Mark Noll: What I Have Learned from Studying the History of the Bible

Regent’s Evening Public Lecture series is back for another summer! Join us in person or online to explore Scripture, theology, culture, and much more with Summer Programs faculty and other exciting speakers.

ABOUT THE LECTURE

Earlier this year, Mark Noll published America’s Book: The Rise and Decline of a Bible Civilization, 1794-1911, a project he had been working on for several decades. In this lecture, he will draw on his experience in preparing that historical study for guidance about using the Scriptures today. What, for example, led so many white Americans to believe that the Bible sanctioned slavery? Why did the Methodists, who did not try to influence public life, have such a positive impact on public life? How did African American approaches differ from the practices of white Americans? More generally, how can Bible-believers profit from examining how Bible-believers in the past turned to the Scriptures?

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Dr. Noll is a leading church historian. He recently retired as the Francis A. McAnaney Professor of History at the University of Notre Dame, having previously served as Professor of History and Theological Studies at Wheaton College. His teaching included courses on American religious and intellectual history, the Reformation, world Christianity, and Canadian history. At Regent he has been privileged to offer courses on Christianity and science, the recent history of world Christianity, hymnody, and eighteenth-century evangelicalism.

Dr. Noll has written and edited numerous books, most recently including Evangelicals: Who they Have Been, Are Now, and Could Be (with George Marsden and David Bebbington, Eerdmans, 2019), In the Beginning Was the Word: The Bible in American Public Life (OUP, 2015), From Every Tribe and Nation: A Historian’s Discovery of the Global Christian Story (Baker Academic, 2014), Jesus Christ and the Life of the Mind (Eerdmans, 2011), and Clouds of Witnesses: Christian Voices from Africa and Asia (co-written with Carolyn Nystrom, IVP, 2011). He has also served on the editorial boards for Books & Culture and Christian History, and as co-editor of Library of Religious Biography for Wm. B. Eerdmans. In 2006 he received the National Endowment for the Humanities medal at the White House. Dr. Noll currently lives in Wheaton, Illinois, with his wife, Maggie.

Dr. Noll is teaching The Story of Christianity in Canada from May 23 to May 27 as part of Regent’s 2022 Summer Programs.

FORMAT AND ATTENDANCE

Regent intends to offer this lecture as a live event in the College’s chapel. Under current provincial policies, this event will not require attendees to show proof of vaccination. Please be aware, however, that Regent’s event protocols will follow the guidelines in place on the event date.

This lecture will also be streamed live online, and we look forward to being joined by friends from around the world. A recording will be available for a limited time after the event.