Awakening the Evangelical Mind

Book excerpt: The first major study to draw upon unknown or neglected sources, as well as original interviews with figures like Billy Graham, Awakening the Evangelical Mind uniquely tells the engaging story of how evangelicalism developed as an intellectual movement in the middle of the 20th century. Beginning with the life of Harold Ockenga, Strachan shows how Ockenga brought together a small community of Christian scholars at Harvard University in the 1940s who agitated for a reloaded Christian intellect. With fresh insights based on original letters and correspondence, Strachan highlights key developments in the movement by examining the early years and humble beginnings of such future evangelical luminaries as George Eldon Ladd, Edward John Carnell, John Gerstner, Gleason Archer, Carl Henry, and Kenneth Kantzer.