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The Rebirth of Orthodoxy: Signs of New Life in Christianity
Thomas C. Oden notes a stark reversal in our time: as modern secular and political ideologies continue to wane, communities of traditional faith are flourishing now more than ever. In Christianity, this resurgence shows itself in widespread efforts to reclaim the classic spiritual practices: the close study of scripture, daily prayer, regular observance in a worshiping community, doctrinal integrity, and moral accountability. This rebirth is characterized by a return to orthodoxy that is gathering across denominational lines, rejecting the old partisan battle-lines of the past. This emerging and vibrant new orthodoxy is evident across the spectrum of Christian communities -- Evangelical, Mainline, Orthodox, and Catholic -- and is paralleled in Jewish communities as well. It is grounded in an acceptance of the historical consensus of scriptural interpretation, tempered by the openness to diversity contained in tradition itself, and enlivened by the freedom that comes from centered belief and practice. Its harbingers are neither the jaded power brokers and policy wonks of the old liberal Ecumenical establishment, nor their isolationist counterparts on the politically active fundamentalist right, but instead are lay believers emboldened by the rediscovery of ancient and relevant truths. Oden contends the challenges of the new millennium are less political than spiritual and moral. He sees the coming years as a pivotal period of opportunity, recovery, and rebuilding in which our faith heritage will regain relevance and power, despite its having been long disdained by media managers and the knowledge elites. The Rebirth of Orthodoxy is at once a description of a movement already underway, as well as a statement of its essential features.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published December 24, 2002
12 people are currently reading
170 people want to read
About the author
Thomas C. Oden
159 books78 followersThomas C. Oden was Henry Anson Buttz Professor of Theology and Ethics at Drew University in New Jersey from 1980 until his retirement in 2004. He remained faculty emeritus until his death. He was the general editor of the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture and the Ancient Christian Doctrine series as well as the author of Classic Christianity, a revision of his three-volume systematic theology.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
March 29, 2014
Oden makes a compelling case for rediscovering orthodoxy, and for what orthodoxy means, in a world that he insists is "beyond modernity." These are points worthy of consideration for anyone who wants to think seriously about what faith means in the 21st century, and I personally find Oden's arguments compelling. Orthodoxy is the counter-culture in our day, and Oden's use of Vincent of Lerins, and his Commotorium, as a means for finding orthodox truth in our, or any, world , is enlightening. While Oden's ideas are thus sound, and I find them compelling and meaningful--after reading this, I gladly think of myself as paleo-orthodox--the general success of the work Oden does here is limited by two things:
First, Oden writes in a style that is quasi-academic and detached; as such, many lay members of the Church, those who would be highly susceptible to being won over by Oden's thinking about orthodoxy, will find this work inaccessible. Perhaps this is no worry to Oden, however, perhaps he is writing for lay intellectuals and clerics, hoping they lead the majority of the church to paleo-orthodox understandings of the faith. Those readers will find this work compelling.
Second, Oden's political conservatism--including an odd conversion narrative that parallels him to Hillary Rodham Clinton--seems to suggest that only those who adhere to representative democracy and market economics (oddly enough, products of the modernity he claims we have past) are capable of being orthodox. This is frustrating, as while I may disagree with liberal political positions, I am confident that many progressives are equally capable of orthodox faith. In this, Oden does too little to insist on something we forget in the 21st century church: that the orthodoxy of the faith is the first thing, with politics being a distant second.
Despite these problems and limitations, Oden still presents a necessary argument, and he inspires me to move towards rediscovering orthodoxy in my own faith. The reintroduction of Western readers to Vincent of Lerins is also a commendable aspect of this book.
First, Oden writes in a style that is quasi-academic and detached; as such, many lay members of the Church, those who would be highly susceptible to being won over by Oden's thinking about orthodoxy, will find this work inaccessible. Perhaps this is no worry to Oden, however, perhaps he is writing for lay intellectuals and clerics, hoping they lead the majority of the church to paleo-orthodox understandings of the faith. Those readers will find this work compelling.
Second, Oden's political conservatism--including an odd conversion narrative that parallels him to Hillary Rodham Clinton--seems to suggest that only those who adhere to representative democracy and market economics (oddly enough, products of the modernity he claims we have past) are capable of being orthodox. This is frustrating, as while I may disagree with liberal political positions, I am confident that many progressives are equally capable of orthodox faith. In this, Oden does too little to insist on something we forget in the 21st century church: that the orthodoxy of the faith is the first thing, with politics being a distant second.
Despite these problems and limitations, Oden still presents a necessary argument, and he inspires me to move towards rediscovering orthodoxy in my own faith. The reintroduction of Western readers to Vincent of Lerins is also a commendable aspect of this book.
October 3, 2021
The "orthodoxy" here is neither Jewish nor Eastern Orthodoxy, but the traditional and ancient Christian doctrines: the Trinity, the Incarnation, the Resurrection, atonement, etc.--what C. S. Lewis called "mere" Christianity (though, unaccountably, Lewis is hardly mentioned). Oden detects a collapse of modernity and a renewal of orthodox Christianity, based a revival of interest in the Church Fathers of the first millennium, who are acknowledged by Protestant, Catholics, and Eastern Orthodox alike. He writes that the true ecumenical method of establishing doctrine is to be found in the Commonitory of Vincent of Lerins, written shortly after the Third Ecumenical Council (Ephesus, AD 431). This gives the best standard of faith as what has been believed "everywhere, always, and by all" in the community of believers.
Well, maybe. Events since this was published in 2002 don't look like an unmistakable renewal of orthodoxy and collapse of modernity to me. Several of the organizations he cites as part of the renewal seem to have gone out of business, based on my quick internet search. On the other hand, modernity's enthusiastic embrace of ever-more-bizarre ideas does make one think it can't go on much longer.
Well, maybe. Events since this was published in 2002 don't look like an unmistakable renewal of orthodoxy and collapse of modernity to me. Several of the organizations he cites as part of the renewal seem to have gone out of business, based on my quick internet search. On the other hand, modernity's enthusiastic embrace of ever-more-bizarre ideas does make one think it can't go on much longer.
December 2, 2024
A great analysis of an emerging movement in Christianity - the return to an older, consensual orthodoxy. Oden starts and ends with a definition of that orthodoxy - as that which is defined through sustained historical consensus - in the middle inserting his own personal experience with its discovery, in a context of a deep emergence of social justice and marxism in the churches of America. With optimism he describes and enumerates church leaders and theologians that have made the same discoveries as him, the journals in which they write and the ecumenical efforts in which they participate. He rejects the "old ecumenism", based on a modern-centric historical chauvinism - an ecumenism centered on acceptance and compromise - while promoting a "new ecumenism" centered on the consensual teaching of the church of all ages.
An essential read for anyone that has found value in historical theology, but yet struggles to find a practical use for it in today's churches. Had brought a lot of optimism in my thought and life.
9.5/10
An essential read for anyone that has found value in historical theology, but yet struggles to find a practical use for it in today's churches. Had brought a lot of optimism in my thought and life.
9.5/10
March 23, 2008
This is an amazing book. It gives a frame of reference for the a way out of the fundamentalist-modernist controversies of the early to mid-twentieth century. It also shows how ecumenical Christian dialogue should follow the model of the early councils of the Church. I think there's so much wisdom in not re-inventing the wheel, and not being anti-historical as Christians -- thinking that the early church looked exactly like us.
The early fathers and mothers had already dealt with so many issues similar to what we are encountering now. Also, instead of focusing on what divides us and trying to create our own Christian ghettos, we should be looking for common ground and referencing it with what the Body of Christ has believed, practiced, and proclaimed for the entire history of the Church, not just the last 500 years since the Reformation.
It's not that we can't disagree. We actually must not minimize our differences. If anything, we can appreciate our differences more as we understand the history behind each denomination's development and specific emphases. Condemnation=bad. Conversation=good.Mutual appreciation=better. Love=best.
Thomas Oden does a great job in outlining the contours of this movement. I'm excited to see what the future of the Body of Christ will look like. Hopefully it will bear a striking resemblance to the best of its past.
One problem I have with Oden's approach is that he doesn't really directly define "Orthodoxy". He lumps a lot of diverse people together and assumes that they are all part of this major shift towards orthodoxy. I guess for someone like him who came from a modernist-liberal theological background, anything that affirms the ancient creeds could be considered "orthodox". However, by doing this he downplays the real differences, especially in ecclesiology, of different Christian traditions. I'm not sure yet if Protestants can have a true, early church, Vincent of Lerins-style Orthodoxy without episcopal authority and a sense of what true, visible ecclesiastical unity means.
For the early church, apostolic succession and the authority of bishops in communion with each other, and exclusion of those outside of that community from the eucharist and the body of believers was the rule of the day.
My question for Oden is, "What kind of administrative unity does the present-day church need to have in order to faithfully reflect the church that the apostles founded?"
He stated at the epilogue of the book that there would be a volume 2 of this book. I'm not sure if it's out yet, but I'd be interested to see if it would answer any of my questions by expanding on some points he raised in the first book.
The early fathers and mothers had already dealt with so many issues similar to what we are encountering now. Also, instead of focusing on what divides us and trying to create our own Christian ghettos, we should be looking for common ground and referencing it with what the Body of Christ has believed, practiced, and proclaimed for the entire history of the Church, not just the last 500 years since the Reformation.
It's not that we can't disagree. We actually must not minimize our differences. If anything, we can appreciate our differences more as we understand the history behind each denomination's development and specific emphases. Condemnation=bad. Conversation=good.Mutual appreciation=better. Love=best.
Thomas Oden does a great job in outlining the contours of this movement. I'm excited to see what the future of the Body of Christ will look like. Hopefully it will bear a striking resemblance to the best of its past.
One problem I have with Oden's approach is that he doesn't really directly define "Orthodoxy". He lumps a lot of diverse people together and assumes that they are all part of this major shift towards orthodoxy. I guess for someone like him who came from a modernist-liberal theological background, anything that affirms the ancient creeds could be considered "orthodox". However, by doing this he downplays the real differences, especially in ecclesiology, of different Christian traditions. I'm not sure yet if Protestants can have a true, early church, Vincent of Lerins-style Orthodoxy without episcopal authority and a sense of what true, visible ecclesiastical unity means.
For the early church, apostolic succession and the authority of bishops in communion with each other, and exclusion of those outside of that community from the eucharist and the body of believers was the rule of the day.
My question for Oden is, "What kind of administrative unity does the present-day church need to have in order to faithfully reflect the church that the apostles founded?"
He stated at the epilogue of the book that there would be a volume 2 of this book. I'm not sure if it's out yet, but I'd be interested to see if it would answer any of my questions by expanding on some points he raised in the first book.
April 8, 2014
"The Rebirth of Orthodoxy" is an excellent book proclaiming how the Christian Church is returning to the ancient ecumenical consensus. Thomas Oden, perhaps the leading proponent of "paleo-orthodoxy," recounts how churches that have drifted into liberalism have declined and died as the modernity they had wedded themselves too also perishes. Much of the book is a recount of how this has happened, with Oden revealing that modernistic ecumenism is giving way to ancient, faithful ecumenism. Oden uses autobiography to demonstrate this resurgence in classic Christian thinking - he began as a liberal theologian who was more grounded in idealistic progressive politics and fads than in Scripture and tradition but who gradually became more and more convinced of the need to return to classic Christian truth. Positively and surprisingly, Oden offers hope for mainline denominations by naming movements and groups within these denominations who are advocating a return to orthodoxy.
The last chapter deals with the Vincentian model of ancient ecumenical consensus, "What has been believed everywhere, at all times, by all people." Oden notes how the Church resisted the heresies of figures such as Nestorius and Photinus because they differed from the Vincentian model. Although Oden rebukes rebaptism, noting that it was condemned by the early Church (but let's be fair, those who practice believer's baptism are trying to be as true to the explicit Scripture as possible and Scripture is always above tradition), he does not delve into any other contentious doctrines or practices. I am curious as to how Oden would navigate through beliefs and practices such as the veneration of Mary and Eucharistic Adoration. How can responsible ecumenism respond to this?
This is a good read and a good introduction to paleoorthodoxy, although if you have read previous Oden books, particularly "After Modernity...What?", some of the content will be repetitive. Oden is also an exceptionally gifted writer who uses his talents to write with flourish.
The last chapter deals with the Vincentian model of ancient ecumenical consensus, "What has been believed everywhere, at all times, by all people." Oden notes how the Church resisted the heresies of figures such as Nestorius and Photinus because they differed from the Vincentian model. Although Oden rebukes rebaptism, noting that it was condemned by the early Church (but let's be fair, those who practice believer's baptism are trying to be as true to the explicit Scripture as possible and Scripture is always above tradition), he does not delve into any other contentious doctrines or practices. I am curious as to how Oden would navigate through beliefs and practices such as the veneration of Mary and Eucharistic Adoration. How can responsible ecumenism respond to this?
This is a good read and a good introduction to paleoorthodoxy, although if you have read previous Oden books, particularly "After Modernity...What?", some of the content will be repetitive. Oden is also an exceptionally gifted writer who uses his talents to write with flourish.
March 30, 2020
Loved this book! Wonderful thought process and consistency throughout the whole text.
March 13, 2010
Thomas C. Oden has done a needed job for us in theological circles by reminding us of all of the ecumenical work that is going on and the common work that is going on in the various parts of Christianity.
He finds that Evangelical, Mainline, Orthodox and Catholic as well as parallel work going on in the Jewish community. This work is a return to orthodoxy.
Our ecumenical work and work in our aress of Christianity in the future will be more spiritual and less political, which I think many of us would be thankful for.
Typical of Oden, it is well thought out and presented in a manner that is both readable and scholarly.
It is a good read for anyone interested in the direction the church.
At times the work does tend to go a little slow, but overall it is an excellent work.
J. Robert Ewbank author "John Wesley, Natural Man, and the 'Isms'"
He finds that Evangelical, Mainline, Orthodox and Catholic as well as parallel work going on in the Jewish community. This work is a return to orthodoxy.
Our ecumenical work and work in our aress of Christianity in the future will be more spiritual and less political, which I think many of us would be thankful for.
Typical of Oden, it is well thought out and presented in a manner that is both readable and scholarly.
It is a good read for anyone interested in the direction the church.
At times the work does tend to go a little slow, but overall it is an excellent work.
J. Robert Ewbank author "John Wesley, Natural Man, and the 'Isms'"
September 17, 2007
A cheerleading "rah, rah, go team" for almost everything I agree with. Essentially, a personal recounting of one liberal protestant's realization that he was a heretic - and the subsequent journey towards orthodoxy.
Younger orthodox theologians will thank God almighty that they didn't have to endure the vapid semi-Marxist inanities of priveleged white academics for twenty years before wisening up - in the way that Oden did.
Younger orthodox theologians will thank God almighty that they didn't have to endure the vapid semi-Marxist inanities of priveleged white academics for twenty years before wisening up - in the way that Oden did.
April 12, 2016
A hopeful book which details the many efforts by sturdy believers to return their wandering mainline denominations to orthodox Christian beliefs and practices. Liberal National Council of Churches ecumenism is in decline with orthodoxy surging as believers in the ranks finally stand together for Biblical truth. Whatever the foolish fancies of liberal theologians, our Lord WILL build His church and the gates of Hell will be burst by the power of the Gospel!
July 11, 2007
I read this book last summer. It probably was one of several books and experiences that completely changed my perspective on the entirety of Christianity.
Argues very strongly for the place of historical theology/tradition in biblical interpretation, and for the place of ancient Christian practices in current day life.
Argues very strongly for the place of historical theology/tradition in biblical interpretation, and for the place of ancient Christian practices in current day life.
July 21, 2013
Oden is a skilled writer with a beautiful and Historic Vincentian approach to ecumenism. It was a refreshing to read a Protestant who values tradition prior to the 1500s. I pray more will adopt his approach to the church's understanding of tradition-transmission (truly it is not his but that of the Patristic church). May we learn to be humble and faithful students of the Apostolic tradition.
April 23, 2007
This is a very helpful and encouraging book to mainline Christians. Oden has been one of my mentors in letters and this is one of his most important works. It focuses upon our need to be rooted in the classics and got me reading Clement and others.
January 11, 2017
Great Introduction to Paleo-Orthodoxy
Great book with a good flow, along with a multifaceted defense of the rebirth of orthodoxy in Christian churches and denominations. Chapter 4 is a quotable gold mine and Chapter 11 brings it all home nicely.
Great book with a good flow, along with a multifaceted defense of the rebirth of orthodoxy in Christian churches and denominations. Chapter 4 is a quotable gold mine and Chapter 11 brings it all home nicely.
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November 21, 2009None
March 17, 2010
The single best definition of heresy I have ever encountered (p.133) and convincing discussion of Vincent of Lerins Way of consensual recollection from his Commonitory.
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April 13, 2012A great encouraging read for those who are orthodox in a liberal Church
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December 12, 2017Не успях да довърша книгата до край. Като цяло няма нещо, с което да не съм съгласен - просто Оден не успява да задържи вниманието ми. Голямото изключение е неговата автобиография, написана малко преди да почине - според мен книгата е прекрасна.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews