiritual renewal without returning to Scripture. And while the internet offers unprecedented access to the Bible, many of the most widely used resources for studying God’s Word are unhelpful at best or heretical at worst.” [4]
I find the belittling of the wider church, especially the growing churches in the South and the east as troubling. Firstly because I’ve sat, recently under the ministry of Nigerian pastors and find this patronising view of them highly questionable. It’s worth observing that if spiritual renewal requires a return to Scripture and those places are experiencing spiritual renewal then it is just possible that they have already returned to Scripture. The dismissing of other internet content also begs the question “how do we know that your internet content is different.” [5]
Here’s the second additional cause for concern: TGC say:
The Center helps Bible study leaders and small group facilitators teach God’s Word, so they can answer tough questions on the spot with a quick search on their smartphones. At no cost to users, the Center publishes theological journals and scholarly books for pastors and theologians, no matter where they live. For teachers who lack formal training, the Center provides free resources on hundreds of theological topics and every book of the Bible. All they need is internet access to find many of these resources in their own languages.” [6]
Have TGC considered how this comes across, particularly in the context of the first concern. It does sound rather like the local church, its pastors and elders are being dismissed and bypassed. “Your pastor is Biblically illiterate but don’t worry come to us.”
And sadly, this links into a more general concern I have. I get to read a lot of the output of contemporary reformed/evangelical scholarship and it is my settled opinion that the problem lies not in the local church with pastors but in academic scholarship. Check back the book reviews I’ve done over the past few years and you’ll see that concern coming through. At best, the stuff is unreadable, too often its littered with exegetical and hermeneutical schoolboy errors.
So please TGC, think again.
[1] TGC Announces The Carson Center for Theological Renewal (thegospelcoalition.org)
[2] TGC Announces The Carson Center for Theological Renewal (thegospelcoalition.org)
[3] TGC Announces The Carson Center for Theological Renewal (thegospelcoalition.org)
[4] TGC Announces The Carson Center for Theological Renewal (thegospelcoalition.org)
[5] TGC Announces The Carson Center for Theological Renewal (thegospelcoalition.org)
[6] TGC Announces The Carson Center for Theological Renewal (thegospelcoalition.org)
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