The Renewal of Anglicanism [Paperback]

Alister E. McGrath (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1993

This book is not a list of practical recommendations. I have little time for the "press-these-buttons-and-things-will-get-better" school of thought. The issues that attend the renewal of Anglicanism are too complex to be handled in this way. Rather, I have been concerned to explore what has happened recently in Anglicanism, and how this might have a bearing on the future renewal of that church in the West. Above all, I have been concerned to stress the importance of rediscovering a sense of purpose, instead of aimlessly plodding along from one issue to another, wondering what will happen next. Anglicanism needs to make its own future, instead of just allowing things - usually rather nasty things - to happen to it. Despite its many inadequacies, this book is offered as a contribution to the worldwide renewal of the church of Jesus Christ, as it prepares to face the third, and perhaps the most challenging to date, millennium of its existence. [From the Author's Introduction]

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Morehouse Pub Co (November 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0819216038
• ISBN-13: 978-0819216038
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,631,773 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #26 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Protestantism > Anglican

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars All things old..., January 28, 2004

By 

FrKurt Messick "FrKurt Messick" (Bloomington, IN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Renewal of Anglicanism (Paperback)

Alister McGrath, a rather prolific writer in the field of theology (particularly historical and systematic theology), ten years ago turned his attention to the idea of undercurrents in the renewal of Anglicanism. To a certain extent, this seems somewhat redundant - Anglicanism has from its beginnings been a tradition in process of both reform and preservation - it isn't so much a pendulum swinging left to right as it is a spiral that covers a lot of ground, often over and over, but always in new contexts and at new levels.

While it is true that Anglicanism has always been in transition, it is also true that the past few decades have presented more elements at play in this process than ever before. Reforms of the liturgies, increasing importance of voices from non-Western church bodies, evangelism (and the failure thereof), and the triumph of secularism in the West have all played major roles in the way Anglicanism has been shaped, and will continue to be shaped. McGrath sees the past generation of Anglicans as being a rather 'lost generation', one in which survival was more important that mission or growth, and in which many inside and outside the church became disillusioned and pessimistic about future prospects.

McGrath argues for a reconstruction of the Via Media - the Middle Way, an idea long in the minds of Anglicans that can mean (as can most things Anglican) different things to different people. For some it looks to middle ground between Catholics and Protestants; for others it is the course between high church and low church (which, contrary to intuitive thought does not strictly parallel Catholic/Protestant categories). For McGrath, it is largely a course between fundamentalism and liberalism, and this seems to be playing out even more dramatically today than ten years ago when this text was first produced. McGrath does not see either fundamentalism or liberalism in terms of set doctrines or ideologies as much as methods and intuitive understandings. This allows for more interaction and cooperation, or at least mutual recognition of possibilities for validity.

McGrath sees the recapturing of vision and education as a primary teaching office of the church to be key to the overall renewal of Anglicanism in the world. There is much history, much theology, much of worth, but it needs to be celebrated, promulgated and taught, not just preserved. Anglicanism is not the stuff of museums and historical theatre, at least not yet - it is meant to be a living, growing and vital strand in the life of Christendom, a unique voice that needs to be used as much as preserved.

An update to this volume in light of current controversies would be welcome; apart from that, this is still a valuable text that gives a good background for thinking about things Anglican.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An honest attempt to rescue the Church from dire liberalism, September 5, 2000

By 

Paul Burgin - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Renewal of Anglicanism (Paperback)

McGrath takes a look at the mess that is spreading into the Episcopal/Anglican Church and tries to take an unbiased but constructive view in how to deal with it. He rightly takes to task the extremist fundamentals and liberals, but at the same time cherishs aspects of liberalism without possibly being aware of it's dangers. But then one can say the same the other way I suppose. He also values the growth of pastoral charismatic culture with a regard for evangelism and also asserts the need for unity between the anglo catholics and evangelicals.

3.0 out of 5 stars Somewhat Dated and Superficial But Still Filled With Important Insights, January 7, 2011

By 

Fr. Charles Erlandson (Tyler, Texas United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Renewal of Anglicanism (Hardcover)

Alister McGrath is a major theologian and thinker in the Anglican tradition, and his writings on Christianity have made contributions in a large number of areas. In this 1993 work, "The Renewal of Anglicanism," McGrath tackles the all-important topic suggested by the book's title. Incidentally, this topic is closely related to my own Ph.D. thesis on the identity and future of orthodox Anglicanism.

To write such a book, McGrath writes, is "to suggest that Anglicanism needs renewal, that it can be renewed, and that it is worth renewing in the first place." McGrath believes Anglicanism has a continuing role to play in world Christianity, not based on its historical origin or alleged past greatness but on account of its present form and content. This is both a strength and weakness of McGrath's work, for Anglicanism is a Christian tradition rooted in the Christian past of the apostolic era up until today. Anglicanism is a Reformed Catholicism, which suggests there is an apostolic deposit that must be preserved, even as it is continually being reformed.

In his first chapter, "Anglicanism in Transition," McGrath was among the first to fully recognize that Anglicans must understand that "The Enlightenment is Over" and that the impact of Asian and African Anglicanism must be taken into account. In this chapter, he also points to trends toward evangelism and Evangelicalism. These observations are true enough, but McGrath doesn't dig deeply enough into who is doing the evangelism (only orthodox Anglicans seem to be doing this), and he doesn't point to some of the problems inherent in the new Evangelicalism.

In Chapter 2, "A Lost Generation," McGrath briefly (too briefly) deals with the cultural shifts in Anglicanism, particularly towards liberalism. However, he offers an important critique of a force that has only become more disruptive since he wrote this book.

In Chapter 3, "Evangelism and the Renewal of Anglicanism," McGrath propounds the idea not only of the importance of evangelism but of a new model that seems to de-emphasis pastoral care. In my opinion, without meaning to, McGrath sets Anglicanism up for a shallow theology that focuses on evangelism to the detriment of pastoral care and discipleship, which have always been strengths of Anglicanism.

The great insight of Chapter 4, "The Renewal of Anglican Theology Addressing Experience," is that experience, which has been the touchstone for much of modern Anglicanism, must be interpreted in light of theology.

In Chapter 5, McGrath rejects both world-denying fundamentalism and world-affirming liberalism.

Chapter 6 has a promising title, "The Renewal of Anglican Theology," and McGrath correctly criticizes the liberal theology for capitulating too much to Western culture. However, he doesn't delve deeply enough into what a good solution might be. McGrath concludes his book with a chapter on Theological Education, which I also found to be too brief and general.

McGrath deserves credit for having diagnosed some of the most important issues at stake for contemporary Anglicanism (especially the issue of the problems of theological liberalism and the importance of the rise of what is now being called the Global South). However, his work is too brief and general to be of great value, and, being almost 20 years old now, is not up to date with the momentous changes that have taken place in Anglicanism since 2003. It's still a useful book, although it's not adequate as a primer for the state of contemporary Anglicanism and is too general to provide an adequate vision for the way forward.