Apostles of Reason: The Crisis of Authority in American Evangelicalism [Paperback]

Molly Worthen is Assistant Professor of History at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is the author of The Man on Whom Nothing Was Lost: The Grand Strategy of Charles Hill and is a regular contributor to The New York Times, Slate, Christianity Today, and other publications.

"Mary Worthen s Apostles of Reason: The Crisis of Authority in American Evangelicalism is an accessible yet meticulously researched addition to our understanding of our religious history. It should be of great interest to scholars of religion and American culture."--The Journal of American Culture

"Molly Worthen makes a significant and provocative contribution to the rich recent literature on American evangelicalism Worthen offers an impressive survey and analysis of modern American evangelicalism and the challenges that have confronted it."--Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology

"The author of this book has brought a sharp intelligence to the ongoing battle for control of evangelicalism. Her insights are as clear as her prose and her reporting is rigorous. An excellent book that ... tells (evangelical history) with vigor, depth and nuance. An excellent addition to any religion reporter's shelf." -Religion Newswriters' Association

"Particularly impressive is Worthen's ability to weave the story of American evangelicalism back into the narrative of mainstream American history and, perhaps more importantly, to make it appear to matter. Anyone interested in recent American history will profit from reading Apostles of Reason."--Journal of Southern Religion

"Beautifully written and compellingly argued it should be required reading for anyone who wants to understand American evangelicalism or the broader religious tension between head and heart."--American Historical Review

"[A] remarkable and textured study." --Randall Balmer, The Christian Century

"Worthen's a beguiling portraitist." --Slate

"Pathbreaking and gracefully narrated." --The Nation

"Apostles of Reason turns intellectual history into page-turning drama, highlighting the flesh-and-blood personalities behind academic debates... the most exciting history of evangelical intellectual life to appear in decades." --Books & Culture

"Lively and story-filled... In locating Christian world view and biblical inerrancy at the heart of evangelicals' travails, and in bringing to light myriad little-known personalities, organizations, campaigns, and quarrels, Worthen has done scholars of twentieth-century history a great service." --Journal of American History

"This is a book to be reckoned with. In terms of its comprehensive grasp of the evangelical movement, its detailed research, and its serious approach to understanding the evangelical mind, Apostles of Reason stands nearly alone... Any serious-minded evangelical should read it." --R. Albert Mohler Jr., The Gospel Coalition

"Molly Worthen has written a truly important book. Apostles of Reason: The Crisis of Authority in American Evangelicalism is the kind of highly ambitious intellectual history that requires thorough familiarity with the sources, a keen eye for discerning intellectual undercurrents, a gift for telling a complicated, many faceted story, and, perhaps most importantly, an editorial aptitude for weaving it all together." --National Catholic Reporter

"[An] impressively wide-ranging account." --George M. Marsden, Commonweal

"Apostles of Reason brings a new level of sophistication, as well as sparkling prose, to the study of modern American evangelicals. A combination of empathetic understanding and critical acumen makes this an unusually humane, as well as unusually insightful, book." --Mark Noll, author of America's God: From Jonathan Edwards to Abraham Lincoln

"Molly Worthen's account of the evangelical imagination across the past seventy years is both sympathetic and critical. She captures the diversity of American evangelicals, their hopes and anxieties, and the nuances of their strategies for cultural influence." --Daniel Walker Howe, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848

"Ambitious in its analytical breadth, at once incisive and playful in presentation, and utterly convincing, Molly Worthen's Apostles of Reason is first-rate in every sense. This is a path-breaking book about a quintessentially modern movement. Readers of all persuasions will welcome it." --Darren Dochuk, author of From Bible Belt to Sunbelt

"Molly Worthen's Apostles of Reason is an important contribution to the ongoing debate within evangelicalism about how to get along as a family of churches... Reading Worthen's account of evangelicalism is a breath of fresh air in many ways." --First Things

"This book's virtues are many. The prose alone-consistently clear and vigorous, and sparkling with memorable turns of phrase-is worth the price of admission... It is a singular accomplishment." --Christian Century

"Apostles of Reason represents a synthetic and interpretive triumph... It is difficult to overstate how witty her writing is, which is quite an accomplishment given how potentially dry a study of evangelical intellectualism could be. Moreover, Worthen grounds her sparkling prose in impeccable research." --David R. Swartz, Asbury University, The Mennonite Quarterly Review

"Worthen's telling of this narrative is gripping. It is difficult to overstate how witty her writing is, which is quite an acomplishment given how potentially dry a study of evangelical intellectualism could be. Moreover, Worthen grounds her sparkling prose in impeccable research." --The Mennonite Quarterly Review

"...Worthen's historical account of American evangelicalism over the past seven decades is fair, enlightening, and unsettling... I recommend the book highly especially to evangelicals who desire a cogent explanation of why evangelicalism still holds promise--theologically, socially, politically--even though it remains fractured movement." --Religious Studies Review

"Worthen offers an engaging road map through evangelical thought. Almost encyclopedic in nature, her book ably captures its richness and variety- and polarization as well."-- Justus Doenecke, Anglican and Episcopal History

"Worthen has written a volume that will permanently enrich the academy's understanding of American evangelicalism, offered up in a playful, humorous style that her readers will find approachable, if not entertaining. Any student of American religion will read it with profit."-- Review & Expositor