Baptist scholar sounds a warning to ‘emerging church'

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Baptist scholar sounds a warning to ‘emerging church'

Published Tuesday, November 29, 2005 by @marcusnelson | E-mail this post

Here's an interesting article.

“It seems that the central problem with the emerging church ... is that in its zeal to respond to postmodern culture in a way that is evangelistically effective and personally and ecclesiologically refreshing, they have not yet carefully critiqued postmodernism,” Hammett continued. “Without such critique, there is a real danger that the movement will appropriate elements of postmodern thought that cannot be integrated into a genuinely evangelical Christian worldview.”

So - I ask you - what is a genuine evangelical Christian worldview?

Is there such a thing?

2 Responses to “Baptist scholar sounds a warning to ‘emerging church'”

Anonymous on Wednesday, November 30, 2005 1:12:00 PM

I can not speak to a "genuine evangelical worldview," but post-modernism--by its very definition--throws out the concepts of certainty and universal truth. In so doing, it also erases the good reverend's notion of a careful critique of post-modern culture. It is suggested by "careful" in the reverends words that he would expect a christian that is evangelically "tuned in" to arrive at a good and proper truth. Post-modernism--and therfore post-modern patterns of thought, cultural trends etc.--can not be neatly integrated into any genuinely Christian worldview. The good reverends "genuine" seems to suggest in a furtive and "come to Jesus" way that the post-modern paganism/secular culture that questions every "truth" and progressively asks, "Why?" needs to or should be integrated into a Christian worldview. Don't know much about a christian worldview, but I do know it feels decidedly nostalgic in the most Huck Finn sort of way.
Anonymous on Wednesday, November 30, 2005 3:13:00 PM

Excellent observation. This is precisely why most of us are struggling to go along with the status quo of "Christian America." The Jesus written about was consistent in his actions toward saint and sinner alike. To the poor and destitute he was gracious, loving and kind. He spoke of grace, mercy and justice. His "platform" of liberty and freedom would ring very hollow at the Southern Baptists Convention.

Modern evangelicalism (and modern culture for that matter) wants to put everything into nice and tidy cubbys. We have the good, and that there is the bad. We will accept and applaud this, but the other is evil and should be boycotted. Black-White, no gray. Very linear arguements.

Modern context like this creates a very us againt them mentality. Champion vs. adversary. If you are not one of us ...

There's a central problem though -- they are us. We are the problem. We will always be the problem, until we understand it is our responsibility to make sure there is peace amongst us.
I mean, didn't Jesus come preaching the "Gospel of Peace?"

Yet, here we go again. Prof. Hammett is diging his foxhole, pulling pins on evangelical hand grenades and whirling them over the camp of post-moderns.

Unfortunately, Mr. Hammett has missed the real target -- Seeking peace among your brothers, feeding the poor, taking care of the fatherless and the widow.

Just one more futile effort of old time religion hanging by a fingernail of control before sliding into cultural irrelevance.