Ancient-Future Faith: Rethinking Evangelicalism for a Postmodern World

by Robert E. Webber

In a world marked by relativism, individualism, pluralism, and the transition from a modern to a postmodern worldview, evangelical Christians must find ways to re-present the historic faith. In his provocative new work, Ancient-Future Faith, Robert E. Webber contends that present-day evangelicalism is a product of modernity. Allegiance to modernity, he argues, must be relinquished to free evangelicals to become more consistently historic. Empowerment to function in our changing culture will be found by adapting the classical tradition to our postmodern time. Webber demonstrates the implications in the key areas of church, worship, spirituality, evangelism, nurture, and mission. Webber writes, The fundamental concern of Ancient-Future Faith is to find points of contact between classical Christianity and postmodern thought. Classical Christianity was shaped in a pagan and relativistic society much like our own. Classical Christianity was not an accommodation to paganism but an alternative practice of life. Christians in a postmodern world will succeed, not by watering down the faith, but by being a counter cultural community that invites people to be shaped by the story of Israel and Jesus. A substantial appendix explores the development of authority in the early church, an important issue for evangelicals in a society that shares many features with the Roman world of early Christians. Students, professors, pastors, and laypeople concerned with the churchs effective response to a postmodern world will benefit from this paradigmatic volume. Informative tables and extensive bibliographies enhance the books educational value.

Genres: Theology, Religion, Nonfiction, Christian, Discipleship, Evangelism, History

240 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1999

Reviews

[Eric Chappell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Context: I read this book because of the title's connection with my January reading of the early church.

Summary: Webber sees parallels between postmodernism today and that of the Roman empire during the first few centuries of the church. In order to speak truth to our so-called postmodern culture, we should recover the faith and practice of the early church (esp as it pertains to Christus Victor) which flourished in a similar setting. Webber explores the early Church's thoughts on Christ, ecclesiology, spirituality, mission, and authority, and its implications for our faith and practice today.

What I liked: Overall, good idea for a book. I like the concern for hearing the voices of the early church, something that's often neglected in broader evangelicalism. Webber has some thoughtful applications of early church practice for how the contemporary church can better seek to align its message and method with our roots.

What I didn't like: Webber's a pretty poor historian. His argument for the importance of Christus Victor is skewed and too reliant on secondary materials. Having just read much of the primary literature from the second century, I think Webber puts way too much emphasis on Christ's victory over the powers as the Primary message of the early church. Undoubtedly, it was important and certainly part of the gospel message, but it in no way completely captures the NT witness, nor the apostolic fathers' message. Webber's history in other parts is pretty shabby--largely it is a too broad and superficial treatment of periods of the church. Which begs the question in my mind: why go merely to the early church? It seems to me that it is better to be in conversation with all the historical paradigms and critique each according to the Scriptures.

Notes:
-Ignatius (letter to Smyrnaeans) was first to use word 'catholic'
-worship is the rehearsal of the Christ event through which one's experience with God is established, maintained, and repaired (106).
-Webber has interesting discussion of space (what do our worship spaces say about the God we worship), order of worship (worship orders our relationship to God--just like a dinner party has order, so should our worship), music (music is an auditory stimulant that is capable of evoking an experience with the transcendent), baptism (evangelicals need to recover a bib theology of baptism; it's God action to us, not our action to God), Eucharist (the importance of Supper in counseling--tell them to flee to the Eucharist because it's there that God gives His healing touch to us), the Christian calendar (how would our weeks and years look differently if structured along Christocentric time--that of weekly Eucharist and the Christian calendar), and the arts
-Problems with Enlightenment spirituality: (1) we ignore the resources the Holy Spirit has given us throughout the history of the church. (2) we act as though Christ's work does not relate to history and to culture. (3) we act as if Christ did not save the mind. (4) focus on external rules (5) overfamiliarity with God.
-Webber encourages spirituality that is Christocentric, i.e. recognize that Jesus is our spirituality. In Him we have been brought from death to life. Spirituality starts and continues with simple trust in Jesus. Spirituality that is Ecclesial--cannot have God as your Father if church isn't mother (Cyprian). Liturgical Spirituality (Baptism, Word, Eucharist).
-Problem with current Christian education: moralism that is essentially do-goodism. Factualism that merely seeks to learn the material without understanding how it fits together, its call on my life. And failure to see the big picture--grasp bits and pieces of truth, but miss the whole.
-View your education ministry as a slow, subtle, nearly unconscious process of formation, something like the way a moving stream shapes the rocks over a long passage of time (Parker J. Palmer).

[Jason Arant · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great read but Webber seems to impose a heavy eucharistic theology over everything he talks about. This colors his understanding of up and coming generations in a way that doesn't seem to reflect the reality I have observed.

[Dustin Tramel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very helpful insight to some of the ideas and motivations behind the "emerging" church movement.

[Matthew Hodge · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an unusual one and I went back and forth between a three and a four. I found Webber's book (and a few others in the Ancient-Future series) amongst my late father's theological books and I loved the title, even if I didn't know much else about it.

The thesis, when I finally got around to reading it, drew me in: what if - as we move from a modern rationalist world, into a postmodern world - the answer for the flourishing of Christianity was for it to move closer to the ancient version of Christianity from the first few centuries of the church By "ancient Christianity", Webber technically means the faith before it branched off into Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism and when the Church could write a creed or two that would be accepted by all Christians everywhere.

Webber would consider himself an evangelical, and he certainly doesn't disparage anything that evangelicals call about, but his emphasis is different than many evangelicals today. He suggests that the modern focus on the Word, logical proofs for the faith, and presenting Christianity as an intellectual proposition is actually the Church being moulded by a rationalistic world.

Compared with the early church, where the liturgical worship service was itself an acting out of the story of Christus Victor (he quite likes that phrase), the Victorious Christ, Jesus ruling over all the powers of evil. Where symbol and visuals were an important way of conveying the message. Where faith, rather than being an individual thing, was primarily expressed through the Church, the living embodiment of Jesus.

It is in returning to this mix of elements, he puts forward, that we will best speak to a postmodern world.

There are a few things here - one, even his definition of what the postmodern world looks like has probably dated a bit in the years since this book was written, so I'm not 100% sure that his framework maps as well as he likes.

Secondly, his view that if we all looked past the parts of our faith which arrived *after* the early church days (whether that be the rituals of Catholicism or the intellectualism of the Reformation), we would realise that there is a faith that most of us who call ourselves Christian have in common. It's a nice idea, but perhaps - at least in one book - sounds a trite simplistic, given how hard apologists from all flavours of the Catholic and Protestant denominations have argued that they have understood the faith properly.

But yet ... and this is why I like it ... Webber's expression of faith is exactly where flourishing strains of Christianity seem to be moving towards and is also perhaps what I personally am drawn to in my life. I'm more interested in the power and call of Jesus than the theological particularities of my denomination - even though I don't want to lose them. I see a shared conviction to follow Jesus amongst Christians from other traditions that is undeniable. And I think there is definitely something lack in a faith that is only expressed in a cerebral manner.

Now I'm aware that all sorts of errors can arrive if we go down this path - and I've grown up hearing the dangers most of my life - but nonetheless I feel that the future of the Church may well be in the direction that Webber lays out, whether we like it or not. Not many people will read his book - in fact, I think it's already out of print - but many of the changes he talked about are beginning to become normal in Christianity today. Perhaps he was ahead of his time? I don't know, but I found it an interesting space to sit in for a bit to consider where the Church is heading at the moment.

[Gipson Baucum · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good demonstration that New Testament and Classical Christianity should appeal to the post-modern mindset. Christianity works best when it is not filtered through the world-view of any age or other philosophy (like Plato, Aristotle, modernity, post-modernity, or even the sola-scriptura of Luther). It stands on it's own as it's handed down from Jesus to the apostles to the different ages of the church. Great read, but be ready to have your pre-suppositions and biases challenged.

[Richard Burley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this years ago and I still refer back to it as a treasure trove of information Robert Webber opened up agent paths to me for meeting to the future and who I am in it.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much to think about. Reinforced a lot of what I’d already been thinking. So good!

[Marcas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Robert Webber's Ancient-Future vision is profoundly refreshing and exactly what the church needs. The genuinely catholic emphasis of his work should inspire those interested in living integrated Christian lives everywhere.

Webber covers the Christian Way from Biblical times to present in a manner that avoids fuzzy nostalgia or chronological snobbery, alike. My friend, the pastor Paul Vander Klay, has given the name 'metagelical' to a new kind of Christian who is seeking to go beyond prepositional tyranny, refocusing on first things: the cosmic claims of the Christian faith, the liturgical nature of reality, and the edifying character of Spiritual disciplines. Webber was 'metagelical' before it was cool and draws upon the best of Roman Catholic, Eastern and Oriental Orthodox, and various Protestant sources, while avoiding the pitfalls of each denomination.

In a digital age, it is vital that we pay attention to a distinct kind of social space-time, and to the scales of Christian living. Webber does this; He considers the local church, the universal church, the nature of time from a Christian perspective, and how we are to live out a distinct Christian life in postmodernity. All of this is great.
I don't agree with everything, but I still can't give it less than full marks. I loved the short little chapters, which clearly distilled years of his education and experiences as a Christian. I suspect others will be frustrated by that, but for me it captured the big picture and can inspire further reflection on well-chosen points.

Overall, the work hasn't dated and may even be more pertinent than ever. It would be a damn shame to restrict him and his noble mission to the American 'emergent church'. What he says, and how he says it, should be heard and registered by Christians everywhere. This is a nice follow-up to the Christian witness of great pastor-theologians like Eugene Peterson, Lesslie Newbigin, Thomas C. Oden, and Gavin Ortlund. There is hope for a renewed Christian faith in our time. Webber's work should be a part of any 'reconquista' (Redeemed Zoomer), which would serve orthodox Christians take back mainstream churches from heretical and heterodox leaders. This is a real possibility, given the nature of demographic shifts and the rapidity of church decline in many English-speaking nations. Webber's impressive oeuvre should call out the anti-Christian nature of the fundamentalists and the theological liberals in equal measure. Webber's is an incarnational way.

[Louis Fritz v · Rating 5 out of 5]

Robert Webber's first in a series on encountering postmodernism with the Gospel, Ancient-Future Faith does an excellent job of seeking to bridge the gap between the generations of the the apostles all the way to the current postmodern era. By understanding how our faith and different aspects of it have been molded throughout the annals of history, Webber is able to thoroughly present an objective viewpoint whereby the individual can be motivated to better not only himself in understanding how his faith developed, but also in bringing that understanding to his fellow brothers and sisters and thereby create a basis whereby true communication can continue in a culture which is not accepting of Christianity for its closedminded attitude. This is especially seen in the chapters on Evangelism in which Webber extensively reveals how evangelistic endeavors need to be fashioned with strong educational standards that way the new observers of the faith can not only become part of the community, but they can also be trained to understand more fully the glory of the Gospel, so they too can take joy in it and share it within their social circles. Such detail to practicality though is presented through the illustration of the church father who would delicately take the time to initiate new converts into the community before even inducting them into the baptism process (six months in most cases). This attention to detail is merely a sample of what one can appreciate as he or she reads this thrilling text on the importance of how history impacts the faith of the modern believer.

[Laurie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Webber's chapter outlines/summaries are valuable for getting a good overview of the major periods of church history, and how practices and theological views have changed over time. His premise is that post-modern thinking and culture offer unique opportunities for Christians to impact our sphere of influence because there are strong points of connection between post-modernism and ancient Christian spirituality. Worth skimming, although Webber is rather a dry writer.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book. I noticed another reviewer called it "dry". To me it was anything, but dry. Webber deftly argues the case for a faith and worship that more closely resembles that of the ancient church. He remains staunchly orthodox, in my opinion, while situating Christian theology, worship and evangelism in the church, not in an apologetic that raises Reason to the equal of Faith. Perhaps others will not find this book the eye-opener that I did, but for me it was revelatory.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I also used this book for my senior bible class. It had some interesting scenarios and points to discuss. I didn't like it as much as the Firth book because this one was harder to digest, but I did think many of his points were valid and they offered good discussion material. I'd probably recommend this book.

*Taken from my book reviews blog: http://reviewsatmse.blogspot.com/2012...

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Manages to pack a ton of ideas into a relatively small book, looking at broad topics with a clear and concise format. Any of the topics covered, such as evangelism, the relationship of the Church with Tradition and Scripture, and others, would all need further thought and study to flesh out the questions asked here. Highly recommended as a thought-provoking and engaging study. Webber writes with great conviction and strength.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gave me plenty of things to think about. I'm not sure how I feel about all of them just yet, but Webber does present some interesting ideas about what church might look like if it were more like the ancient church. If you are in church leadership, Webber's call to you is to lead your church into the future by the ancient paths.

[Jordan J. Andlovec · Rating 4 out of 5]

I should have read this book 15 years ago, because I have been churning over many of these ideas since. Webber's project, while idealistic does inspire for sure, and it's his passion for both the Church and the Great Commission (which sadly are often divorced) that made me very happy to be reading it.

[Rachel McKinney · Rating 3 out of 5]

A dry book, but good historically and well researched, although I think the major points are emphasized to the point of meaningless very often. This book is a good resource and reference book, a good bolster for a theology class, but tried a little too hard to explain some very simple principles.

[Jacob Aitken · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as ancient future worship, and I wonder if Webber was still a baptist when he wrote this. It does a good job, though, in pointing the reader to Christus Victor models of the atonement and trying to feel for the rhythm of "ancient" church.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

A look at how classical Christianity can relate to our postmodern world. I really enjoyed the look at the idea of Christus Victor, and the overview of the early church's evangelism process was quite intriguing.

[John Compton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Webber clearly articulates our the Christian faith can be presented in a Post-modern world. Traditionalist in the church cling to how the faith was presented in the Modern Era and those who favor contemporary often are capitulating to pop-culture. This is the other way.

[Rex · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pragmatic approach to the Early Church, set in dialogue with postmodernism. The writing is somewhat lacking, and I question a few of his interpretations of Church history, but there are some intelligent ideas set forth that I believe could be of great benefit to contemporary Evangelical churches.

[Allan Gates · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read on rethinking how to teach the Gospel to a postmodern generation while looking at the Early Church. Webber brings out the issues in the transitioning our thinking from a modern individualistic mindset to a focus on what it means to be in community with Christ at the center.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

All of these books are excellent resources for teaching the importance of christian history and worship practice to evangelicals.

[Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A profoundly thought and life shaping book for me.

[Tyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Helped shape my current view of Christianity and the church.

[Tom Heil · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book not only gives a fresh perspective on the faith and worship of the ancient church, it presents a compelling case for holding on to those practices for the new millenium.

[Adam Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to follow.