David A. Noebel (born August 27, 1936) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

religious leader and writer. He is the former director o
Summit Ministries
in

Manitou Springs, Colorado Manitou Springs is a home rule municipality located at the foot of Pikes Peak in western El Paso County, Colorado, United States. The town was founded for its natural mineral springs. The downtown area continues to be of interest to travelers, ...

in the

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. 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 is a philosophy, belief system or life stance that embraces human reason, secular ethics, and philosophical naturalism while specifically rejecting religious dogma, supernaturalism, and superstition as the basis of morality an ...

,Paul Kurtz, "Secular Humanism Faces a New Attack
", ''Free Inquiry'' 21:3, 2001 which he describes as unscientific and a religion. Noebel was a former Associate Evangelist of

Billy James Hargis Billy James Hargis (August 3, 1925 – November 27, 2004) was an American 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 te ...

's Christian Crusade.Member biographies
for the

Council for National Policy The Council for National Policy (CNP) is an umbrella organization and networking group for conservative and Republican activists in the United States. It was launched in 1981 during the Reagan administration by Tim LaHaye and the Christian righ ...

, accessed 2008-02-21 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 allegations of sexual misconduct against Hargis. He was a member of the

beginning in 1984, and a candidate for Congress against Rep.

Robert Kastenmeier Robert William Kastenmeier (January 24, 1924March 20, 2015) was an American Democratic politician who represented central Wisconsin in the United States House of Representatives for 32 years, from 1959 until 1991. He was a key sponsor of the Co ...

Life

Noebel was educated at the Milwaukee Bible College (no
Grace Christian University
,

Hope College Hope College is a private Christian liberal arts college in Holland, Michigan. It was originally opened in 1851 as the Pioneer School by Dutch immigrants four years after the community was first settled. The first freshman college class matricul ...

(

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 (formerly known locally as the Black River). ...

, B.A.), and the

University of Tulsa The University of Tulsa (TU) is a private research university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It has a historic affiliation with the Presbyterian Church and the campus architectural style is predominantly Collegiate Gothic. The school traces its origin to ...

(M.A.). He studied philosophy in graduate school at the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

. He was ordained a minister in 1961. He was pastor of Grace Bible Church, Madison, Wisconsin. In 1962 Noebel founde
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 equipping and supporting rising generations to embrace God’s truth and champion a biblical worldview. He directed Summit Ministries since 1964 until the board unanimously endorse
Dr. Jeff Myers
as its 2nd president upon the retirement of Dr. David Noebel. The ministry grew in size considerably after being mentioned on

James Dobson James Clayton Dobson Jr. (born April 21, 1936) is an American evangelical Christian author, psychologist, and founder of Focus on the Family (FOTF), which he led from 1977 until 2010. In the 1980s he was ranked as one of the most influentia ...

's radio show.Andy Presler. He is editor of their monthly journal, ''The Journal''. In 1965 Noebel wrote a pamphlet, "Communism, Hypnotism and The Beatles." It was followed in 1966 by ''Rhythm, Riots, and Revolution'', which added to the debate about the presence of Communism in music, especially

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

and

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers suc ...

.D. Lankford, Jr., Ronald (2005). ''Folk Music USA: The Changing Voice of Protest'', New York: Schirmer Trade Books. . P. 129. He saw contemporary popular music as a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

plot to brainwash American youth. Unlike some 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.Johnny Marr, "Christ, Communists, and Rock'n'Roll: Anti-Rock and Roll Books"
WFMU, 1997, Accessed 2007-02-21 From 1971–1977, Noebel served as vice-president and president, as well as professor of Biblical Studies at American Christian College, founded by the evangelist

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

. He is a member of the

American Philosophical Association The American Philosophical Association (APA) 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 ...

and the Southwestern Philosophical Society. He joined the

John Birch Society The John Birch Society (JBS) is an American right-wing political advocacy group. Founded in 1958, it is anti-communist, supports social conservatism, and is associated with ultraconservative, radical right, far-right, or libertarian ideas. T ...

in the 1960s, but left in 1986. Over the next several years, Noebel wrote about the dangers of popular music,

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

and

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

. Christian Crusade Recordings of Tulsa released a

spoken word Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of ...

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 Jane Bryant (born March 25, 1940) is an American singer known for anti-gay activism. She scored four "Top 40" hits in the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s, including "Paper Roses" which reached No. 5 on the charts. She was th ...

. He says that "homosexuality rapidly is becoming one of America's most serious social problems."Jean Hardisty.
Constructing Homophobia: Colorado's Right-Wing Attack on Homosexuals"
''Public Eye'' magazine, March 1993 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 Protestant schools, churches and colleges, either in its unabridged or abridged formats.

Ministry Watch Ministry Watch is an independent American evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the cent ...

described it as his most notable book. The author

D. J. Grothe Douglas James Grothe (born June 25, 1973) is an American writer and public speaker who talks about issues at the nexus of science, critical thinking, secularism, religion and the paranormal. As an active skeptic, he has served in leadership r ...

cited it as changing his life, inadvertently, by introducing him to humanism.DJ Grothe.
Responding to the Religious Right"
, ''Free Inquiry'' 22:3, 2002. In 2000, Noebel co-authored '' Mind Siege: The Battle for Truth in the New Millennium'' with

Timothy LaHaye Timothy Francis LaHaye (April 27, 1926 – July 25, 2016) was an American Baptist evangelical Christian minister who wrote more than 85 books, both fiction and non-fiction, including the ''Left Behind'' series of apocalyptic fiction, which he ...

, a generalized attack on secular humanism. Paul Kurtz, editor-in-chief of ''Free Inquiry'', noted that the authors claim that

e secular humanist ideology dominates the major institutions of American life-including the
American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "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". T ...
, the
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, the
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, the National Association of Biology Teachers, the major television networks, the major foundations (Ford, Rockefeller, etc.), the
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, the liberal wing of the
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, the
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,
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,
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,
Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...
, and two thousand other colleges and universities!

Noebel has also created numerous educational materials, including textbooks (with teacher's guides) and video curricula.

Works

Books

*
Communism, Hypnotism and The Beatles
', 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: End Time Abomination'', 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 Millennium'', 2000 (with

) * '' 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) Christian Anti-Communism Crusade, 2010

Sound recordings

* ''The Marxist Minstrels''. Tulsa: Christian Crusade Recordings, 1968.

Video recordings

* ''Mind Siege: The Battle for the Truth'' (with Tim LaHaye)

References

External links

Summit Ministries WebsitePage on the Christian Worldview Network
including biography and article index {{DEFAULTSORT:Noebel, David A. 1937 births American Protestant ministers and clergy University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni Living people American religious writers New Right (United States) John Birch Society members People from Manitou Springs, Colorado Critics of atheism Hope College alumni American anti-communists Activists from Wisconsin American pamphleteers American male non-fiction writers Activists from Colorado