Customer Reviews

The Renewal of Anglicanism

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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.

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.

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.

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.

Although McGrath's analysis of Anglicanism predates some of the recent controversies and conflicts, it still offers an accurate history and hopeful vision for the tradition. McGrath's hope is to lead Anglicans to regain enthusiasm and vigor in theology and worship. He identifies the edge on which Western Anglicanism sits, from which it may decline into a liberal ineffectual religion or may revive into a theologically sound, evangelistic, convincing movement of faith and worship. If Anglicanism does not reclaim its historic roots and traits, McGrath predicts it will become a static, liberal relic in the West, while it will thrive in Africa, Asia and the Global South. McGrath identifies the ways that Anglicanism has erred through it history and how the liberal agenda has become an intolerant, theologically vacuous movement that threatens to hijack the tradition in the West. He calls for renewal of Anglican theological education in seminaries and in the communities. The via media of Roman Catholicism and Puritanism must be reclaimed for Anglicanism and offer a scholarly, evangelical way between the extremes of fundamentalism and liberalism. An updated edition of this book would be welcome, even so this edition offers a significant vision for the faith of Anglicanism.

McGrath's call to evangelize anew with the Gospel is surely right on, but his version of the "via media" is bogus (see below for his caricature of liberalism), and his call to Lindbeck's postliberalism is perilous. With McGrath (I hope), I believe liberalism carelessly tends to dismiss Chalcedonian dogma as if it were indefensible; in fact that dogma has enormous resilience and relevance to liberalism's interests. But Lindbeck's postliberalism is a trojan horse, smuggling in a kind of postmodern relativism about the incompatible claims of competing religious traditions--Lindbeck would have done better to stick with Scotus.

Although McGrath scores hits criticizing Spong's scholarship, Spong is a straw man, a popularist elevated by McGrath into a foundational theologian. McGrath seems completely ignorant of the questions at stake--he should have addressed liberalism's strong side (e.g. the liberation theology of Gutierrez, Segundo, Boff; Moltmann's early work; process theology). I suspect he knows better, but his omissions serve his project, putting Anglican liberalism on par with comparatively brain-dead fundamentalism.

His nadir--a knuckle-dragging argument ad Nazium: Anglican liberalism's "cultural accomodationism" "shows alarming parallels with the situation that developed in the German Church crisis of the mid-1930s," that is, where the poor German liberals "were unable to discern the dangers" of theology hostage to Nazi culture(pp. 122-3). Ugh. Note his convenient selectivity: McGrath is silent on important successes in liberalism's track record within the ECUSA: support for desegregation in the US in the 60s & the desegregation of the ECUSA, the ordination of women, prayer book reform, an ongoing activism for social and environmental justice. To have mentioned them would have made clear that Anglican liberalism does not accomodate, but criticizes and reforms the dominant culture. Anglican liberalism is not just Spong and diluted Bultmann; its actual theology and practice make formidible demands on its adherents, and it is no surprise if many seek comfort elsewhere. Here evangelism should do its work, calling those tempted to seek the wide and easy road elsewhere to the Gospel and to life in the Spirit, a life of justice, of loving engagement reconciling wayfarers to the ways of God.