The Scandal of the Evangelical Heart

A great tragedy of much of modern evangelicalism is not only that we have neglected to think deeply, but that in doing so, we have also forgotten how to feel rightly. In Mark Noll’s book, The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind, he argues that Evangelicals have largely abandoned serious intellectual engagement. He then traces that anti-intellectualism historically through revivalism, pietism, and some branches of fundamentalism. It would be difficult to prove him wrong on that issue, but what if the scandal of the Evangelical mind has caused an equally detrimental scandal of the Evangelical heart?

When you downplay the mind, the emotional side of man does not grow stronger; it weakens because it can no longer be anything other than self-referential. In his book The Abolition of Man, C.S. Lewis deals with this reality in the secular world. He argues that once we move toward subjectivism or relativism, we do not become a more heart-filled people.

On the contrary, we begin to see every experience of truth, beauty, and goodness, not as being tied to objective reality, but merely subjective experiences. The word “merely” in that sentence is where the reduction takes place. A denial of objective truth does not elevate the importance of the heart; it diminishes it because it can no longer be linked to anything greater than itself.

Like Noll, who is arguing against the anti-intellectualism of evangelicalism, we could also say that Evangelicals have largely abandoned serious emotional engagement. Much of evangelicalism leans into an emotionalism that is untethered from the Word of God. If it feels right, it must be right, even if it contradicts scripture. This untethered emotionalism is an unserious look at religious affections. Like Lewis’s argument against subjectivism, it has no basis to evaluate which heart responses are appropriate and which are not. In essence, it reduces all religious affections to unimportance. However, many never come to this logical conclusion.

There is a second way we can go wrong. Others in evangelicalism see the error in this elevation of emotional experiences, but then they overcorrect. They quickly quote scripture and say, “The heart is deceitful, who can know it,” which is correct. However, from there, they attempt to rule out all religious affections and focus only on the mind, but this is also a failure to take the heart of man seriously.

C.S. Lewis goes on to argue in The Abolition of Man that we need both the heart and the mind to function together. Real education, and I would include real discipleship, does not merely train the head; it also trains the heart to respond appropriately.

Here is an illustration. My family and I often go to the mountains in the summer for vacation. There have been many times I have visited over the years when I was in awestruck wonder at the beauty of creation during our entire stay. Other times, whether it was because I was stressed, burned out, or simply not in the right place spiritually, the mountains did not cause my heart to sing. In this scenario, the problem is not with the beauty of the mountains but my heart. There is an objective beauty there; even if my mind knows it, my heart does not follow suit. I would be in error to conclude that what my heart feels is unimportant. The goal would be to right the ship and once again have my heart begin responding to the glory of God revealed in creation.

Much of Evangelicalism today has either dismissed the heart as insignificant or puts so much emphasis on it that, like in relativism, it becomes nothing more than another man’s experience, which says nothing objective about the world.

In the secular world of subjectivism, we still want men and women who love, are loyal, faithful, and have rightly ordered affections. Still, we have unintentionally diminished the heart that produces those things. Lewis says by doing this, we produce men without chests. He means we want all the things the heart should deliver when it is functioning correctly, but we have removed the organ by not taking it seriously.

Many in evangelicalism, even those in the reformed circles in which I run, have done the same thing. Instead of making the heart the source of all truth or belittling it as unimportant, we should strive to ensure that our heart responds appropriately to divine revelation—both special and natural revelation.

Sin is not merely outward action; it involves the very disposition of our hearts. Taking the heart seriously and the desire to see the heart respond appropriately are part of sanctification. It is putting to death the flesh’s desires and replacing them with religious affections that walk in step with the Spirit.

-D. Eaton