United States Studies - General & Miscellaneous, Christianity - General & Miscellaneous, Ethics, Christian, 20th Century American History - Religious Aspects
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Overview
This book is about the disintegrating moral culture in contemporary society and what this now means for the church. The questions raised by this theme are large and vital: How does Christian faith speak most effectively to a culture whose moral fabric is torn, a culture in which sin has disappeared conceptually and in which secularized life is offering up its own forms of salvation? And can today's church, which has drunk deeply from the well of modernity, truly recover its moral character enough to make a difference in society? Can the church indeed speak effectively and in ways that are germane to a culture that has become morally unraveled? Wells believes it can. In fact, with postmodernity now so heavily ladened with its own cynicism, he believes that no time in this century has been more opportune for the Christian faith - if the church can muster the courage to regain its moral weight and become a missionary of truth once more to a foundering world.Editorials
CBA Marketplace
For its sweep, content, and thorough analysis. Wells' book may be among the most important published this year.Church Libraries
One of the most significant evangelical books of the year....Wells is one of those rare evangelicals who have read widely in contemporary secular scholarship and digested it for readers. His evaluations are always judicious and thought provoking.Preaching
A book which pastors need to read in order to understand the cultural changes we are experiencing and understanding how we must confront a secular culture.Publishers Weekly
Wells urges the church to return to classical spirituality and not to allow the message of that spirituality to be diminished by the cultural habits of the modern world. This argument is one that has recurred throughout history, but Wells makes it in plain language accompanied by a straightforward critique of the ways in which, he believes, secular culture's notions of virtue fall short of Christianity's.Publishers Weekly -
Noted evangelical theologian Wells (God in the Wasteland) weighs in on the perpetual problem of whether the church can retain its moral integrity and still play a vital role in today's culture. Wells argues that, in the postmodern world, the church is in danger of losing its moral character by compromising its teachings about virtue, including doctrines of sin and guilt, by making too many concessions to cultural teachings on virtue. Wells addresses his concerns by examining two kinds of spirituality that, he says, characterize the church. On the one hand, he says, classical or Reformation spirituality is the hallmark of Christianity, and he uses this spirituality to represent a general understanding of the doctrines, devotional habits and moral character of the Christian life. On the other hand, postmodern spirituality, Wells says, is forged in the interaction between biblical truth and the intuitions or instincts of the contemporary world. According to Wells, postmodern spirituality is more concerned with shame (falling short of what others expect of us) rather than sin (falling short of what God expects of us). Wells urges the church to return to classical spirituality and not to allow the message of that spirituality to be diminished by the cultural habits of the modern world. This argument is one that has recurred throughout history, but Wells makes it in plain language accompanied by a straightforward critique of the ways in which, he believes, secular culture's notions of virtue fall short of Christianity's. (April)Book Details
Published
March 1, 1998
Publisher
Grand Rapids, Mich. : W.B. Eerdmans, c1998.
Pages
234
Format
Hardcover
ISBN
9780802838278