Michael Cooper is assistant professor of Christian Ministries in the School of Biblical and Religious Studies at Trinity International University and has begun research on the resurgence of Paganism in western society for his PhD dissertation in the Intercultural Studies Program at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.

Abstract

Cultural fragmentation, pluralization and globalization have raised the issue of Christian identity in fresh ways. These factors, along with the explosive growth of theologically conservative Protestantism worldwide, have prompted many to ask what it means to be “evangelical Christians.” Western evangelicalism tends to define itself in terms of the Reformation. Drawing upon the work of Alister McGrath, Kwame Bediako and Thomas Oden this essay will discuss the strengths and weaknesses of defining evangelicalism in terms of the 16th century Reformation. Then, the essay will consider the missiological implications of the issue.

Introduction

Cultural fragmentation, pluralization and globalization have raised the issue of identity in fresh ways. These factors, along with the explosive growth of theologically conservative Protestantism worldwide, have prompted many to ask what it means to be “evangelical Christians.” One religious informant coming from a Christian background describes her understanding of Christianity as practiced in the States:

When I think of the image of Jesus Christ’s message that I got over the course of my life, that worldly power doesn’t matter very much, that forgiveness and leaving judgements [sic] to God makes things easier on YOU, never mind your enemies, that it’s more important to follow the spirit of the law than its letter, that love is important, all I can think is that Christianity has come a long way from that. Christianity, at least in this country, has become judgemental [sic] and power-hungry and controlling and fear-based.

Homosexuals are going to Hell if they don’t change their ways, let’s legislate our beliefs and practices into law, drinking, dancing, card playing, and birth control are no-nos, if you’re a bad enough person you’ll go to Hell when you die, these are all positions I perceive Christianity to take these days. It’s become a fear-based religion, but I don’t think it started out that way. What happened? How did a religion that was supposed to focus on love become so “crabbed in” in spirit? And how, if judgements [sic] are supposed to be left to God, did it become so judgemental [sic]?[1]

This is not uncommon. Consider the statement by another religious informant coming from a Christian background as well:

What is Christianity today? The teachings have been replaced with fear. The fear has created anger. Christians are told not to question, but have faith. Christianity is a way of controlling the masses and was design [sic] that way from Constantine on down. I believe if people were given the opportunity to dig deeper and have access to all the Gospels and all the writing that have been considered heresy and the churches promoted it, we would be a happier and less aggressive people. And in all fairness, I see the same problem with all exclusive religions. I think if Jesus came back today he would be very disappointed in what has been developed in his name.[2]

The perception of western Christianity by non-western Christians is not unique either. The fifty delegates of the 1982 Third World Theologians’ Consultation held in Seoul correctly and graciously recognized that the western approach to theology is couched in the Enlightenment and is incapable of articulating its theology in a way that meets the needs of people living in contexts of “religious pluralism, secularism, resurgent Islam or Marxist totalitarianism.”[3] To these evangelical Third World theologians, if evangelical theology is to be efficacious it must be liberated from “captivity to the individualism and rationalism of Western theology….”[4]

The perception of western Christianity by western Christians has recognized this tension. Wilbert Shenk, Lesslie Newbigin, Oliver Davies, David Cornick, as well as others consider Western Christianity to be out of touch with the growing questions confronting post-Christian people.[5] Increasingly, Western Christianity is viewed as patriarchal, unconcerned about the environment, dichotomizing sacred and secular and as privileging reason above imagination.

Western theology has become “increasingly detached from ecclesial reality and cultural context.”[6] Western Christianity has been characterized as having an emphasis on the primacy of the male as normative for humanity. Similarly, it is characterized by its emphasis on reason at the expense of the imagination, not to mention its disregard for nature in the name of progress.[7]

This causes me to ask the question, “What is and who defines evangelical Christianity?” This essay will draw upon the work of Alister McGrath, Kwame Bediako and Thomas Oden in discussing the strengths and weaknesses of defining evangelicalism in terms of the 16th century Reformation. The conclusion will discuss the missiological implications of formulating an “evangelical identity” based upon the Reformation.

Overview of the Discussion According to McGrath, Bediako and Oden

Theology attempts to answer the questions of what and why we believe as we do. In answering those questions, theology forms the basis of who we are as Christians, or, in other words, it provides a sense of identity. That identity, while being worked out for the Christian theologically, is expressed within a cultural context. Thus, the expression of Christianity in a particular context is to some degree a result of the search for a meaningful identity that relates theology and culture. Three notable theologians approach this issue in different ways and it is to these approaches we now turn.

Alister McGrath

In 1995 Alister McGrath published Evangelicalism and the Future of Christianity as a critique of the evangelical movement. The purpose of the book is to help the evangelical community be aware of strengths and weaknesses in the evangelical movement that has its roots in the Reformation. Motivated by the conviction that the movement has a continuing role to fulfill, McGrath hopes to open a dialogue in the worldwide community of evangelicalism.

McGrath’s historical overview of the movement defines it in terms of the Reformation. He believes that it is essential for today’s evangelicals to know their history in order to insure that the same mistakes made in the past will not be repeated. Hence, through historical awareness evangelicals will have a deeper appreciation for the movement’s distinctives and for the non-evangelicals attraction to it. Appealing to James I. Packer, he suggests that correct evangelical theology can only be found in the Reformation and consequently, it is this theology that will preserve evangelicalism.[8]

The rootedness of evangelicalism in the Reformation is important to McGrath because of what he sees as the fragmentation of the movement. It is the very diversity of evangelicalism that draws him to the assertion that there is a danger of losing identity and corroding doctrine. However, according to McGrath, evangelicalism is unified in six overarching convictions and it is the holding of these convictions that will assure the preservation of evangelical identity in the midst of diversity.

1. The supreme authority of Scripture as a source of knowledge of God and a guide to Christian living.
2. The majesty of Jesus Christ, both as incarnate God and Lord, and as the Savior of sinful humanity.
3. The lordship of the Holy Spirit.
4. The need for personal conversion.
5. The priority of evangelism for both individual Christians and the church as a whole.
6. The importance of the Christian community for spiritual nourishment, fellowship and growth.[9]

While these six convictions are foundational to McGrath’s understanding of evangelicalism there are variations between evangelicals. These variations occur in at least three manners. First, evangelicals differ on the emphasis of convictions. Second, the precise interpretation of the convictions is contingent on the traditions that evangelicals follow. Third, evangelicals may select additional convictions that are believed to be justified in Scripture and history.[10] These variations come as a result of the world-wide growth of evangelicalism and yet these variations contribute to the potential loss of identity.

McGrath’s answer to the potential loss of identity is summarized in his statement, “The future belongs to those who can relate the heritage of the past to the realities of the present.”[11] Therefore, an evangelical identity can be conserved and nourished as it rediscovers its roots and it is here that McGrath suggests that the New Testament and sixteenth-century Reformation are essential.[12]

Kwame Bediako

The Ghanaian theologian, Kwame Bediako, sees the value of understanding Christianity history in order to address the questions of modern Christian identity. He looks at four apologists of the Christian faith in the second century A. D. for examples of how the early church wrestled with the question of identity. In his 1992 book, which consisted of his doctoral dissertation, Theology and Identity: The Impact of Culture upon Christian Thought in the Second Century and Modern Africa Bediako suggests that the formation of theology takes place in the cultural context of Christianity’s search for self-understanding.

Bediako articulates that the Graeco-Roman culture looked at early Christianity as a superstitious sect of Judaism. As the church grew, it increasingly took on more of a Gentile character and brought Christianity to the attention of the empire. The Roman identity was deeply tied to the nation and the religion of the nation. While Judaism was to some degree tolerated in the Roman Empire, Christianity was viewed as out of step with society and more importantly as un-Roman. Consequently, Christians in the empire were looked upon as a “third race.” To Christians, however, the idea of a “third race” undermined their identity and continuity with antiquity.

By the second century, philosophy began to replace religion as the dominant aspect of the intellectual and spiritual life of the educated. The rise to prominence of philosophy suggested the need for conversion from a “lower” standard to a “higher” standard of life. Christians, considering that the Roman religion was untrue, began to see a continuity with philosophy as it posited the need for conversion. As a result, Christians hoped to reconcile philosophy with their own teaching. The conversion idea suggested by the philosophical movement of the time gave Christianity legitimacy in its confrontation of classical Paganism with a superior belief system.

Utilizing the works of Tertullian, Tatian, Justin and Clement of Alexandria, Bediako posits that Christian self-understanding began to take form in varying degrees in relation to its discontinuity and continuity with the cultural milieu of the time. Tertullian and Tatian provide an example of Christianity’s discontinuity with Graeco-Roman culture whereas Justin and Clement provide an example of its continuity.

Tertullian saw that Christianity had nothing in common with the culture. His discontinuity formula contrasted the divine revelation of Christianity with the human speculative system of Graeco-Roman culture. This is epitomized in his statement, “What has Jerusalem to do with Athens, the church with the academy?” Tatian saw Christianity’s exclusivity from culture based upon the truth of Christian tradition in contrast with the inherent error of the Greek. He demonstrated that Christianity’s antiquity in comparison to Greek philosophy gave it its own tradition and heritage apart from the Graeco-Roman culture.

Conversely, Justin was the first to attempt continuity between Christianity and Graeco-Roman culture. He saw that since Christianity had access to the illumination of the divine Word it stood in the tradition of Socrates’ true reason. Justin believed that Socrates’ true reason exposed the erroneous beliefs of Graeco-Roman religion. In this way, the conflict between truth and falsehood exemplified in Socrates’ struggle with his detractors mirrored Christianity’s struggle. Similarly, Clement of Alexandria understood Christianity as the fulfillment of Greek philosophy. In particular, he held that the philosophical ideas that were congruent with Christianity should be incorporated into its theology. Clement believed, due to the antiquity of Christianity, that Greek religion and philosophy was in actuality borrowing from Scripture.

Bediako suggests that the situation in contemporary Africa is not all that dissimilar to the situation of the Roman Empire in the second century; and he might be correct. What is compelling is his distancing of African Christianity from European Christianity. While he does not deny the impact of European Christianity on the continent, he suggests that modern missionary efforts have had a Judiazing effect on African Christianity.[13]

Thomas Oden

Thomas Oden suggests that if we are to understand Christianity’s original meaning or value, we must come once again to see it through the eyes of those who have had to struggle for it and maintain it. It is from the martyrs, saints and prophets of Christian history that we learn of the value of classical Christianity.[14] Oden proposes a paleo-orthodox theological agenda for the future of Christianity. He defines his agenda in three ways: (1) sacramentally by use of the baptismal formula, in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit; (2) liturgically by the celebration of the Eucharist; (3) confessionally in consensual interpretation of the Apostles’, Nicene and Athanasian creeds.[15]

Attempting to define orthodoxy in his agenda, Oden utilizes Vincent of Lérins’ (c. 431) consensual method of interpreting Scripture.[16] Vincent became known for his rule for determining orthodoxy, the Vincentian Canon. It is summarized as teneamus quod ubique, quod semper, quod ab omnibus creditum est. In utilizing the Vincentian Canon, Oden suggests that Christianity must recover the memory as defended by the Apostolic Fathers and defined by the Church Fathers during the first seven ecumenical councils. It must recover the apostolic consensus that “repeatedly challenged and transformed emerging modernities.”[17]

In his consensual approach Oden asserts that theology should not be looked at narrowly, but rather with boundaries. In fact, he believes that the rediscovery of boundaries will be the primary occupation of twenty-first century theology.[18] It is in the context of boundaries where theological reflection is best conducted. Those boundaries were initially set in the first five centuries of Christian history. To understand the doctors of the church is to understand the boundaries of consensual theology that was accepted by East and West.

Defining the boundaries of consensual theology is challenging. In the early church, heresy played a significant role in determining boundaries of orthodox theology. Theological issues, when taken to extreme, molded an understanding of what is or is not correct Apostolic Tradition that was believed everywhere by all. Etymologically, heresy is rooted in the idea of an assertive self-will. Heresy evolved from personal theological biases and offered the occasion to help define orthodoxy. It was in the context of those heresies influenced by diverse cultural presuppositions that the early church set out to assure apostolic continuity.[19] Therefore, the assertion is made that the early church attempted to anchor its theology in the Apostolic Tradition and propagated orthodoxy that was contextual and transcultural by nature.

But what seems apparently absent from Oden’s agenda is a missiological avenue for engaging culture. His agenda is primarily concentrated on recovering orthodox Christianity that was lost during modernity with the rise of Protestant liberalism, historical criticism and neo-orthodoxy. In spite of this, there is a growing interest on the part of evangelicals to return to classic Christianity as outlined by Oden’s call to the “consensual” tradition of the first millennium.[20]

In the Catholic Church itself, every care should be taken to hold fast to what has been believed everywhere, always, and by all. This is truly and properly “Catholic,” as indicated by the force and etymology of the name itself, which comprises everything truly universal. This general rule will be truly applied if we follow the principles of universality, antiquity, and consent. We do so in regard to universality if we confess that faith alone to be true which the entire Church confesses all over the world. [We do so] in regard to antiquity if we in no way deviate from those interpretations which our ancestors and fathers have manifestly proclaimed as inviolable. [We do so] in regard to consent if, in this very antiquity, we adopt the definitions and propositions of all, or almost all, the bishops and doctors.[21]

Motivated by Arianism and other influences that threatened orthodoxy, Vincent set forth the idea that correct theology is that which has been believed everywhere, always and by all. Rudolf Morris suggests that, “This principle, however, does not exclude progress or doctrinal development. But it must be progress in the proper sense of the word, and not a change.”[22] Vincent himself understood this progress as a maturing of doctrine within its own orbit rather than a creation of something different. The Vincentian Canon enjoyed centuries as a guiding principle in theological reflection.[23]

Strengths of an Evangelical Identity Based Upon the Reformation

As might be assumed based on the previous discussion, McGrath sees the strength of evangelicalism in its appeal to non-evangelicals. That appeal is the result of several indicators:

1. Failure of liberal Christianity.
2. Evangelicalism is historically orthodox Christianity.
3. Intellectual attraction to evangelicalism because it makes sense.
4. The attraction of the gospel.
5. Diversity of the evangelical church.

Bediako might suggest that evangelicalism’s missionary zeal is a strength. Granted, it was about 200 years before the missionary fervor of European Christians ignited. Nonetheless, evangelicalism is so called due to its focus upon the gospel ministry.

The solas (fides, gratia, scriptura, Christus, Deo gloria) of the Reformation would also be considered strengths. It was these ideas that offered correctives for the Catholic Church and distinguished the reformers from their detractors. The priesthood of the believers, as well, gave the reformers and those who followed the idea of personal obligation to God with personal responsibility in the ministry. In addition, the reformers confronted the culture of the day and challenged the practice of Christianizing pagan rituals.

In regards to the reformers challenge of culture, according to Van Rooy (1985), Calvin saw both a continuity and discontinuity in Christianity’s relationship to culture. Calvin’s interpretation of Romans 1 suggests that he saw a sense of deity in human minds and natural instinct. At the same time, Calvin believed that there was a gulf between what God revealed in nature and what he revealed in his Word.

Weaknesses of an Evangelical Identity Based Upon the Reformation

McGrath contemplates whether or not evangelicalism has lost its vision. He regards the impact of diversity in the movement as a potential weakness. Its diversity has highlighted the fact that evangelicalism is experiencing an identity crisis. That diversity has led evangelicalism to privatization. Due in part to the Enlightenment project and what Weber called the Protestant ethic, religion was taken out of the public realm. Faith became personal and private rather than corporate and public.

He goes on to state that the identity of evangelicalism is tied up in the West which makes it difficult to contextualize the Christian message in other cultures. He duly notes the tendency of evangelicals to insist on its traditions without regard to culture. This was played out on many occasions as evangelicalism spread from continent to continent often associated with the interests of the sending country. In a sense, Bediako is responding to this weakness as he addresses an African Christian identity based upon the second century apologist who sought a Christian self-understanding.

McGrath identifies the evangelical struggle for the meaning of spirituality as another weakness and reinforces the need for evangelicals to understand their heritage. Evangelicalism has tended to rely upon the current trends of eastern thought in order to find a suitable understanding of spirituality. While focusing attention towards the East, evangelicalism has negated its own heritage and has failed to handle the modern situation adequately. Yet, the evangelical identity proposed by McGrath is only five hundred years old. The issue confronting most continents as a result of the inability of evangelicalism to separate itself from the West and in particular from modernity is the exact issue confronting evangelicalism: Europe is searching for an identity in pre-Christian religions; Africa is searching for identity in African Traditional Religions; Latin America is searching for identity in native religions.

The weakness of the evangelical identity based upon the Reformation lies in its discontinuity with the rest of Christian history as suggested by Oden. The assertion that evangelicalism is tied to the Reformation suggests that all evangelicals everywhere should share the same convictions. This assertion simply cannot be supported since the Reformation was a response to the context of its time. Simply rooting evangelicalism in the Reformation negates the fact that evangelicals share the same history as the rest of Christendom.

Missiological Implications

As previously mentioned, the question that many people are asking around the world is the question of identity. The globalization that has resulted from the technological advancements of modernity has in one sense brought the world closer. However, in another sense it has caused people to lose a sense of connectedness with their cultures. The response has been a revitalization of the past. Oden and Bediako have picked up on this and are suggesting that Christians should look more seriously at their past as well.

McGrath believes that evangelicalism’s loss of identity is tied to a lack of historical understanding. He feels that a rediscovery of the roots of evangelicalism is key to the conservation of the movement. He reminds evangelicals that ecclesia reformata, ecclesia semper reformanda is important for this conservation. This being the case, evangelicalism should find its lost identity not only in the Reformation, but also in the history of world Christianity.

There is little doubt that evangelicalism has been attracted to modernity and that modernity has contributed to the rapid growth of evangelicalism. As evangelicalism has spread throughout the world it has encountered cultures that are extraordinarily different than the West. And yet as many have pointed out the evangelical church in the world reflects the evangelicalism of the West. While western evangelicals insist that their expression of Christianity is biblical there must also be an acknowledgement that the form of the expression is embedded in western culture.

This acknowledgement becomes increasingly important since western Christianity continues to dominate the mission world. In spite of the fact that Christianity is on the decline in general and evangelicalism in the west is not experiencing dramatic growth, Europe continues to send more missionaries than any other continent and the United States more than any single country. Yet, the majority of Christians are located in the non-Western world. Therefore, there exists a tremendous need for western evangelicals to allow evangelicalism to find its own expression in the countries where it has reached. Not all evangelical Christians have experienced the cultural context which gave birth to the Reformation and its unique expression of the faith.

As indigenous Christians are increasingly disappointed with the western expression of Christianity they are finding new ways to express their Christianity and to make it relevant for their contexts. What all this means missiologically is that evangelicalism might be experiencing a world-wide reformation. Western missionaries must not get in the way of these cultural expressions. Instead, western missionaries should take a learning posture as indigenous Christians find new ways to express a meaningful understanding of the gospel.

Christian missions must be as diverse as the people it is trying to reach. Given the diversity of the world, Christianity must rediscover its unique answer to ethnic groups. What is needed is a model of Christianity that engages ethnic identity on every level, not in order to conform the diverse identities of people to a set of religious doctrines, but understanding how the very diversity of people from different backgrounds leads to a more complete picture of humanity’s relationship to its Creator.

Bediako suggests that there are similarities between the second century cultural context and modern Africa. I would contend that there are similarities with other modern contexts as well; namely that Christianity is being worked out within specific cultural contexts with unique cultural expressions of the faith once passed down. The Reformation is one expression of how Christianity was worked out in Western Europe.

[1] Informant 1, Discussion group forum, 12 March 2003. Research being conducted by the author.

[2] Informant 2, Discussion group forum, 12 March 2003. Research being conducted by the author.

[3] Bruce Nicholls, ed., “Papers from the Third World Theologians’ Consultation, Seoul, Korea, 1982.” Evangelical Review of Theology 7, no. 1 (1983): 8-9.

[4] Ibid., 9.

[5] See Wilbert R. Shenk, “Recasting Western Theology: Impulses from the Non-Western World,” International Bulletin of Missionary Research 24, no. 3 (2001); Lesslie Newbigin, “Can the West be Converted?,” International Bulletin of Missionary Research11, no. 1 (1987); Oliver Davies, “An Introduction to Celtic Spirituality,” in Celtic Spirituality, ed. Oliver Davies (New York: Paulist Press, 1999); David Cornick, “Iona, Glastonbury and Anfield: Aspects of a Common Tradition?,” Expository Times 109 (1997).

[6] Shenk, “Recasting Western Theology,” 98.

[7] Oliver Davies, “An Introduction to Celtic Spirituality,” 24.

[8] Alister McGrath, Evangelicalism and the Future of Christianity (Downers Grove, Ill.: Intervarsity, 1995), 116.

[9] Ibid., 55-56.

[10] Ibid., 85-87.

[11] Ibid., 112.

[12] Ibid., 115.

[13] Kwame Bediako, Theology and Identity: The Impact of Culture upon Christian Thought in the Second Century and Modern Africa (Oxford: Regnum Books, 1992), 251-252.

[14] Thomas C. Oden, “Classical Christianity Being Attacked by Fads,” Human Events 53, no. 30 (1993): 10.

[15] Thomas C. Oden, “So What Happens after Modernity? A Postmodern Agenda for Evangelical Theology,” in The Challenge of Postmodernism: An Evangelical Engagement 2d ed., ed. David S. Dockery (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2001), 190.

[16] Thomas C. Oden, After Modernity … What? Agenda for Theology (San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1990), 37.

[17] Ibid., 163.

[18] Oden, “Classical Christianity Being Attacked by Fads,” 13.

[19] Ibid., 12-13.

[20] Bradley Nassif, “New Dimensions in Eastern Orthodox Theology,” in New Dimensions in Evangelical Thought: Essays in Honor of Millard J. Erickson, ed. David S. Dockery (Grand Rapids: Intervarsity, 1998), 109.

[21] Vincent of Lérins. “Commonitorium,” translated by Rudolf Morris in The Fathers of the Church, ed. Ludwig Schopp. (New York: The Fathers of the Church, 1949), chapter 2.

[22] Rudolf E. Morris, “Vincent of Lérins: The Commonitories,” in The Fathers of the Church, ed. Ludwig Schopp (New York: The Fathers of the Church, 1949), 260.

[23] Oden, “Classical Christianity Being Attacked by Fads,” 11.