In Search of Ancient Roots provides such insight, enabling readers to give a clear answer for their evangelical hope. On the one extreme, there are those who endorse a 'gap theory' whereby their experience of the Christian life has little if anything to do with any sense of historical continuity. On the other extreme, recent fascinations with romantic and selective appropriations of 'tradition' show how easy it is to uncritically embrace beliefs and practices that are idiosyncratic with regards to Scripture.
What is at stake is the historical nature of evangelicalism as such. As a learned historian and acute theologian, Kenneth Stewart helps the reader come to terms with the diachronic dimension of evangelicalism that runs through church history, taking different shades and colors but ultimately responding to the same principles of biblical faithfulness and spiritual involvement. This book is a vigorous and rigorous rebuttal to John Henry Newman, according to whom 'to be deep in history is to cease to be Protestant. His case is convincing. A must-read for every person struggling with the question, 'What does evangelicalism have to do with history?
For evangelicals attracted by that fantasy, it is an urgent wake-up call to examine the full facts and rediscover the deep historic roots and spiritual riches of their own tradition. Stewart is a specialist in the history of Christianity from the Reformation to the present with special interest in the development of the evangelical Protestant tradition.
Would you like to tell us about a lower price? If you are a seller for this product, would you like to suggest updates through seller support? Protestant evangelicalism is in crisis. Today it is increasingly difficult for Protestants to identify what counts as distinctively Protestant , much less what counts as evangelical. As evangelicals increasingly lose contact with the churches and traditions descending from the Reformation, and as relations with Roman Catholicism continue to thaw, it becomes harder to explain why one should remain committed to the Reformation in the face of perceived deficits and theological challenges with the Protestant tradition.
A common complaint about Protestant evangelicalism is its apparent disconnect from ancient Christianity. The antiquity and catholicity of Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy seem to outshine the relative novelty of the Reformation. Some evangelical churches appear to be uninterested in the ancient historical roots of their faith as well as being liturgically and doctrinally unstable. Many within evangelicalism seem to have accepted at face value the suggestion that the evangelical faith is no more than a threadbare descendant of ancient Christianity.
The result is that a number of younger Protestants in recent years have abandoned evangelicalism, turning instead to practices and traditions that appear more rooted in the early church. In Search of Ancient Roots examines this phenomenon and places it within a wider historical context. Ken Stewart argues that the evangelical tradition in fact has a much healthier track record of interacting with Christian antiquity than it is usually given credit for. He surveys five centuries of Protestant engagement with the ancient church, showing that Christians belonging to the evangelical churches of the Reformation have consistently seen their faith as connected to early Christianity.
Stewart explores areas of positive engagement, such as the Lord's Supper and biblical interpretation, as well as areas that raise concerns, such as monasticism. In Search of Ancient Roots shows that evangelicals need not view their tradition as impoverished or lacking deep roots in the tradition. Christian antiquity is the heritage of all orthodox Christians, and evangelicals have the resources in their history to claim their place at the ecumenical table.
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Christianity at the Crossroads: Living Wisely with the Church Fathers. Here's how restrictions apply. Review "If evangelicalism is to have a coherent future, it needs to understand not only its own past but also the past of the church catholic. Don't have a Kindle? Try the Kindle edition and experience these great reading features: Share your thoughts with other customers.
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Showing of 14 reviews. Top Reviews Most recent Top Reviews. There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later. Kindle Edition Verified Purchase. I recommend this book to anyone wanting to dig deeper into the early church and to understand how the Reformers included the early church writings into the Reformation. It discusses the deep roots of the Reformation in early Christianity, and makes a case for embracing our ancient roots without abandoning the Reformation. The argument against the Reforners that they were teaching new doctrines is shown to be in error.
This is not a cutesy little book with fluff. It contains depth but is written at a level that a layman can follow. This book is a terrific resource for anyone interested in the comparative, and in some cases competing, doctrinal truth claims of Evangelicalism, Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. The author deals with a number of issues including authority, doctrinal development, sacramental theology, Patristic scholarship, and more.
In each case, he shows that the Evangelical tradition has deep roots that have often been neglected if not forgotten. In the process, he demonstrates that more historical perspective is a vital resource to properly assess all three traditions. This book is an excellent corrective to the myopia that not only distorts the true riches of the Evangelical tradition, but also tends to romanticize Roman Catholicism and Orthodoxy.
In a series of well-connected, wide-ranging but focused studies, Steward persuasively claims that the the view that Protestants have no claim to church history e. For not only did Protestants have a head start in the command of ancient Christianity in the sixteenth century, but in every century since major figures have made serious contributions to early Christians studies from within Protestantism. But, after that, the first significant event is really his baptism by John the Baptist. John the Baptist was another preacher, prophetic figure of that time.
He had a lot of followers. And he as baptizing people in the Jordan River, right in that region.
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This is the Jordan River right over here. And this is a depiction of the famous baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist. And, famously, John the Baptist said, "No, you should be baptizing me. Famously the sun shines on Jesus and God speaks that "This is my son. Remember, Galilee is the home region of Jesus where he will eventually do most of his preaching. And, after that, Jesus starts to really go full into effect in his ministry. And, while he's doing that, he's performing all of these miracles. He's healing people, turning water into wine, walking on water, bringing people back from the dead.
And this is, of course, according to biblical accounts.
You can decide if you believe these or not. And he does most of that in Galilee. And, eventually, he makes his way down to Jerusalem to meet his fate. He tells, according to the Gospels, his followers, his disciples And there's 12 in particular that are called out, but he has many, many more than that. That "Look, I am going to meet my fate there, but I'm doing it willingly. And this might give you a little bit of a sense why many people would have called this good news.
So, this is from the Gospel of Matthew that I'm gonna quote right over here. And this first part comes from his Sermon of the Mount. He goes to the top of a mountain and he gives this sermon. You're like, "Look, blessed are the poor in spirit: But whosoever smiteth thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. This is not an easy way to live. Someone who's doing something to you, don't try to seek revenge. And this is a very different tone than a lot of what you might get in the Old Testament.
Even in modern terms, you can view this as a very forward, very advanced way of thinking about the world. He also, beyond this idea of embracing even your enemies and not seeking revenge and that the poor have access to this kingdom of heaven, he really also liked to take it to the hypocrites, especially those who viewed themselves as the bearers of the religion.
In particular, he picks on the Pharisees, which was a sect of Jews at the time who viewed themselves very ritualistic. Remember, Jesus, himself, is a Jewish preacher. He's a Jewish teacher. He is viewed as a rabbi himself. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and in the corners of the street that they may be seen of men. Do it in private and then have this personal connection with God. Now, it's worth noting that, even though he preached a lot about the kingdom of heaven for the poor, prayer is a private thing, that you shouldn't try to seek revenge, you should be very conciliatory to your enemies, he did take a strong stance on what he was preaching.
He did say, "Look, you gotta be with me if you want to enter into this kingdom of heaven. This isn't gonna be an easy thing and this is gonna cause a lot of tension. This is one quote that you could view that way. Once again, from the Gospel of Matthew, "Think not that I came to send peace on earth. I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man at variance against his father and the daughter against her mother.
And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.
He that loveth father and mother more than me is not worthy of me. And he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that doth not take his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. But, if you follow me, there's some very good things that are waiting for you.
These miracles he's performing. This is the famous Transfiguration of Christ where he makes it apparent to his followers.
Early Christianity
He kind of becomes luminescent and he becomes apparent to his followers, his disciples, that he truly is the son of God. And then, he makes his way This is the year, depending on whether you think it's 30, 31, 32, 33 CE. He makes his way to Jerusalem to meet his fate. He's already prophesized to his followers that this is gonna be a tough fate. That he's gonna die there. And this is a very important week in Christianity.
BBC - Will & Testament: Shibboleth on the Wikipedia Bible
It's referred to as Passion Week. And the term passion has a different connotation. It really means the suffering of Christ. This is the week that he suffers. This is the week that he gets crucified and then resurrected. So, he goes to Jerusalem on Sunday. This is around the time of Passover. Very important religious period for the Jewish people. And he comes to Jerusalem near Passover. That Sunday that he comes is now celebrated as Palm Sunday. This is imagery of it where he's coming and some people are greeting him to Jerusalem as kind of a king.
They're laying down these palms before his path. Then, this is the famous where he goes to the main temple at Jerusalem and he cleanses it of the moneychangers. He's like, "Hey, by doing these money transactions here, you are defiling the temple. Some people believe this is the Passover seder. Most historians don't think it is. But he's meeting with his 12 disciples. And he's saying, "One of you's going to betray me. And he goes to the religious court and he says, "Hey, I have this guy who you guys don't like.
In a lot of ways, he's calling out these Pharisees and these religious officials as hypocrites. He's getting all of these followers. A lot of these traditionalists are saying, "This guy's blaspheming. He's saying he's the son of God. He's saying all of these things. He's doing these miracles on the Sabbath, when you're not supposed to be doing anything. Come and get him.