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The Church of God As Revealed in Scripture
Excellent Book
98 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1983
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 29, 2022
The title of this short booklet (stapled rather than bound) suggests that it's a treatment of Biblical teaching on the subject of the church --"ecclesiology," in theological parlance. Actually, however, as the Introduction clarifies, "Church of God" here refers specifically to just one of the 30+ Christian groups in the U.S. that use "Church of God" as part of their official name. The one dealt with here is the Church of God Reformation Movement, often referred to as "the Anderson, Indiana Church of God" (or "Church of God of Anderson"), after the headquarters city of its largest college and main organized ministries. Newell (1926-2018) was a prominent preacher in the movement, and the long-time editor of its publishing house, Warner Press. (I actually met him back in 1974, at a Church of God camp meeting at Madrid, Iowa where he was the featured evangelist, though I only spoke with him once, briefly.) His stated purpose here is "to acquaint the reader with the religious beliefs that helped to shape and mold the Church of God" [of Anderson]. So it's a fairly wide-ranging cursory survey of all of the major theological beliefs traditionally taught in the group.
As background for this review, it might be helpful to have an idea of where I'm coming from as reader/reviewer. Over the decades, I've fellowshipped for a number of years with two COG of Anderson congregations, one of which is my current church home, and which I serve as a Sunday school teacher for adults. I wasn't raised in the movement, though, so view it with somewhat more detachment than Newell does. For me, the attraction to it is based on its strong emphasis on the unity of the church as the body of Christ, the family of all believers who have embraced the Christian gospel and who live a godly life in response to it, and on the need of local congregations of the church to be inclusive of all such believers, without imposing humanly-made creedal tests. On the face of it, that position sits somewhat uneasily with a program of identifying and describing the movement in terms of a list of its traditional (and disputable) theological positions! That brings us to why it's also helpful, in understanding this book, to understand something of the origins and history of the movement itself (beyond Newell's two-paragraph treatment).
While Newell begins that brief historical glimpse in 1880, the history of what would become the COG of Anderson actually begins in the early 1800s, with the formation of the Church of God in North America under the leadership of John Winebrenner. That movement. too, stressed non-creedal unity of all regenerate Christians. As an ordained preacher in that group, Daniel Sidney Warner (who would become the effective founder of the COG of Anderson) was already proclaiming this belief long before 1880. But by 1880, Warner and others in the COG in North America were also caught up in the late 19th-century "Holiness" movement (which was also roiling older denominations, especially the Methodists), with its idea of a "second work of grace" that supposedly imparts instant "entire sanctification." Long story short, Warner's movement became a pro-'holiness" schism from the COG in North America; and its leadership shared a commitment to that theology, and other distinctive doctrines, even while retaining the idea of general Christian unity and refusing to draft an explicit denominational creed. That shared set of beliefs is what Newell is expounding here.
At 97 pages, which includes a page of Questions for Study, each with a memory verse, after each of the 14 chapters, this is obviously a very terse treatment of its various subjects. It actually covers the gamut of what a work of systematic theology would include, and in fact Russell Byrum's Christian Theology (which is a much thicker and better book) is the most often cited of the half-dozen sources listed here. (The second most cited is the older and less learned What The Bible Teaches by F. G. Smith, though happily Newell doesn't include any of Smith's more off-the-wall theological aberrations.) In the main, I actually agree with most of Newell's theology, though with some specific disagreements: I don't believe there's any such thing as instant sanctification, I don't see literal foot washing as an ordinance on a par with baptism and the Lord's Supper (that idea was and is also taught in the COG in North America, which is primarily where Warner got it), and IMO the belief that the eternal state of the believers is non-material is a Hindu/Gnostic distortion of biblical eschatology.
More importantly than any specific disagreements, though, a major problem here, besides the fact that so many things are treated in an almost superficial way, is that the reader usually isn't really drawn into engagement with the Bible. Instead, the author's method is to state something, then follow it with a citation of one or two "proof texts," usually with no reference to context, that supposedly "prove" his point. Obviously, anyone wanting to expound what the Bible says should be able to cite it. But (whether you agree with any particular point being made or not!) this needs to be a much more inductive process, where one begins with Scripture and reasons from it rather than beginning with opinions and looking for validation, than it is here; and it needs to look to the unified message of the Bible as a whole rather than primarily of single verses in isolation. Lay Christians reading this would not be taught to look to the Bible themselves for answers to questions of belief; they're simply spoon-fed the author's answers. The study questions reinforce this; they don't call for discussions, but for regurgitation of direct statements in the book's text.
Despite its problematic beginnings and history (in which, as one brother once said to me decades ago, "We talked unity, and practiced division"), I believe that the COG of Anderson is one movement today --though not the only such movement!-- that does witness to God's desire for Christian unity; and that if we keep that vision before us, we can come to live it out more fully, rather than less, as we grow in grace and breadth of understanding of the Bible and of our brothers and sisters who seek to understand it with us. But I don't think this book is really an optimum approach to fostering that kind of growth, or to equipping lay Christians for their own serious study of the Bible; and it wouldn't be my first recommendation for individual or group study.
Note: This booklet is from our church 'library" (which actually doesn't have many books!), and was recently handed to me with a warm recommendation by a dear brother in the church. I wouldn't hurt his feelings for anything; so I did give it an honest and open-minded read.
As background for this review, it might be helpful to have an idea of where I'm coming from as reader/reviewer. Over the decades, I've fellowshipped for a number of years with two COG of Anderson congregations, one of which is my current church home, and which I serve as a Sunday school teacher for adults. I wasn't raised in the movement, though, so view it with somewhat more detachment than Newell does. For me, the attraction to it is based on its strong emphasis on the unity of the church as the body of Christ, the family of all believers who have embraced the Christian gospel and who live a godly life in response to it, and on the need of local congregations of the church to be inclusive of all such believers, without imposing humanly-made creedal tests. On the face of it, that position sits somewhat uneasily with a program of identifying and describing the movement in terms of a list of its traditional (and disputable) theological positions! That brings us to why it's also helpful, in understanding this book, to understand something of the origins and history of the movement itself (beyond Newell's two-paragraph treatment).
While Newell begins that brief historical glimpse in 1880, the history of what would become the COG of Anderson actually begins in the early 1800s, with the formation of the Church of God in North America under the leadership of John Winebrenner. That movement. too, stressed non-creedal unity of all regenerate Christians. As an ordained preacher in that group, Daniel Sidney Warner (who would become the effective founder of the COG of Anderson) was already proclaiming this belief long before 1880. But by 1880, Warner and others in the COG in North America were also caught up in the late 19th-century "Holiness" movement (which was also roiling older denominations, especially the Methodists), with its idea of a "second work of grace" that supposedly imparts instant "entire sanctification." Long story short, Warner's movement became a pro-'holiness" schism from the COG in North America; and its leadership shared a commitment to that theology, and other distinctive doctrines, even while retaining the idea of general Christian unity and refusing to draft an explicit denominational creed. That shared set of beliefs is what Newell is expounding here.
At 97 pages, which includes a page of Questions for Study, each with a memory verse, after each of the 14 chapters, this is obviously a very terse treatment of its various subjects. It actually covers the gamut of what a work of systematic theology would include, and in fact Russell Byrum's Christian Theology (which is a much thicker and better book) is the most often cited of the half-dozen sources listed here. (The second most cited is the older and less learned What The Bible Teaches by F. G. Smith, though happily Newell doesn't include any of Smith's more off-the-wall theological aberrations.) In the main, I actually agree with most of Newell's theology, though with some specific disagreements: I don't believe there's any such thing as instant sanctification, I don't see literal foot washing as an ordinance on a par with baptism and the Lord's Supper (that idea was and is also taught in the COG in North America, which is primarily where Warner got it), and IMO the belief that the eternal state of the believers is non-material is a Hindu/Gnostic distortion of biblical eschatology.
More importantly than any specific disagreements, though, a major problem here, besides the fact that so many things are treated in an almost superficial way, is that the reader usually isn't really drawn into engagement with the Bible. Instead, the author's method is to state something, then follow it with a citation of one or two "proof texts," usually with no reference to context, that supposedly "prove" his point. Obviously, anyone wanting to expound what the Bible says should be able to cite it. But (whether you agree with any particular point being made or not!) this needs to be a much more inductive process, where one begins with Scripture and reasons from it rather than beginning with opinions and looking for validation, than it is here; and it needs to look to the unified message of the Bible as a whole rather than primarily of single verses in isolation. Lay Christians reading this would not be taught to look to the Bible themselves for answers to questions of belief; they're simply spoon-fed the author's answers. The study questions reinforce this; they don't call for discussions, but for regurgitation of direct statements in the book's text.
Despite its problematic beginnings and history (in which, as one brother once said to me decades ago, "We talked unity, and practiced division"), I believe that the COG of Anderson is one movement today --though not the only such movement!-- that does witness to God's desire for Christian unity; and that if we keep that vision before us, we can come to live it out more fully, rather than less, as we grow in grace and breadth of understanding of the Bible and of our brothers and sisters who seek to understand it with us. But I don't think this book is really an optimum approach to fostering that kind of growth, or to equipping lay Christians for their own serious study of the Bible; and it wouldn't be my first recommendation for individual or group study.
Note: This booklet is from our church 'library" (which actually doesn't have many books!), and was recently handed to me with a warm recommendation by a dear brother in the church. I wouldn't hurt his feelings for anything; so I did give it an honest and open-minded read.
August 21, 2018
This is a power packed little book, with a lot to ruminate on and research in Scripture. Arlo Newell is one of the founding writers of Church of God, Anderson, and I enjoyed the explanations in a succinct format.
Lots of pertinent information as to why Church of God believes what they do. Useful Scriptural references, well done and easily read. Although this is required reading for me, I did enjoy it and learn a lot.
Lots of pertinent information as to why Church of God believes what they do. Useful Scriptural references, well done and easily read. Although this is required reading for me, I did enjoy it and learn a lot.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews