Theology

Why We Need a Beautiful Orthodoxy

What we hope you see in every CT article.

These days, if you walk the hallways of CT (if you’re in the area, stop on by!), you might hear a staff member mention “beautiful orthodoxy.” Drawing from the best of Christian thinking, editor Mark Galli recently coined it to guide our ministry in a broader climate of rancor and spiritual rootlessness.

“Beautiful orthodoxy” might seem a paradox. But in both the classical and the Christian traditions, truth and beauty are inseparable. Only relatively recently has it seemed that, to be winsome and loving, one must downplay truth claims. Or that, to speak the truth in a pluralistic world, one must pick a rhetorical battle. Indeed, our social media discourse often feels like a fight between the truth-Christians and the beauty-Christians (with both groups claiming that Jesus likes them best). Pick your side.

Except we at CT don’t think you have to. To our delight, in many articles in this issue, truth and beauty dance side by side. In our cover story (p. 30), Andrew Root corrects our ministry obsession with “reaching millennials” while painting a lovely picture of intergenerational fellowship in the local church. Shannon Sedgwick Davis, who has helped to stop Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony (p. 38), embodies orthopraxy—what Christian belief actually looks like in the world. (Hint: It’s pretty darn stunning.) Even our sobering report on book publishers’ marketing practices (p. 50) aims to highlight what ethical, even beautiful book marketing can look like. In these and other articles, we aim to ensure that every “no!” we imply is followed by a “yes!” That as we name wrong thinking or behavior, we also heartily affirm the abundant life available in our true and beautiful Savior.

In this month’s testimony (p. 96), Gregory Alan Thornbury honors Carl F. H. Henry, arguably the most important evangelical theologian of the past century, as well as CT's first editor. A cursory read of Henry suggests that “beautiful orthodoxy” is exactly what he pursued throughout his 90 years on earth.

Christian liberalism said “yes” to cultural and intellectual trends, at the expense of truth. Christian fundamentalism said “no” to individual sins, at the expense of beauty. Carving out a way between both traditions, Henry reaffirmed Scripture’s “no!” to personal and cosmic sin. And he preached Scripture’s “yes!” to engaging the mind and heart of persons and cultures with the full-orbed gospel of Christ.

In The Uneasy Conscience of Modern Fundamentalism, Henry wrote:

The evangelical task is the preaching of the gospel, in the interest of individual regeneration by the supernatural grace of God, in such a way that divine redemption can be recognized as the best solution of our problems, individual and social.

When we practice beautiful orthodoxy, redemption is finally recognized as God’s “yes” to us, and to new and unending life in him.

Follow Katelyn Beaty on Twitter @KatelynBeaty

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Also in this issue

The CT archives are a rich treasure of biblical wisdom and insight from our past. Some things we would say differently today, and some stances we've changed. But overall, we're amazed at how relevant so much of this content is. We trust that you'll find it a helpful resource.

Cover Story

Why Your Millennial Outreach Needs a Bit of Bonhoeffer

Andrew Root

Cover Story

Why Black Churches Are Keeping Millennials

Make New Friends, Keep Texting the Old

Liuan Huska

Editorial

Amnesty Is Not a Dirty Word

Three Views: After Domestic Violence, Why Should a Christian Wife Call the Police, Not a Pastor, First?

Tawana Davis, Owen Strachan, Lindsey and Justin Holcomb

What Scripture and Jazz Have in Common

Prayers at the Museum of Modern Art

Daniel A. Siedell

Meet the Mom Who Stopped Joseph Kony

Laura Joyce Davis

Why Knowing About Jesus Is Not Enough

Alister McGrath

It's Time for the Church to Grow Up

Review

Tim Keller Found His Prayer Bearings, and So Can You

Review

Life after a Medical Death Sentence

John Koessler

My Top 5 Books for Mothers

News

Should Pastors Stop Signing Civil Marriage Certificates?

Compiled by Ruth Moon

News

Tending the 'Stolen' Sheep in Latin America's Booming Bible Belt

News

The Season of Adventists: Can Ben Carson's Church Stay Separatist amid Booming Growth?

Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra

Is Buying Your Way Onto the Bestseller List Wrong?

Ken Walker

Testimony

How I Almost Lost the Bible

Gregory Alan Thornbury

News

Signs of Belief: How a Small Dispute over Church Marketing Became Supremely Important

Ruth Moon

Answered Prayers

Derek Sciba

Reply All

News

Gleanings: January/February 2015

New & Noteworthy Books

Matt Reynolds

Joyful Vision

Harold B. Smith

Excerpt

Can We Ever Trust Our Own Hearts?

Christianity Today's 2015 Book Awards

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