Letters to Young Scholars, Second Edition

Letters to Young Scholars is designed primarily for college students, advanced high school students, and church and parachurch study groups on spiritual development. As a college text, the book introduces beginning students to the general education (or liberal arts) portion of a Christian college education. It gives major emphasis to the humanities and social science disciplines, the integration of the Christian faith with those disciplines, and the application of Christian thought to daily living (applied Christianity). It seeks to challenge the students to become broader in perspective and appreciation, more compassionate toward all of God's creatures, and more confident and committed as they develop their worldviews and personal values.


""Letters to Young Scholars is well-written and offers a refreshingly broad evangelical perspective that reminds one of C. S. Lewis's brand of catholic evangelical Christianity. Part of the reason this is such a great book is because of the evenhanded way it treats a large number of difficult issues. What the book offers in breadth, however, in no way diminishes its depth....the content is truly wonderful....(and the) writing style is accessible and engaging. Bravo!""
--Robert Moore-Jumonville, Profesor of Christian Spirituality, Spring Arbor University

""I...am thoroughly enjoying reading your book. Your deep sense of God's love and goodness...is what I like the most. Socrates once asked whether it was more important to be a politician or a physician; i.e. whether it was better to serve the existing interests of the people or seek to improve their souls. You clearly do the latter, and with a grace and equanimity that draws them toward what you seek to reveal.""
--Jeffrey D. Rediger, Instructor in Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School

""Perhaps the highest praise that I can give this book is to note that I only wish I could have read this material when I was an undergraduate....I am confident I would be further along the road of reflective Christian thinking had I encountered a book like this during my formative intellectual years.""
--Stephen C. Messer, Profesor of History, Taylor University


William Carey Ringenberg has spent most of his career at Taylor University where he has been director of the Honors Program, professor and chair of history, and associate academic dean. He is a past president of the Conference on Faith and History, and has authored The Christian College: A History of Protestant Higher Education in America (2006), and The Christian College and the Meaning of Academic Freedom: Truth Seeking in Community (2016).