Ouachita to host church history scholar David Bebbington on Oct. 7 for Birkett Williams Lecture
September 24, 2019
- Ashly StracenerOuachita Baptist University will host Dr. David W. Bebbington, visiting professor
at Baylor University, for a lecture on Monday, Oct. 7, at 7:30 p.m. in Ouachita’s
McBeth Recital Hall in Mabee Fine Arts Center. The lecture is free and open to the
public and is part of Ouachita’s Birkett Williams Endowed Lecture Series. Following
the talk, there will be a brief time for questions from the audience.
The theme of the lecture will focus on evangelicalism and its relevancy to the modern
Christian. Bebbington, emeritus professor of history at Stirling College in Scotland,
is a world-renowned scholar on evangelicalism who has taught and lectured all over
the world. He also has authored more than 20 books, most pertaining to the topic of
evangelicalism. Some of his most notable works include “Evangelicalism in Modern Britain:
A History from the 1730s to the 1980s,” “The Dominance of Evangelicalism: The Age
of Spurgeon and Moody” and “Baptists Through the Centuries: A History of a Global
People.”
His latest upcoming work will be published in November and is a collaboration with
two other scholars, Mark A. Noll and George M. Marsden, who are known for their work
in evangelical history. The title of the project, “Evangelicals: Who They Have Been,
Are Now, and Could Be,” will serve as Bebbington’s title for the lecture.
“Evangelicalism is a much debated and sometimes maligned religious expression, especially
in the United States,” said Dr. Terry Carter, associate dean of Ouachita’s Pruet School
of Christian Studies and W.O. Vaught Professor of Christian Ministries. “This theological
position warrants some time and consideration. This is our opportunity to become more
informed concerning one of the most influential theological developments in religious
history.
“Since many in our community use the term ‘evangelicalism’ to define themselves or
others, maybe it’s time we took a few moments to consider what the idea truly represents
from a historic, contemporary and future perspective,” Carter said.
In addition to teaching at the University of Stirling, Bebbington has taught at the
University of Alabama, Birmingham; Regent College, Vancouver; Notre Dame University,
Indiana; and University of Pretoria, South Africa. Bebbington also was elected a Fellow
of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2016, and he is part of the Royal Historical
Society.
The Pruet School of Christian Studies will serve as host for this Birkett Williams
lecture. Ouachita’s Birkett Williams Endowed Lecture Series was established in 1977
thanks to a gift from the late Birkett L. Williams, a 1910 Ouachita graduate. His
generous endowment established the lecture series as an opportunity to extend the
concepts of a liberal arts education beyond the classroom by bringing renowned scholars
and public figures to Ouachita’s campus.
For more information, contact Mary Farley at [email protected] or 870-245-5599.
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