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The Church: Sacraments, Worship, Ministry, Mission (Volume 6)
In this volume, Donald Bloesch explores with charity and balance the contours of ecclesiology. He forthrightly takes up the most controversial of issues ranging from matters of church authority, the sacraments and worship, the church's place in the plan of salvation, the church and the kingdom of God, to the issue of church reunion. Evangelical in spirit, ecumenical in breadth and biblical in depth, Bloesch's theology of the church calls for reformation and renewal according to the Word and Spirit of God.
351 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 3, 2009
Bloesch did not give me the definitive theology of the church that I have been looking for, but I like Bloesch. His theology manages to combine the devotional and the intellectual, each in good measure.
From the start he hammers his theology of Word and Spirit, reminding again and again that the theology "will not simply repeat the precepts of the scriptural revelation but will confess the faith anew in the light of this revelation." (15) Bloesch's theology always engages the historical thought of the church, modern theological thinking, and finally relates his own conclusions and judgments on matters. I do not always agree with his conclusions (just mostly), but I find his method refreshing (it seeks to teach and not to overwhelm with terminology and learning) and it encourages further reading. This text did not feel as fluid and complete as earlier volumes in the series - could be the subject matter or Bloesch getting a bit older. That said it is also a good text just to dip into - no need to feel compelled to read it all the way through.
"The dogmatic task is not simply to ascertain what the prophets and apostles said but to determine what we must now say on the basis of their testimony.... Evangelical thoelogy will always have two sides: the objective rendering of what is state in Scripture and the subjective application of the truth-content of Scripture to the existential situation of the interpreter and hearer.... Doing theology is being taught by God and being formed." (23)
While addressing many issues - of the church and kingdom, sacraments, women's roles, gifts, authority, worship (where he gets his cranky old man on about contemporary music - "gnostic and secular," concerned with ecstasy and not fidelity - I found it a wonderful section), preaching (cranky here too, but so right about the need for a true preaching of the complete gospel), in the end his point is that the church is a confessing community that must speak the truth of the Gospel to its time and not allow culture to warp that message.
"Worship ... is inspired not by a love that seeks God as its highest possession (eros), but by a love that offers itself as a sacrifice to God through service to the world for which Christ died (agape). In worship, love is united with faith so that God is magnified and his deeds are commemorated. Regrettably in much modern worship sentimental love reigns over adoring love, and the act of worship is made to serve the feeling of being confirmed in our manner of life." (120)
The book is only loosely unified and the chapters do not always feel like a coherent whole. But then a lack of coherence is a big part of the evangelical church's problem with ecclesiology. Bloesch brings illumination, if not order to the doctrine of the church and for that I am grateful.
From the start he hammers his theology of Word and Spirit, reminding again and again that the theology "will not simply repeat the precepts of the scriptural revelation but will confess the faith anew in the light of this revelation." (15) Bloesch's theology always engages the historical thought of the church, modern theological thinking, and finally relates his own conclusions and judgments on matters. I do not always agree with his conclusions (just mostly), but I find his method refreshing (it seeks to teach and not to overwhelm with terminology and learning) and it encourages further reading. This text did not feel as fluid and complete as earlier volumes in the series - could be the subject matter or Bloesch getting a bit older. That said it is also a good text just to dip into - no need to feel compelled to read it all the way through.
"The dogmatic task is not simply to ascertain what the prophets and apostles said but to determine what we must now say on the basis of their testimony.... Evangelical thoelogy will always have two sides: the objective rendering of what is state in Scripture and the subjective application of the truth-content of Scripture to the existential situation of the interpreter and hearer.... Doing theology is being taught by God and being formed." (23)
While addressing many issues - of the church and kingdom, sacraments, women's roles, gifts, authority, worship (where he gets his cranky old man on about contemporary music - "gnostic and secular," concerned with ecstasy and not fidelity - I found it a wonderful section), preaching (cranky here too, but so right about the need for a true preaching of the complete gospel), in the end his point is that the church is a confessing community that must speak the truth of the Gospel to its time and not allow culture to warp that message.
"Worship ... is inspired not by a love that seeks God as its highest possession (eros), but by a love that offers itself as a sacrifice to God through service to the world for which Christ died (agape). In worship, love is united with faith so that God is magnified and his deeds are commemorated. Regrettably in much modern worship sentimental love reigns over adoring love, and the act of worship is made to serve the feeling of being confirmed in our manner of life." (120)
The book is only loosely unified and the chapters do not always feel like a coherent whole. But then a lack of coherence is a big part of the evangelical church's problem with ecclesiology. Bloesch brings illumination, if not order to the doctrine of the church and for that I am grateful.
January 11, 2023
I'm never quite clear who Bloesch is writing for. Although I appreciate his irenic tone his interlocutors are, mostly, the theological liberals of his day, Calvin and, especially, Barth. I'm guessing that if he was alive now he would be part of the Evangelical Covenant Order, the only confessional neo-orthodox presbyterian denomination.
I found this volume more readable than others in the series. Bloesch's style is dialectical. To set out various options on a question and then to pose a synthesis that tries to keep the strengths of divergent viewpoints. He is more willing in this book to put forward his views of what the correct position should be rather than to leave the question hanging, which I felt was a fault in previous volumes.
That said, and as shown by his views on The Cambridge Declaration and The Gospel of Jesus Christ: An Evangelical Celebration at the end of the volume, his position is usually at an unstable point which weakens historic Reformed Confessions and takes on board Modernist thinking without appreciating that though he can stop there, others will not. Once the boundary markers are moved, there is nowhere one has to stop. Ironically one of his criticisms of these statements is their failure to address ethical problems of the day, such as sexuality, abortion and race relations. We have all seen how societal views have changed on these since 2002 and without stable theological foundations views in the church he was part of (the PCUSA) have fissiparated.
There will be more helpful volumes around on how the church, and its life, are to exist in our world. Useful to see how Barth has influenced mainline evangelical theology in the USA.
I found this volume more readable than others in the series. Bloesch's style is dialectical. To set out various options on a question and then to pose a synthesis that tries to keep the strengths of divergent viewpoints. He is more willing in this book to put forward his views of what the correct position should be rather than to leave the question hanging, which I felt was a fault in previous volumes.
That said, and as shown by his views on The Cambridge Declaration and The Gospel of Jesus Christ: An Evangelical Celebration at the end of the volume, his position is usually at an unstable point which weakens historic Reformed Confessions and takes on board Modernist thinking without appreciating that though he can stop there, others will not. Once the boundary markers are moved, there is nowhere one has to stop. Ironically one of his criticisms of these statements is their failure to address ethical problems of the day, such as sexuality, abortion and race relations. We have all seen how societal views have changed on these since 2002 and without stable theological foundations views in the church he was part of (the PCUSA) have fissiparated.
There will be more helpful volumes around on how the church, and its life, are to exist in our world. Useful to see how Barth has influenced mainline evangelical theology in the USA.
January 8, 2016
In this penultimate volume of Bloesch's Christian Foundations series, he tackles the difficult concept of the Church. Whilst I am a big fan of Bloesch's work and have a very high regard for the first 4 volumes in this series, I do think this volume seems to lack something. There is a good range of topics covered, and the Author does a good coverage of historical and current viewpoints (as he does in all his works), with a special emphasis on the Reformation and special consideration for thinkers such as Forsyght and Barth. I think that it may be missing a consistent underlying theme. It sort of concluded without me even realising it :)
Also the Authors seems a little harsh at times - for example when it comes to the Children's Sermon (we call it a Kids Talk in our Church) he basically declares that since it can be done wrongly it shouldn't be done :( Now I agree with the criticisms raised but that surely if it is done well (theologically and doctrinally speaking), it can be of benefit. The Author pointed out the "mistakes" that can be done in the Sacraments, but doesn't suggest we stop doing them. There were a few instance where I felt the arguments just were not developed as well as I am used to with this Author.
Still the book has many good topics and discussions, and may be better used as "standalone chapters" :)
Also the Authors seems a little harsh at times - for example when it comes to the Children's Sermon (we call it a Kids Talk in our Church) he basically declares that since it can be done wrongly it shouldn't be done :( Now I agree with the criticisms raised but that surely if it is done well (theologically and doctrinally speaking), it can be of benefit. The Author pointed out the "mistakes" that can be done in the Sacraments, but doesn't suggest we stop doing them. There were a few instance where I felt the arguments just were not developed as well as I am used to with this Author.
Still the book has many good topics and discussions, and may be better used as "standalone chapters" :)
April 23, 2016
This book is a genuine train wreck demonstrating many of the problems of quasi-evangelical theology. Genuine conservatives are pilloried as being obscurantist and curmudgeonly, while those who deny the resurrection somehow still retain the title "Christian" for Bloesch. There is helpful material on the nature of the church, but a book like The Master's Plan for the Church (MacArthur) or The Church (Dever) does a much better job.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews