Thread by @kkdumez

Apologies for the tardiness (my pesky day job interferes with my Twitter habit from time to time), but before the week is out I wanted to return @mereorthodoxy's absolutely fascinating (to me!) J&JW symposium. And so, a Friday night thread:

First, this nuanced review by @klh_sanders, which is familiar to me because, of all of the reviews I've seen of J&JW, this one most resembles the critics' voices that I conversed w/ in my head as I wrote J&JW. I considered these objections as I wrote, I weighed the evidence...

...and I crafted my narrative. So...I don't think my treatment of "outliers as evidence" is quite as reckless as Sanders suggests. I tried to take pains to differentiate even as I identified affinities. And many evs are variously shaped by mainstream and "extreme" influences.

What is a feature and what is a bug? We might come down in different places, but this is an essential question. FTR, I remain more convinced now than ever that it is indeed "the relationship between the centers and the margins that demands scrutiny."

A couple more things. By "support" for Trump I don't just mean votes, also the last 4 years of approval ratings, policies. Have I ascribed white evs too much power? I pray I have. But finally, let's talk definitions. On the one hand, Sanders dismisses my too "easy" def of ev.

And then dismisses the entire definitional Q as "one of the most tired & well-trod conversations of the last 20 yrs at least, & we need to start taking notice of our interest in the Q." Agree on the latter. Here's just one place I've reflected on the same: religionnews.com/2019/02/06/the…

But then despite weariness of the subject, Sanders turns right around and offers her own definition of evangelicalism! And it's a good one! A symbiotic relationship between theology, ideology, and markets. Yes! I'd add networks and alliances to the mix.

And yes to a study of conferences. While we're at it, add a study of the financing of evangelicalism and its networks. So much $ changes hands, let's follow that $. All of which is to say, we might not be all that far apart. I think we agree on many Qs if not the precise answers.

It's fun to have the voices in my head take embodied form. Even as I've seen the book affirmed in many ways, these voices persist and I regularly reassess my analysis. Thus far I'm pretty happy with my choices. (But you're right about the eco analysis. Limits of time & space.)

Finally, Jacob Sims offers an ambitious and provocative reflection on where we go from here. I won't sum it up because it can't be easily summed up, but it's all worth pondering.
mereorthodoxy.com/from-the-ashes/

I'm extremely grateful to @mereorthodoxy for hosting this conversation about things that matter deeply Reviewing another's work in this way is an act of generosity, an invitation to community joined in the pursuit of truth, and maybe ultimately an act of love.

Did I really forget the link? Apparently. It’s been a long week. mereorthodoxy.com/missing-subtle…