The Post-Evangelical (Tomlinson)

The Post-Evangelical – 10

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Nine down, one to go, in this chapter-by-chapter review of Dave Tomlinson’s The Post-Evangelical.  Even though the book has been out for some time (published in the UK in 1995) I’ve gone back to it because it seems to have had a seminal importance in the ‘movement’ now known as the ’emerging church’.

In the final chapter, Tomlinson argues that post-evangelicalism is linked to the shift from the modern to the postmodern.  The challenge is ‘how to express eternal truth in and through this emerging culture.’  Do we return to the old certainties, or do we engage more positively with the new situation? …

The Post-Evangelical – 9

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Chapter 9 of Dave Tomlinson’s The Post-Evangelical discusses ‘positive worldliness’.

The author informs us that he was brought up to have a deep distrust of ‘the world’.  The Christian was not to feel at home in the world.  It was there to be evangelised, but not to be enjoyed.  Of course, things have loosed up in more recent years, but the legalistic prohibitions have been replaced within the sub-culture by christianised alternatives.  We have Christian festivals, Christian theatre, Christian computer games, and Christian aerobics set to Christian music. …

The Post-Evangelical – 8

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Chapter 8 of the The Post-Evangelical, by Dave Tomlinson, asks a ‘straightforward’ question: what is a post-evangelical view of the Bible?

First, Tomlinson feels that there is a need to ‘exorcise’ the ghost of inerrancy.  He finds it incredible that anyone thinks it even plausible to believe in such a thing.

Contrary to what proponents will tell us (says Tomlinson), the notion of inerrancy is a relatively modern one, arising out of the fundamentalist/modernist conflicts of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. …

The Post-Evangelical – 7

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Chapter 7 of Dave Tomlinson’s The Post-Evangelical is entitled, ‘The Truth, the Whole Truth, and Something Quite Like the Truth’.  It’s about epistemology – how we come to know things.

Tomlinson suggests that what is going on is that many within evangelicalism begin with some vague feelings of discomforts about various aspects of their evangelical church.  They are bothered about the chorus-singing, perhaps, or the dogmatic tone of the preaching,  – and then develop deeper concerns about the credibility of the entire evangelical paradigm. …

The Post-Evangelical – 6

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The Post-Evangelical is entitled ‘Let Me Tell You a Story’.  This chapter deals with the failure of modern, and the rise of the postmodern, ‘stories’.

What is the new postmodern world that is emerging?

It is a world which understands itself through biological rather than mechanistic models; a world where people see themselves as belonging to the environment, rather than over it or apart from it; a world distrustful of institutions, hierarchies, centralized bureaucarcies and male dominated organizations. 

…

The Post-Evangelical – 5

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In chapter 5 – ‘Woolly Liberals?’ – Dave Tomlinson informs us that he shares with evangelicals a rejection of theological liberalism.  But what he does not share are evangelicals’ reasons for opposing liberalism.

Indeed, he expresses amazement at ‘how paranoid evangelicals are about liberalism’.  Evangelicals are constantly patrolling their boundaries, lest one of their number should trespass into liberal territory.

This is not to suggest, says Tomlinson, that theology and doctrine are unimportant.  ‘Far from it; but there is no evidence from the Bible that it is (sic) of ultimate importance. …

The Post-Evangelical – 4

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Chapter 4 of Dave Tomlinson’s The Post-Evangelical is entitled ‘Longing to Grow’.  In this chapter, an attempt is made to explain the evangelical ‘problem’ in terms of a couple of psychological models.  ‘The problem’ for Tomlinson, as is becoming increasingly clear as the book develops, is that evangelicals are way too sure of themselves and need to grow up and start doubting things.

A couple of stories are given of people who started off as evangelicals but (you guessed it) became disillusioned with evangelical certaintism and found no welcome for their doubts and questions. …

The Post-Evangelical – 3

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Why are many people irritated by certain aspects of ‘evangelical culture’?  This is the question addressed in chapter 3 of Dave Tomlinson’s book The Post-Evangelical.  A summary and a brief comment follow.

Even in New Testament times, people were arguing that Gentile believers must submit to the Jewish law in order to be real Christians.  Throughout the Christian era, the missionary enterprise has been dogged by similar problems – requiring indigenous peoples to adopt not only a change of heart but also a change of culture. …

The Post-Evangelical – 2

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Chapter 2 of The Post-Evangelical, by Dave Tomlinson, is entitled, ‘We’ve Never Had it so Good!’

Here, the author asks why, if evangelicalism has experienced such a resurgence over the past 30 years, many people have become dissatisfied with it.

Tomlinson notes a very considerable transformation that took place in British evangelicalism between 1980 and 1990.  This was due to a considerable extent to the ‘charismaticizing’ of mainstream evangelicalism.  Whereas the charismatic movement in its early days in the last 1960s and early 1970s was seen by many as a threat to evangelicalism, the former has been assimilated by the latter to a remarkable extent, so that much of the energy of current evangelical activity derives from charismatic believes and practices. …

The Post-Evangelical – 1

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My reading on the emerging church has taken me back to Dave Tomlinson’s The Post-Evangelical.  First published in the UK 1995 (but not until 2003 in the US), this book is regarded as something of a seminal piece amongst a number of emerging church people.  It gave a voice to the disillusionment with evangelicalism that many felt.

You can read Dave Tomlinson’s own account of the writing of this book here.  You can see reviews here and here. …