--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: However helpful some might find the…" description: "\"“However helpful some might find the formulations continued in the CSBI, when given prescriptive force, it obstructs the kind of critical dialogue clea..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/339/zondervan-publishing-7069_communication_however-helpful-some-might-find-the-form_3219828.jpg" --- # However helpful some might find the formulations continued… ![“However helpful some might find the formulations continued in the CSBI, when given prescriptive force, it obstructs the kind of critical dialogue clearly surfacing within evangelicalism, and therefore threatens to neutralize self-criticism, a necessary quality of any healthy intellectual pursuit…” quote by Zondervan Publishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/339/zondervan-publishing-7069_communication_however-helpful-some-might-find-the-form_3219828.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/339/zondervan-publishing-7069_communication_however-helpful-some-might-find-the-form_3219828.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/339/zondervan-publishing-7069_communication_however-helpful-some-might-find-the-form_3219828.jpg) > ““However helpful some might find the formulations continued in the CSBI, when given prescriptive force, it obstructs the kind of critical dialogue clearly surfacing within evangelicalism, and therefore threatens to neutralize self-criticism, a necessary quality of any healthy intellectual pursuit. At such times, evangelicalism appears intellectually dishonest, thus forfeiting intellectual witness to our culture and creating spiritual stumbling blocks for its own members.2”” [Zondervan Publishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zondervan-publishing/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When prescriptive authority dominates, it stifles critical dialogue within evangelicalism, risking intellectual dishonesty and spiritual harm. **In simple terms:** Prescriptive force can silence healthy critique. Key Takeaway Balance guidance with open critique. Themes theology intellectual honesty criticism Mood thoughtful critical Type theological analytical When to use this quote - seminars - church discussions - academic research - personal study Key Concepts dialogue authority faith culture Questions to Reflect On - How can communities foster honest critique? - What safeguards protect intellectual integrity? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on authority can suppress necessary dissent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Evangelicalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evangelicalism/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Stumbling block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stumbling-block/) ## Related quotes > [“Pastor Ted and other evangelical pastors I hear about in the media seem to perceive just about everything to be a threat against Christianity.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hemant-mehta/pastor-ted-and-other-evangelical-pastors-i-hear-about-in-the-media/) [Hemant Mehta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hemant-mehta/) > [I don't think we've got the gospel right yet. What does it mean to be 'saved'? When I read the Bible, I don't see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-d-mclaren/i-don-t-think-we-ve-got-the-gospel-right-yet-what-does-it-mean-to-be/) [Brian D. McLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-d-mclaren/) > [“As Peter Berger has noted, the strategy of apologizing for Christian faith by trying to demonstrate its social utility is always eventually self-liquidating. Sooner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-m-gay/as-peter-berger-has-noted-the-strategy-of-apologizing-for-christian/) Craig M. Gay > [“Because of the divorce from the historic Church, Evangelicalism has sought for a new way to satisfy the need for materiality. This is why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-stephen-damick/because-of-the-divorce-from-the-historic-church-evangelicalism-has/) [Andrew Stephen Damick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-stephen-damick/) > [“There is little taste for 'high culture' especially in Evangelicalism, where the tendency has long been toward translation - making things accessible to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-davison-hunter/there-is-little-taste-for-high-culture-especially-in-evangelicalism/) [James Davison Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-davison-hunter/) > [“Being that 'reason is not antithetical to faith' (Woods) and that Pentecost established the Reality of super-nature (Lewis) and that 'theology matters' (Wimber), then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-alan-woods/being-that-reason-is-not-antithetical-to-faith-woods-and-that/) [R. Alan Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-alan-woods/) > [In many ways, American evangelicalism is somewhat stronger today than it was in, say 1955 - certainly more mainstream and influential in the culture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-douthat/in-many-ways-american-evangelicalism-is-somewhat-stronger-today-than/) [Ross Douthat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-douthat/) > [“I believe a significant segment of American evangelicalism is guilty of nationalistic and political idolatry. To a frightful degree, I think, evangelicals fuse the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-a-boyd/i-believe-a-significant-segment-of-american-evangelicalism-is-guilty/) [Gregory A. Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-a-boyd/) > [“But in their defense of the supernatural, fundamentalists and their evangelical heirs resemble some cancer patients. In facing a drastic disease, they are willing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-a-noll/but-in-their-defense-of-the-supernatural-fundamentalists-and-their/) [Mark A. Noll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-a-noll/) > [When the term Christian or even Protestant is used, it seldom refers to any particularly evangelical doctrine or way of life. More often it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-the-term-christian-or-even-protestant-is-used-it-seldom-refers/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“From outside the evangelical community, this seems an astonishing confession. Since when is solitude one of the Seven Deadly Sins? But to a fellow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/from-outside-the-evangelical-community-this-seems-an-astonishing/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [Evangelicalism can only remain evangelical if it is passionately serious about truth and theology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/evangelicalism-can-only-remain-evangelical-if-it-is-passionately/) [Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) > [“Those who would argue for the infallibility or the inerrancy of scripture logically should also claim the same infallibility for the churches in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-m-mcdonald/those-who-would-argue-for-the-infallibility-or-the-inerrancy-of/) Lee M. McDonald > [“The lifestyle of Christians matched their teachings, so that many early Christians were not afraid to say, 'Imitate us as we imitate Christ.' Unfortunately,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-woodbridge/the-lifestyle-of-christians-matched-their-teachings-so-that-many/) John D. Woodbridge > [ How many people in the pews know that \[ Jonathan Edwards\] is both a founder of evangelicalism and, say, an idealist who denied that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-d-crisp/how-many-people-in-the-pews-know-that-jonathan-edwards-is-both-a/) [Oliver D. Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-d-crisp/) ## More by Zondervan Publishing > [“Yet the same God who sustained Job’s faith sustains ours. God, not the strength of our faith, is our hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zondervan-publishing/yet-the-same-god-who-sustained-job-s-faith-sustains-ours-god-not-the/) [Zondervan Publishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zondervan-publishing/) > [“Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zondervan-publishing/whoever-is-ashamed-of-me-and-my-words-the-son-of-man-will-be-ashamed/) [Zondervan Publishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zondervan-publishing/) > [“Think of your feeling as a six-year-old child: you want to listen to it, and then you need to be the faith-filled grown-up who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zondervan-publishing/think-of-your-feeling-as-a-six-year-old-child-you-want-to-listen-to/) [Zondervan Publishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zondervan-publishing/) > [“When supernatural phenomena do not occur, what is the attitude of the writers of Scripture toward their absence? When there is an absence of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zondervan-publishing/when-supernatural-phenomena-do-not-occur-what-is-the-attitude-of-the/) [Zondervan Publishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zondervan-publishing/) > [“we elevate what we deem beautiful, endeavor to create spheres of pristine beauty, and perhaps rightly so, for “whatever is good, pure, lovely, think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zondervan-publishing/we-elevate-what-we-deem-beautiful-endeavor-to-create-spheres-of/) [Zondervan Publishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zondervan-publishing/) > [“The problem with a living sacrifice is that it can crawl off the altar, so you may have to resurrender your life fifty times…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zondervan-publishing/the-problem-with-a-living-sacrifice-is-that-it-can-crawl-off-the/) [Zondervan Publishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zondervan-publishing/) > [“What should be brought explicitly to the forefront here is the manner in which God speaks truth, namely, through the idioms, attitudes, assumptions, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zondervan-publishing/what-should-be-brought-explicitly-to-the-forefront-here-is-the-manner/) [Zondervan Publishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zondervan-publishing/) > [“I believe that some people who advertise great healing ministries are frauds. I believe that others, at the beginning of their ministry, were used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zondervan-publishing/i-believe-that-some-people-who-advertise-great-healing-ministries-are/) [Zondervan Publishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zondervan-publishing/) > [“In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse — your whole nation — because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zondervan-publishing/in-tithes-and-offerings-you-are-under-a-curse-your-whole-nation/) [Zondervan Publishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zondervan-publishing/) > [“A longing fulfilled is a tree of life. Proverbs 13:12”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zondervan-publishing/a-longing-fulfilled-is-a-tree-of-life-proverbs-13-12/) [Zondervan Publishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zondervan-publishing/) > [“Humility is not putting yourself down or denying your strengths; rather, it is being honest about your weaknesses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zondervan-publishing/humility-is-not-putting-yourself-down-or-denying-your-strengths/) [Zondervan Publishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zondervan-publishing/) > [“The day you first believed, Jesus chose you. And he believes you can, in his strength and authority, become just like him. He said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zondervan-publishing/the-day-you-first-believed-jesus-chose-you-and-he-believes-you-can-in/) [Zondervan Publishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zondervan-publishing/) > [“This premise of the CSBI should not be given a free ride, for to leave it as is implies that people who wish to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zondervan-publishing/this-premise-of-the-csbi-should-not-be-given-a-free-ride-for-to-leave/) [Zondervan Publishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zondervan-publishing/) > [“Christians should carry spiritual green cards to remind us that our citizenship is in heaven.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zondervan-publishing/christians-should-carry-spiritual-green-cards-to-remind-us-that-our/) [Zondervan Publishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zondervan-publishing/) > [“In our case, most people don’t miss who we are as the church because they have not heard what we say or preach to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zondervan-publishing/in-our-case-most-people-don-t-miss-who-we-are-as-the-church-because/) [Zondervan Publishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zondervan-publishing/) [Explore all 92 Zondervan Publishing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zondervan-publishing/) ## More Communication quotes > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/) [Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/) > [The problem posed by indirect speech acts is the problem of how it is possible for the speaker to say one thing and mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-searle/the-problem-posed-by-indirect-speech-acts-is-the-problem-of-how-it-is/) [John Searle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-searle/) > [We should have a conversation when we hang up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-cumberbatch/we-should-have-a-conversation-when-we-hang-up/) [Benedict Cumberbatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benedict-cumberbatch/) > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [A poet is wounded into speech, and he examines these wounds, meticulously, to discover how to heal them. The bad poet harangues at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/a-poet-is-wounded-into-speech-and-he-examines-these-wounds/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [“To engage in dialogue is to serve others via whatever is real inside you; to engage in debate is to ultimately serve the illusions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oli-anderson/to-engage-in-dialogue-is-to-serve-others-via-whatever-is-real-inside/) [Oli Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oli-anderson/) > [What it comes down to for me is this: Will the technologies of communication in our culture, serve to enlighten us and help us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-waters/what-it-comes-down-to-for-me-is-this-will-the-technologies-of/) [Roger Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-waters/) > [In dialogue, there is opposition, yes, but no head-on collision. Smashing heads does not open minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-tannen/in-dialogue-there-is-opposition-yes-but-no-head-on-collision-smashing/) [Deborah Tannen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-tannen/) > [A dialogue is very important. It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [I get afraid of the dark if I'm in a great deal of dark, and I have to move around inside of that fear...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ferris/i-get-afraid-of-the-dark-if-i-m-in-a-great-deal-of-dark-and-i-have-to/) [Emil Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ferris/) > [I've been in a serious conversation with one of my children, and a fan has come up. I've been in a public bathroom and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-reddy/i-ve-been-in-a-serious-conversation-with-one-of-my-children-and-a-fan/) [Helen Reddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-reddy/) > [Life as we know it is fundamentally unsatisfying. I think most folks feel this to be true. They know that a life of aimless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-yates/life-as-we-know-it-is-fundamentally-unsatisfying-i-think-most-folks/) [Michael Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-yates/) > [Disability, in general, hasn't been included in the conversation about inclusivity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-winston-george/disability-in-general-hasn-t-been-included-in-the-conversation-about/) [Jason Winston George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-winston-george/) > [“Women will be at least 50 percent of the communications community workforce … from executive suite to interns. Why? The “integrated” agency will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoram-wind/women-will-be-at-least-50-percent-of-the-communications-community/) Yoram Wind > [There are certain things you must not say in spite of the fact that supposedly democracy means free speech. No. You are not allowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-eubank-sr/there-are-certain-things-you-must-not-say-in-spite-of-the-fact-that/) [Chris Eubank Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-eubank-sr/) [Browse all 21,506 Communication quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“However helpful some might find the formulations continued in the CSBI, when given prescriptive force, it obstructs the kind of critical dialogue clearly surfacing within evangelicalism, and therefore threatens to neutralize self-criticism, a necessary quality of any healthy intellectual pursuit. At such times, evangelicalism appears intellectually dishonest, thus forfeiting intellectual witness to our culture and creating spiritual stumbling blocks for its own members.2”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Zondervan Publishing" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zondervan-publishing/however-helpful-some-might-find-the-formulations-continued-in-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Communication" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zondervan-publishing/however-helpful-some-might-find-the-formulations-continued-in-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/339/zondervan-publishing-7069_communication_however-helpful-some-might-find-the-form_3219828.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/339/zondervan-publishing-7069_communication_however-helpful-some-might-find-the-form_3219828.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/339/zondervan-publishing-7069_communication_however-helpful-some-might-find-the-form_3219828.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“However helpful some might find the formulations continued in the CSBI, when given prescriptive force, it…” — Zondervan Publishing", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Zondervan Publishing", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zondervan-publishing/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“However helpful some might find the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zondervan-publishing/however-helpful-some-might-find-the-formulations-continued-in-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zondervan-publishing/however-helpful-some-might-find-the-formulations-continued-in-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```