Subversive Orthodoxy: Traditional Faith and Radical Commitment

by K. Leech

Book by Leech, Kenneth

Genres: Theology

62 pages, Hardcover

First published December 31, 1992

Reviews

[Matt Root · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful and needful little book just as relevant as it was when it was written a quarter century ago. He claims that Christian orthodoxy must be "not stifling but inclusive, not fearful but risk-taking, not simplistic but rooted in ambiguity and paradox. The rejection of paradox and ambiguity is the characteristic of heretics in all ages." Amen! Amen! Amen!

It is also a reminder of how much was lost when they shuttered the ABC some years ago.

[Jakub Mrozinski · Rating 2 out of 5]

Incredibly well-reasoned first chapter, diagnosing what ails modern liberalism and illustrating the domination hierarchies in England during the '70s. However, the second and concluding chapters argue too little and speculate too much - perhaps that ties in to his point: a traditional orthodoxy is required in the church to reclaim it from modern liberalism and fundamentalism. And no, orthodoxy and fundamentalism are not the same, Leech argues, and orthodoxy can be a robust and progressive structure for the church. Whether you'd agree with that or not (whether you're a christian or not at all), this crisp and brief work is worth a read to dissect why modern people view tradition as abhorrent, and how it can be good.

[Jamie Howison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I needed to reread this little book (60 pages...) by Kenneth Leech, as I'm preparing the background material for a lecture I've been asked to deliver on the radical Anglo-Catholics (or what Leech else where calls "Sacramental Socialists." Subtitled "Traditional Faith and Radical Commitment," the book is basically the text of three lectures delivered at Trinity College, Toronto back in 1991. Typical of Leech's writing, it is a nice, readable introduction to this movement within Anglicanism. Leech's social focus in on racism, as that was very much the issue in the East End London context in which he ministered at the time.