OpenTheo

Evangelicalism, Elites, and Excellence with Aaron Renn

Life and Books and Everything — Clearly Reformed

Evangelicalism, Elites, and Excellence with Aaron Renn

October 12, 2022
Life and Books and Everything
Life and Books and EverythingClearly Reformed

Coming out of a consulting background, Aaron Renn is now a regular contributor to many important conversations among Christians and conservatives. In this interview, Kevin asks Aaron about the three worlds of evangelicalism and how we should think about elites. They also discuss where evangelicalism has faltered and where it has been too hard on itself.

Intro & Sponsor [0:00-1:37]

Guest: Aaron Renn [1:38-7:47]

Rose-Colored Rural Areas [7:48-10:29]

What Does Western Society Think of the Church? [10:30-23:50]

Evangelical Self-Flaggellation [23:51-26:50]

Do Evangelicals Lack Cultural Influence? [26:51-34:48]

The Evangelical "Middle-Class Mindset" [34:49-40:24]

A Call to Lay Intellectual Engagement [40:25-50:44]

Sponsor 2 [50:45-51:30]

Evangelicals and Elites [51:31-59:22]

Constantine and "Christian Nationalism" [59:23-1:08:31]

Final Plugs [1:08:32-1:10:39]

The Masculinist

Aaron Renn Substack

The Right: The Hundred-Year War for American Conservatism - Matthew Continetti

The Conservative Intellectual Movement in America Since 1945 - George Nash

"The Tinkerings of Robert Noyce" - Tom Wolfe

To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, and Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World - James Davison Hunter

The Mortification of Sin - edited by Aaron M. Renn

Share

FacebookTwitterRedditCopy Link

Transcript

More From Life and Books and Everything

The Case for Kids
The Case for Kids
Life and Books and Everything
October 20, 2022
Too often Christian leaders lay impossible burdens on their people, insisting that they solve a host of social ills and become experts in a thousand d
Life and Ministry with Sinclair Ferguson
Life and Ministry with Sinclair Ferguson
Life and Books and Everything
October 25, 2022
Have you ever wanted to sit down with an older godly pastor and just ask him about life for an hour? Well, that’s what Kevin tries to do with Sinclair
Does Christianity Transcend All Our Political Disagreements?
Does Christianity Transcend All Our Political Disagreements?
Life and Books and Everything
October 28, 2022
Christians don’t just disagree on political principles or on a number of political conclusions. Christians disagree on how Christianity and politics r
A Lifetime of Books and Ministry with D.A. Carson
A Lifetime of Books and Ministry with D.A. Carson
Life and Books and Everything
September 28, 2022
With more than 50 books and hundreds of articles, not to mention scores of edited works, Don Carson has written a lot. In this retrospective on life a
From Silence, to Complexification, to Capitulation
From Silence, to Complexification, to Capitulation
Life and Books and Everything
September 26, 2022
Evangelicals who set down the path toward LGBTQ acceptance rarely turn around and head back in the other direction. In this episode of Life and Books
Apologetics and Critical Race Theory with Neil Shenvi
Apologetics and Critical Race Theory with Neil Shenvi
Life and Books and Everything
September 12, 2022
Although Neil has a PhD in theoretical chemistry, he’s made a name for himself as an expert on Critical Race Theory (and Critical Theory more generall
More From "Life and Books and Everything"

More on OpenTheo

Fighting on Different Hills: Licona and Ally on the Resurrection of Jesus - Part 2
Fighting on Different Hills: Licona and Ally on the Resurrection of Jesus - Part 2
Risen Jesus
August 20, 2025
In 2004, Islamic scholar Dr. Shabir Ally and Dr. Mike Licona met at Regent University to debate the physical resurrection of Jesus. Both cases, a live
Is It a Sin to Feel Let Down by God?
Is It a Sin to Feel Let Down by God?
#STRask
November 6, 2025
Questions about whether it’s a sin to feel let down by God and whether it would be easier to have a personal relationship with a rock than with a God
The Historical Reliability of the Gospels: Licona vs. Ehrman - Part 1
The Historical Reliability of the Gospels: Licona vs. Ehrman - Part 1
Risen Jesus
September 3, 2025
In this episode, frequent debate opponents Dr. Michael Licona and Dr. Bart Ehrman face off on the historical reliability of the gospels. Held in 2018
Did Jesus Lie in Mark 5:39?
Did Jesus Lie in Mark 5:39?
#STRask
August 18, 2025
Questions about whether Jesus lied in Mark 5:39, proving that lying can’t be a sin, when he said, “The child has not died, but is asleep,” and what Je
What Should I Say to My Single, Christian Friend Who Is Planning to Use IVF to Have a Baby?
What Should I Say to My Single, Christian Friend Who Is Planning to Use IVF to Have a Baby?
#STRask
August 11, 2025
Questions about giving a biblical perspective to a single friend who is a relatively new Christian and is planning to use IVF to have a baby, and whet
Should I Leave a Church That Refuses to Preach on Divisive Topics?
Should I Leave a Church That Refuses to Preach on Divisive Topics?
#STRask
August 21, 2025
Questions about leaving a church with biblical theology because they refuse to preach on divisive topics, whether it’s okay to write an apologetics bo
Do Christian Business Owners Have a Moral Responsibility to Provide a Livable Wage?
Do Christian Business Owners Have a Moral Responsibility to Provide a Livable Wage?
#STRask
August 25, 2025
Questions about whether Christian business owners should provide a livable wage, whether doing a corporate sponsorship that promotes one’s business co
Did Man Create God? Licona vs Yothment
Did Man Create God? Licona vs Yothment
Risen Jesus
August 6, 2025
This episode is a 2006 debate between Dr. Michael Licona and Steve Yothment, the president of the Atlanta Freethought Society, on whether man created
Corey Miller: The Progressive Miseducation of America
Corey Miller: The Progressive Miseducation of America
Knight & Rose Show
September 27, 2025
Wintery Knight and Desert Rose welcome Dr. Corey Miller to discuss The Progressive Miseducation of America. They examine how universities promote scie
Is Doing the Right Thing a Sin If You Truly Believe It’s Wrong?
Is Doing the Right Thing a Sin If You Truly Believe It’s Wrong?
#STRask
September 22, 2025
Questions about whether Romans 14:23 means that doing the right thing is a sin if you truly believe it’s wrong, and how to reconcile Hebrews 10:16, wh
How Can I Tell My Patients They’re Giving Christianity a Negative Reputation?
How Can I Tell My Patients They’re Giving Christianity a Negative Reputation?
#STRask
August 7, 2025
Questions about whether there’s a gracious way to explain to manipulative and demanding patients that they’re giving Christianity a negative reputatio
John Thomson and the Shaping of American Presbyterianism with Stephen A. Fix
John Thomson and the Shaping of American Presbyterianism with Stephen A. Fix
Life and Books and Everything
September 29, 2025
If you are looking for a deep dive into the history of early American Presbyterianism, you have come to the right place! Listen in as Kevin talks with
How Could the Similarities Between Krishna and Jesus Be a Coincidence?
How Could the Similarities Between Krishna and Jesus Be a Coincidence?
#STRask
October 9, 2025
Questions about how the similarities between Krishna and Jesus could be a coincidence and whether there’s any proof to substantiate the idea that Jesu
After the Crucifixion, was Jesus Resurrected or Rescued? Licona vs. Ally
After the Crucifixion, was Jesus Resurrected or Rescued? Licona vs. Ally
Risen Jesus
October 8, 2025
This episode is a 2016 debate held at the University of Tennessee – Chattanooga between Dr. Michael Licona and Dr. Shabir Ally, president of the Islam
Since Most People Are Wrong When They Make Supernatural Claims, Why Didn't God Do Better?
Since Most People Are Wrong When They Make Supernatural Claims, Why Didn't God Do Better?
Risen Jesus
September 17, 2025
Dr. Matthew McCormick, a philosophy professor at California State University, Sacramento, doesn’t believe that there is satisfactory historical eviden