David A. Noebel
Encyclopedia
David A. Noebel is an American
religious leader and writer. He is the current director of Summit Ministries, in Manitou Springs, Colorado
in the United States
. Since the 1960s, he has written widely on the relationship between religion and popular culture, and is an outspoken critic of secular humanism
, which he describes as unscientific and a religion.
He was a former Associate Evangelist of Billy James Hargis
's Christian Crusade. Noebel served as vice-president and president of American Christian College, which Hargis had founded in 1971 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It closed in 1977, three years after Hargis resigned following a sexual scandal. Noebel was a member of the Council for National Policy
beginning in 1984, and a candidate for Congress against Rep. Robert Kastenmeier
.
(Holland, Michigan
, B.A.), and the University of Tulsa
(M.A.). He studied philosophy in graduate school at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
. He was ordained a minister in 1961. He was pastor of Grace Bible Church, Madison, Wisconsin.
In 1962 he founded Summit Ministries, a Christian leadership training organization designed as an educational Christian ministry. He believes that countless Christian youth have fallen victim to the popular ideas of our modern world, and that most have adopted these ideas into their own worldview, while still others go on to renounce their Christian faith altogether. Summit views its role as a catalyst to enable youth to stand strong in their faith and defend truth, while having a positive influence on the society in which they live. He has directed the Summit Youth Ministries since 1964. The ministry grew in size considerably after being mentioned on James Dobson
's radio show.
In 1965 he wrote a pamphlet, "Communism, Hypnotism And The Beatles." It was followed in 1966 by Rhythm, Riots, and Revolution, which inflamed the debate about the presence of Communism in music, especially folk and folk-rock. He saw contemporary popular music as a Soviet plot to brainwash American youth. Unlike other religious critics of popular music, he backed up his analysis with references outside the Bible, using scholarly footnotes and quotations. His work was influential and widely adopted by later critics of rock music.
From 1971-1977, he served as vice-president and president, as well as professor of Biblical Studies, American Christian College, founded by the evangelist Billy James Hargis
in Tulsa, Oklahoma
. He is a member of the American Philosophical Association
and the Southwestern Philosophical Society. He joined the John Birch Society
in the 1960s, but left in 1986.
Over the next several years, Noebel wrote about the dangers of popular music, homosexuality
and AIDS
. Christian Crusade Recordings of Tulsa released a spoken word
album, The Marxist Minstrels (1973). Its back cover promotes the book by the same name. Published in 1973, it expanded on Noebel's theories about Communist intentions in rock music. Noebel wrote The Homosexual Revolution (1977), dedicated to Anita Bryant
. He says that "homosexuality rapidly is becoming one of America's most serious social problems." He later co-authored AIDS: Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome: A Special Report (1986), and contributed frequent articles against homosexuality to The Journal.
In 1991, he wrote Understanding the Times: The Religious Worldviews of Our Day and the Search for Truth, a textbook interpreting current intellectual movements, including biblical Christianity, secular humanism, Marxism-Leninism, the New Age Movement, Islam, and postmodernism. It is widely used among Christian schools, churches and colleges, either in its unabridged or abridged formats. Ministry Watch
described it as his most notable book. The author DJ Grothe cited it as changing his life, inadvertently, by introducing him to humanism.
In 2000, Noebel co-authored Mind Siege: The Battle for Truth in the New Millenium with Timothy LaHaye, a broad-brushed attack on secular humanism. Paul Kurtz, editor-in-chief of Free Inquiry, noted that the authors claim that
Noebel has also created numerous educational materials, including textbooks (with teacher's guides) and video curricula.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
religious leader and writer. He is the current director of Summit Ministries, in Manitou Springs, Colorado
Manitou Springs, Colorado
The city of Manitou Springs is a Home Rule Municipality located in El Paso County, Colorado, United States. The population was 4,980 at the 2000 census.Students are served by Manitou Springs School District 14 and Manitou Springs High School....
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Since the 1960s, he has written widely on the relationship between religion and popular culture, and is an outspoken critic of secular humanism
Secular humanism
Secular Humanism, alternatively known as Humanism , is a secular philosophy that embraces human reason, ethics, justice, and the search for human fulfillment...
, which he describes as unscientific and a religion.
He was a former Associate Evangelist of Billy James Hargis
Billy James Hargis
Billy James Hargis was a fundamentalist Protestant Christian evangelist. At the height of his popularity in the 1950s and 1960s, his Christian Crusade ministry was broadcast on more than 500 radio stations and 250 television stations...
's Christian Crusade. Noebel served as vice-president and president of American Christian College, which Hargis had founded in 1971 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It closed in 1977, three years after Hargis resigned following a sexual scandal. Noebel was a member of the Council for National Policy
Council for National Policy
The Council for National Policy , is an umbrella organization and networking group for social conservative activists in the United States...
beginning in 1984, and a candidate for Congress against Rep. Robert Kastenmeier
Robert Kastenmeier
Robert William Kastenmeier is a United States politician. He represented Wisconsin in the United States House of Representatives from 1959 to 1991, and is a member of the Democratic Party.-Education:...
.
Life
Noebel was educated at the Milwaukee Bible College (now Grace Bible College), Hope CollegeHope College
Hope College is a medium-sized , private, residential liberal arts college located in downtown Holland, Michigan, a few miles from Lake Michigan. It was opened in 1851 as the Pioneer School by Dutch immigrants four years after the community was first settled...
(Holland, Michigan
Holland, Michigan
Holland is a city in the western region of the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated near the eastern shore of Lake Michigan on Lake Macatawa, which is fed by the Macatawa River ....
, B.A.), and the University of Tulsa
University of Tulsa
The University of Tulsa is a private university awarding bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA. It is currently ranked 75th among doctoral degree granting universities in the nation by US News and World Report and is listed as one of the "Best 366 Colleges" by...
(M.A.). He studied philosophy in graduate school at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
. He was ordained a minister in 1961. He was pastor of Grace Bible Church, Madison, Wisconsin.
In 1962 he founded Summit Ministries, a Christian leadership training organization designed as an educational Christian ministry. He believes that countless Christian youth have fallen victim to the popular ideas of our modern world, and that most have adopted these ideas into their own worldview, while still others go on to renounce their Christian faith altogether. Summit views its role as a catalyst to enable youth to stand strong in their faith and defend truth, while having a positive influence on the society in which they live. He has directed the Summit Youth Ministries since 1964. The ministry grew in size considerably after being mentioned on James Dobson
James Dobson
James Clayton "Jim" Dobson, Jr. is an American evangelical Christian author, psychologist, and founder in 1977 of Focus on the Family , which he led until 2003. In the 1980s he was ranked as one of the most influential spokesman for conservative social positions in American public life...
's radio show.
In 1965 he wrote a pamphlet, "Communism, Hypnotism And The Beatles." It was followed in 1966 by Rhythm, Riots, and Revolution, which inflamed the debate about the presence of Communism in music, especially folk and folk-rock. He saw contemporary popular music as a Soviet plot to brainwash American youth. Unlike other religious critics of popular music, he backed up his analysis with references outside the Bible, using scholarly footnotes and quotations. His work was influential and widely adopted by later critics of rock music.
From 1971-1977, he served as vice-president and president, as well as professor of Biblical Studies, American Christian College, founded by the evangelist Billy James Hargis
Billy James Hargis
Billy James Hargis was a fundamentalist Protestant Christian evangelist. At the height of his popularity in the 1950s and 1960s, his Christian Crusade ministry was broadcast on more than 500 radio stations and 250 television stations...
in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
. He is a member of the American Philosophical Association
American Philosophical Association
The American Philosophical Association is the main professional organization for philosophers in the United States. Founded in 1900, its mission is to promote the exchange of ideas among philosophers, to encourage creative and scholarly activity in philosophy, to facilitate the professional work...
and the Southwestern Philosophical Society. He joined the John Birch Society
John Birch Society
The John Birch Society is an American political advocacy group that supports anti-communism, limited government, a Constitutional Republic and personal freedom. It has been described as radical right-wing....
in the 1960s, but left in 1986.
Over the next several years, Noebel wrote about the dangers of popular music, homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
and AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
. Christian Crusade Recordings of Tulsa released a spoken word
Spoken word
Spoken word is a form of poetry that often uses alliterated prose or verse and occasionally uses metered verse to express social commentary. Traditionally it is in the first person, is from the poet’s point of view and is themed in current events....
album, The Marxist Minstrels (1973). Its back cover promotes the book by the same name. Published in 1973, it expanded on Noebel's theories about Communist intentions in rock music. Noebel wrote The Homosexual Revolution (1977), dedicated to Anita Bryant
Anita Bryant
Anita Jane Bryant is an American singer, former Miss Oklahoma beauty pageant winner, and gay rights opponent. She scored four Top 40 hits in the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s, including "Paper Roses", which reached #5...
. He says that "homosexuality rapidly is becoming one of America's most serious social problems." He later co-authored AIDS: Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome: A Special Report (1986), and contributed frequent articles against homosexuality to The Journal.
In 1991, he wrote Understanding the Times: The Religious Worldviews of Our Day and the Search for Truth, a textbook interpreting current intellectual movements, including biblical Christianity, secular humanism, Marxism-Leninism, the New Age Movement, Islam, and postmodernism. It is widely used among Christian schools, churches and colleges, either in its unabridged or abridged formats. Ministry Watch
Ministry Watch
Ministry Watch is an independent evangelical Christian organization whose purpose is to review Christian ministries for financial accountability and transparency, and to provide independent advice to Christians considering making donations to them...
described it as his most notable book. The author DJ Grothe cited it as changing his life, inadvertently, by introducing him to humanism.
In 2000, Noebel co-authored Mind Siege: The Battle for Truth in the New Millenium with Timothy LaHaye, a broad-brushed attack on secular humanism. Paul Kurtz, editor-in-chief of Free Inquiry, noted that the authors claim that
"[T]he secular humanist ideology dominates the major institutions of American life-including the American Civil Liberties UnionAmerican Civil Liberties UnionThe American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...
, the National Organization of Women, the National Endowment for the ArtsNational Endowment for the ArtsThe National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
, the National Association of Biology Teachers, the major television networks, the major foundations (Ford, Rockefeller, etc.), the National Council of ChurchesNational Council of ChurchesThe National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA is an ecumenical partnership of 37 Christian faith groups in the United States. Its member denominations, churches, conventions, and archdioceses include Mainline Protestant, Orthodox, African American, Evangelical, and historic peace...
, the liberal wing of the Democratic PartyDemocratic Party (United States)The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, the United NationsUnited NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
, UNESCOUNESCOThe United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
, Harvard, YaleYALERapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
, and two thousand other colleges and universities!"
Noebel has also created numerous educational materials, including textbooks (with teacher's guides) and video curricula.
Books
- Communism, hypnotism and the Beatles: An analysis of the Communist use of music, the Communist master music plan, 1965
- Rhythm, riots, and revolution;: An analysis of the Communist use of music, the Communist master music plan, 1966
- Does the National Council of Churches speak for you?, 1969
- The Beatles: A Study in Drugs, Sex, & Revolution, 1969 (pamphlet)
- The Marxist Minstrels: A Handbook on Communist Subversion of Music, 1974
- The Homosexual Revolution, 1977
- The Slaughter of the Innocent, 1979
- The Legacy of John Lennon: Charming or Harming a Generation?, 1982
- AIDS: Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, 1986 (with Wayne C. Lutton and Paul Cameron)
- Understanding the Times: The Religious Worldviews of our Day and the Search for Truth Harvest House, 1991; 2nd edition 2006
- Clergy in the Classroom: The Religion of Secular Humanism, 1995 (with J. F. Baldwin and Kevin J. Bywater)
- Mind Siege: The Battle for Truth in the New Millenium, 2000 (with Timothy LaHaye)
- The Battle for Truth, 2001; republished as Worldviews in Collision, Harvest House, 2008
- Thinking Like a Christian: Understanding and Living a Biblical Worldview (with Chuck Edwards) B&H, 2002
- Countering Culture: Arming Yourself to Confront Non-Biblical Worldviews (and Chuck Edwards) B&H, 2004
- You Can Still Trust the Communists...to Be Communists (Socialists and Progressives too) (and Fred Schwarz) Christain Anti-Communism Crusade, 2010
External links
- Summit Ministries Website
- Page on the Christian Worldview Network, including biography and article index