Description
The major cultural changes in Western societies since the Reformation have created a serious challenge for the Church. Modernity in particular has been inhospitable to Christian orthodoxy and many have been tempted to reject classical versions of the faith. This has led to a division within churches that Walker and Parry name 'the third schism' a divide between those who embrace what C. S. Lewis called 'mere Christianity' or 'deep church' and those who do not. This book is a call deep church, to remember our future, to make a half-turn back to premodernity. Not in order to repeat the past but in order to find often forgotten resources for the present. Embracing the spirituality of deep church, according to Walker and Parry, is the only way that the church can be true to its calling in the midst of the postmodern world.
Recovering the roots of Christian orthodoxy
About the Author
Andrew G. Walker is Emeritus Professor of Theology, Religion and Culture, King's College London, and author of Restoring the Kingdom (4th edn, Eagle 1998) and Telling the Story (SPCK 1996).
Reviews
The authors' aim is exposing false divisions. It analyses the development of Christianity through major ears of history; it then re-states the essence of the Christian faith - explicitly following the precedent of C. S. Lewis in his classic Mere Christianity. Followers of Christ across the spectrum are challenged to affirm the core truth of the gospel, and to use under-valued resources from the faithful of two thousand years. The analysis proposes that current divisions are as far-reaching as the East/West split, or as the Reformation. I think we will have to wait for history to judge that, but the accounts of the Reformation and of the Modern Age are both good reading. 'Mere' or 'Deep' Christianity, or the Gospel, is then defined. It is both believing and behaving. It is both the narrative of Christ and the experience of the spirit. It is both the doctrine of the creed and the actions of worship and ethical living. There are repeated challenges to both liberal and conservative assumptions. Finally there are impassioned calls for much more attentions to teaching the faith in a culture where it is largely unfamiliar to people, and for much more attention to the central place and value of communion. -- Rosemary Medhurst * The Reader *
Book Information
ISBN 9780281072729
Author Andrew G. Walker
Format Paperback
Page Count 192
Imprint SPCK Publishing
Publisher SPCK Publishing
Weight(grams) 308g
Recovering the roots of Christian orthodoxy
About the Author
Andrew G. Walker is Emeritus Professor of Theology, Religion and Culture, King's College London, and author of Restoring the Kingdom (4th edn, Eagle 1998) and Telling the Story (SPCK 1996).
Reviews
The authors' aim is exposing false divisions. It analyses the development of Christianity through major ears of history; it then re-states the essence of the Christian faith - explicitly following the precedent of C. S. Lewis in his classic Mere Christianity. Followers of Christ across the spectrum are challenged to affirm the core truth of the gospel, and to use under-valued resources from the faithful of two thousand years. The analysis proposes that current divisions are as far-reaching as the East/West split, or as the Reformation. I think we will have to wait for history to judge that, but the accounts of the Reformation and of the Modern Age are both good reading. 'Mere' or 'Deep' Christianity, or the Gospel, is then defined. It is both believing and behaving. It is both the narrative of Christ and the experience of the spirit. It is both the doctrine of the creed and the actions of worship and ethical living. There are repeated challenges to both liberal and conservative assumptions. Finally there are impassioned calls for much more attentions to teaching the faith in a culture where it is largely unfamiliar to people, and for much more attention to the central place and value of communion. -- Rosemary Medhurst * The Reader *
Book Information
ISBN 9780281072729
Author Andrew G. Walker
Format Paperback
Page Count 192
Imprint SPCK Publishing
Publisher SPCK Publishing
Weight(grams) 308g
