Evangelicals on the Canterbury Trail: Why Evangelicals Are Attracted to the Liturgical Church [Paperback]

Robert E. Webber (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1989

Why do so many evangelicals find themselves attracted to liturgical traditions today? Robert E. Webber suggests some answers by describing his own migration from an evangelical denomination to the Episcopal Church. Webber found that the Anglican tradition met six important needs: a sense of mystery in religious experience, a Christ-centered worship experience, a sacramental reality, a historical identity, a feeling of being part of Christ's entire church, and a holistic spirituality. Six other evangelicals who made similar pilgrimages join Webber in sharing their stories and their dreams for new openness in which God's people, both liturgical and free church, will find increased value in each other's heritage.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Lester Ruth is Research Professor of Christian worship at Duke Divinity School and professor of worship history at the Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies. Verification can be found at http://divinity.duke.edu/academics/faculty/lester-ruth and http://iws.edu/about/who/the-faculty/. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Morehouse Publishing (January 1, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0819214760
• ISBN-13: 978-0819214768
• Product Dimensions: 4.8 x 0.8 x 7.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #469,554 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 43 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Stories of Moving Toward Christ in Fear and Trembling May 30, 2001

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

The language of St. Paul haunted me as an Evangelical. He wrote that our lives as Christians should be lived out in "fear and trembling" but the worship and language at the churches I attended betrayed those words.We approached Christ as a pal, a coach of the team, and a guidance counsellor for our problems. His handbook was the Bible and it contained all the answers. There was no mystery to our faith, no big questions that didn't have little answers. Faith was simple and our personal relationship with the God of the Universe was defined by our needs and the felt needs of the congregation. There were times when more awe was given a visiting pastor with a certain amount of national fame then weekly was shown toward Jesus. We sang songs asking to see God's face without ever contemplating what that actually meant. My movement toward Anglicanism was prompted by the question of what St. Paul meant by "fear and trembling" and this book tells the stories of others who moved toward the liturgy, worship as defined by the Apostles who knew Christ personally and whose personal relationship with Christ was defined by the One Lord Himself. The authors also speak highly of their roots in Evangelicalism/Fundamentalism. Without rancor or bitterness they appreciate, as I do, the love and the truth of the Gospel expressed in those traditions. But they discovered something richer in the Liturgical Tradition of Anglicanism that didn't diminish what they believed before, but gave it context and depth. For fellow seekers from Evangelicalism I recommend this book.

33 of 37 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Sign of Change June 11, 2003

By Labarum VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

The transference of allegiances from one Christian tradition to another can often be a source of pain the converts' friends and family. A particular sore point is when one leaves for a Church that is viewed in one's former tradition as "highly suspect." Robert E. Webber understands these emotions well. Webber, a former Bob Jones University graduate who left the Evangelical Protestant movement for Anglicanism, was one of the first in a wave of prominent Evangelicals discovering liturgical worship. Evangelicals on the Canterbury Trail is not as much a call for all Evangelicals to make a similar move, but an explanation - using his own experience as an example - as to why an Evangelical would make such a move. The overall tone is very irenic and seeks to promote a greater understanding among faithful Christians of all traditions.

The first part of the book is a description of Webber's conversion to Anglicanism. Rather than giving a strictly chronological telling of his trek, he approaches it from six different aspects of the Christian Faith (mystery, worship, sacraments, spiritual identity, the Church, spirituality) he came to believe were inadequately expressed in Evangelical Protestantism. The turning point in much of his discussion was his discovery of the Church Fathers. In them, he saw a far more balanced vision of Christianity - one he found expressed well in Anglicanism and the worship of the Book of Common Prayer.

The second part of the book consists of the personal testimonies of converts to Anglicanism. Although generally kind towards their former homes, it is obvious the deficiencies of modern Evangelical Protestant worship had taken its toll. A strong point here is each of the testimonies are sufficiently different in background and experience to avoid repetition of the same points. This also gives a sampling of the breadth of the movement to historic Christianity.

Webber returns to finish with a call for Evangelicals and those in the liturgical Churches to grow to know each other better as fellow Christians. While pointing out the factors leading to his move to Anglicanism, Webber recognizes strengths in Evangelicalism (strong personal faith, commitment to orthodoxy, love of Scripture, and concern for mission and evangelism) that would benefit the liturgical Churches. He predicts a convergence of traditions in the next century as the old wounds of the Church finally begin to heal.

In the nearly twenty years since the publication of Evangelicals on the Canterbury Trail, much has happened relating to the points Webber raised - and many of his predictions now seem prophetic. The move to the historical Churches has grown considerably with Evangelical converts bringing their strengths with them to their new homes. Also, there have been many points of honest discussion and a detente of sorts along the ecclesiological front lines (although like other cessations of hostilities it is neither appreciated or observed by all).

Oddly though, Webber's own Anglicanism has not been a major beneficiary. Although the Anglican Communion is growing rapidly in Africa and Asia - where it is orthodox in its beliefs - the Episcopal Church (the U.S. province of the Anglican Communion) has declined and is increasingly both apostate and irrelevant. An obvious choice for a Protestant looking for a liturgical Church, its political correctness is anathema to someone looking for the faith once delivered. Thus most of the converts to historic Christianity have ended elsewhere.

Webber is not to blame for the folly of his Church. His book was the first sign of an important change in the Christian landscape. Although in some points it is now dated, Evangelicals on the Canterbury Trail still affords the reader a rich understanding of both Christian worship and spirituality and a glimpse on the early stages of a significant movement of God.

35 of 40 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars My Story almost exactly! April 12, 2000

By David Bennett VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

I had been drawn to the Anglican Church for about a year before I joined. I think it all started when I visited a Catholic church (followed by an Orthodox one) and experienced a deep sense of mystery. Then I started reading the Church Fathers of the 1st Millennium, as well as mystics. However, there were certain doctrines of the Catholic and Orthodox churches I could not accept (though don't get me wrong I believe they are Christians!). The next logical step of my yearning for mystery, and love of the church fathers was the Episcopal Church.

My story (with the Catholic visits and church fathers) resembles Webber's and the others' testimonies. While mine is slightly different it is not too far off. Webber came from a fundamentalist Baptist tradition (I was a United Methodist), which believed the church went apostate around 100 AD. Webber was also a die hard 5-point Calvinist (as he said '1st a Calvinist, then a Christian'). He also had negative attitudes toward mainline denominations, and especially Catholics. But he found the evangelical church lacking. There was no mystery; it all seemed either too rational or too emotionally subjective. He felt like many things were missing, namely mystery and symbolic worship (such as signing the cross, and anointing with oil). He said he had never felt the resurrection until he went to a Roman Catholic service. Until then the Resurrection was just a cold doctrine he felt like he had to defend.

Like Webber, I can still call myself an evangelical, but I don't mean it in the same way I used to. Like Webber, I have come to appreciate diversity in the church (as long as the creeds can be said honestly).One thing Webber learned was that there is such a thing as the universal and apostolic church, one that transcends denominations, including the Anglican Church.

Like the testimonies in the book, I have no malice toward my old church tradition, in fact I am proud of it in many ways. However, many who know I have become Episcopal often ask "Why?" The best thing I could do would be to point them to this book.