The Post-Evangelical

A note to American readers, this is a review of the British edition of the book (without the sidebar commentary etc) and it's of the original printing in 1995. This book was published in 1995 and although still very acute and with some useful points it does somehow feel dated. Some things, however, don't date - or at least date very slowly! - so Dave Tomlinson's discussion of the post-modern influence on evangelicalism is still valid, and particularly so for this reader. The basic premise is that the church (and specifically in the case of this book the Evangelical wing of the church) fits into the 'Modern' society method of absolute truth, rationality, literal meaning of texts and proscriptive behaviours; unfortunately for the church the rest of the world has moved on to an imprecise, ambiguous and symbolic world as the penny has dropped that life has rather more to it than the 'modern' model offered. The argument of this book is that many Christians can no longer subscribe to the core requirements of the evangelical church (requirements, we note, that are usually not significant in the Bible) and either join the liberal church, have church once a year at Greenbelt or drift away altogether. This is a fairly short book at 145 pages which serves to introduce the topic, to give a few examples and to map out the directions in which many post-evangelicals might move. There's not enough space to go deeply into any of the topics which was, for me, a slight failing of this book. It more serves as background for the reader to decide if this area of thought is that which will help them with their faith problems. I can recommend Brian MacLaren's "A New Kind Of Christian" as the more recent and in-depth book that would complement this very well. There is a real benefit, however, in the simplicity of the writing style of this book. It was easy to identify myself in much of his writing and the confidence this gave - that I'm not alone in my disillusionment with modern Christianity - was very helpful. The datedness of the book is in terms of the examples he gives and perhaps also in the very discussion of 'evangelical' and 'evangelicalism' rather than just 'Christian'; I have a suspicion that the evangelical wing has grown so much in the twelve years since this book was published that it has subsumed most other areas and to me this book seemed to be saying a lot about the 'average' and 'normal' church of a medium-sized town in England, not necessarily one that would shout from the rooftops that it was evangelical. Be that as it may, this is an interesting book which gives encouragement to further reading and references some useful other works in its endnotes.

This book should be viewed as a catalyst for further thought and discussion on the topics raised. It touches the heartbeat of a growing "in-house" trend of dissatisfaction with contemporary evangelical culture as organizationally, and in some cases doctrinally and practically, expressed that leaves some "evangelicals," including myself, feeling that they have strayed from the flock when, in fact, they may have discovered the vital bloodstream of the biblical faith that has been clouded over with trivialities and, in some cases, error throughout the years. Dallas Willard states in his forward to the revised North American edition, "post-evangelicalism is by no means ex-evangelicalism... post-evangelicals are evangelicals, perhaps tenaciously so. However, post-evangelicals have also been driven to the margins by some aspects of evangelical church culture with which they cannot honestly identify." With that said, however, Tomlinson points out that some who strongly identify with what the book discusses "may not all be evangelicals" although they certainly are post-moderns. My own alienation with certain aspects of contemporary evangelical culture as well as Dallas Willard's forward to this book is why I read it. And although some reviewers disliked the supplemental comments by the book's contributors, I felt that several of them provided good clarifications and critiques whereas others were off the mark. Also, some readers would not consider Tomlinson as the principle representative for their brand of "post-evangelicalism" which is general and vague enough to allow for different brands among those who identify with it. Additionally, post-evangelicalism should not be confused with what was once called "the new evangelical theology" or neo-evangelicalism (as Mark Galli seems to do in one of his comments on pg. 27) which is an evangelical reaction against the fundamentalist branch of evangelicalism. See page 73 and Robert P. Lightner's "Neo-Evangelicalism" (if you can find a copy). To be sure, post-evangelicalism is against a rigid and legalistic fundamentalism, but it is more than that. Among other flaws, I personally consider the discussion on truth inadequate and think Mark Galli's commentary on page 94 valid: "Post-evangelicals will admit to using propositional statements, but they seem to have a hard time admitting how utterly dependent they are on such reasoning" (cf. his other comments on pg. 82, note (e)). However, what I find overlooked by critics like Galli (and Christian apologists in general) is the tendency to under-appreciate the important subjective/objective distinction between being sincerely right, sincerely wrong, and insincere. Does God respect sincerity, even if one (Christian or non-Christian) is "objectively" or "propositionally" wrong? I would say that he does (apart from any possible but temporary negative consequences for being wrong) and such popular sayings as "the road to hell is paved with good intentions" as used

I read the British edition of Tomlinson's book a while back and can recommend it without reservation. He points out the many weaknesses of modern Evangelicalism for thinking persons (or even deeply feeling persons) and tries to plot a course toward something greater and more in tune with the Spirit. I liked the fact that he was not afraid to go after sacred cows like inerrancy, a modern attribute forced onto a premodern text, while so many other 'postmodern' Christian authors seem caught up in worrying about worship and preaching styles: the problem goes much deeper than the hipness of your pop culture connections, whether you have video screens in your church, or whether you preach in a relational style. The American edition, however, has been published by Zondervan, a very conservative, borderline fundamentalist publisher. While Zondervan can be congratulated for having the nerve to publish the book at all, they end up handicapping Tomlinson's arguments by adding a running commentary in the margins from several figures in the American emergent church movement. Some of these commentators, like Timothy Keel and Doug Pagitt, have some interesting things to say about how the British Post-Evangelical movement relates to the US Emergent movement. Others are less helpful. Mark Galli, an editor for Christianity Today and Leadership, gives stock 'Christianity Inc' answers for many of Tomlinson's observations. Galli is often offensive in his attitude toward those of us fed up with the easy answers and cosy compromises of his brand of faith: at one point he argues that people leave conservative evangelical churches not because of the rampant anti-intellectualism or the cultural irrelevance, but rather because they want to avoid discipline and tithing. In another marginal comment he claims that since conservative churches in the US are growing they are obviously on the right track. In the sense that megachurches are providing a product that many consumers seem to enjoy, he is right. Many of us would like to believe that their is something more to Christianity than that. I assume that Zondervan added the commentary in order to protect its reputation in the evengelical/fundamentalist community. It is possible to read the book without reading the margins, but if you are a footnote/endnote reader like me you will find yourself drwn to the commentaries; and if you are passionate about finding a more meaningful faith than what you can find in the American megachurch some of those commentaries will drive you crazy. Get the book in any case, but get the British edition if you can find it.

I had never heard of the term "post-evangelical" when a friend gave me this book, but reading it has helped me articulate a lot of the confusion I had been feeling regarding my faith. For some time I had been uncertain about various aspects of evangelicalism and the experience of church, although I found it difficult to express my concerns, partly because I wasn't sure what it was that just "didn't seem right", and partly out of fear that I would be branded "unbelieving" if I openly questioned aspects of my faith. Although the church I belong to is fairly moderate on the evangelical scale, there are quite a few people for whom faith is an all-or-nothing matter: if I didn't believe everything that was said, I might as well not believe anything. As I'm sure many others could testify, this is a discomforting and isolating experience, and one that made me feel things would probably be OK as long as I just kept my mouth shut and didn't publicly disagree with anyone.The Post-Evangelical has helped me put my experience in context, looking at the history of the church, the rise of the evangelical movement, and the subsequent disillusion with this movement as we move from the "modern" to the "postmodern". Granted, these are amibiguous terms that tend to be overused and underexplained, but I believe Dave Tomlinson does as good a job as anyone at defining them. In the same way that postmodern is not a rejection but a continuation of the modern, post-evangelicalism is an attempt at rethinking and questioning evangelicalism without callously throwing it aside. This book has been of invaluable help to me in understanding where I have come from and why I am finding it problematic. It has helped me give voice and expression to my confusion without rejecting my faith in God, like so many other people I know who decided that there was too much hypocrisy and contradiction in the church and, sadly, gave it all up. There is wonderful debate to be had by free-thinking, intelligent Christians after reading this book.

Every so often, a book is published that acts as a milestone on the rocky road of the Christian journey. I believe this to be such a book. Perceiving in himself and in many of his fellow Christians a deep-seated dissatisfaction with the Evangelical movement of today, Dave Tomlinson sets out, with faltering steps, on a new journey in which the need for honesty and the desire to jettison all unneccesary religious baggage are paramount. At the same time, he is not slow to bring to our attention the benefits that his church background have afforded him. Inevitably, The Post-Evangelical raises more questions than it seeks to answer, but this is to be expected - the thoughts expressed here will hopefully be the seeds of a long and fruitful dialogue that should help us to grow into greater Christian maturity. Behind the author's words it is possible to see a picture of a man who has not made peace with his past, and resultingly the book lacks a sense of balance in parts. Consequently, his unwillingness to window-dress his message in more acceptable garb gives Dave Tomlinson's book a gutsy reality that is instantly appealing. By writing a book which is as honest as he wishes his own faith and ours to be, he has put post-evangelicalism on the map, and has put up a sign that will point the way for many thinking, honest seekers who are prepared to engage fully with their own journey.