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Christianity Today, May (Web-only), 2008 |

Emergent's New Christians and the Young, Restless Reformed, Part 3

Tony Jones and Collin Hansen find connections as they discuss each other's books and movements.

Collin Hansen and Tony Jones | posted 5/05/2008 09:10AM

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Let me ask you a question that flows out of this a bit. I get the sense from the young, Reformed guys I know that they share some of the epistemic humility that we have in Emergent. They don't speak with quite the certain tones of the older Reformed crowd. I think this humility about knowledge actually jibes perfectly with the Reformed doctrine of Total Depravity (i.e., if our intellects are depraved, how can we be so sure that we're right about, say, depravity?). Has this humility rubbed off on the older Reformed generation at all?

— Tony

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The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier and Young, Restless, Reformed: A Journalist's Journey with the New Calvinists are available from ChristianBook.com and other retailers.

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Guy Cothran

Posted: May 15, 2008 9:32 PM

I've continued to stay in the institutional church, though not a member, for my young sons so they can have fellowship, corporate worship and training. I have recently begun to think this is a mistake, and last night purchased Tony's book-never seen it before- and just found this web dialogue today. 20 years experience with Reformed Presbyterianism, left for another conservative denomination. Bottom line; all of the institutional church seems to be compromised and really does not have a strong redeeming effect on our culture. Somehow the radical Jesus Christ is going to have to find an incarnation or I see no stopping the national and global deterioration that is growing at an unbelievable pace. Radical still means radical I think, so it will be looked down on and persecuted by the establishment; the establishment has too much of worldly value to protect. The spiritual progress we need will only come at a serious cost. Do the Emergents believe and accept this?

charles Alexander

Posted: May 06, 2008 6:56 PM


Labels. Labels. Labels. No wonder spiritually we can't see the forest for the trees -- each tree trying to be a little taller -- each tree trying to offer more in the way of shelter -- each tree trying to woo the sweetest singing birds. So many label trees, no wonder the sunshine fails to get through.

Pr.bill borch LtCol.USAR

Posted: May 06, 2008 6:26 PM

The "angst" comes through. Sixty-five? Try 73. So, yes, I understand. Yesterday I posted on my blog the story of the woman who opened her feather pillow in a gale-storm. Yep, never got her feathers back. The tragedy is they were carefully and lovingly collected for the express purpose of being together. A few years ago this reality drove me "nuts" as an Evangelical (Reformed) pastor. But it still doesn't seem to matter to most to whom I speak. Emergent, etc. is what you'll have when the "church" is an amorphous theory. "Anything goes", as the lady sings. I've noticed about kids, etc., you get what you tolerate. And now that you have no choice it'll unravel ad infinitum; there's nothing you can do about it. It's the meaning of "priesthood of believers", According Jacques Barzun, everyone ministered to himself. forestphilosopher.blogtoolkit.com (till Sunday, then ......blogspot.com

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