Renewal of Anglicanism

Alister McGrath, a rather prolific writer in the field of theology (particularly historical and systematic theology), ten years ago turned his attention to the idea of undercurrents in the renewal of Anglicanism. To a certain extent, this seems somewhat redundant - Anglicanism has from its beginnings been a tradition in process of both reform and preservation - it isn't so much a pendulum swinging left to right as it is a spiral that covers a lot of ground, often over and over, but always in new contexts and at new levels.While it is true that Anglicanism has always been in transition, it is also true that the past few decades have presented more elements at play in this process than ever before. Reforms of the liturgies, increasing importance of voices from non-Western church bodies, evangelism (and the failure thereof), and the triumph of secularism in the West have all played major roles in the way Anglicanism has been shaped, and will continue to be shaped. McGrath sees the past generation of Anglicans as being a rather 'lost generation', one in which survival was more important that mission or growth, and in which many inside and outside the church became disillusioned and pessimistic about future prospects.McGrath argues for a reconstruction of the Via Media - the Middle Way, an idea long in the minds of Anglicans that can mean (as can most things Anglican) different things to different people. For some it looks to middle ground between Catholics and Protestants; for others it is the course between high church and low church (which, contrary to intuitive thought does not strictly parallel Catholic/Protestant categories). For McGrath, it is largely a course between fundamentalism and liberalism, and this seems to be playing out even more dramatically today than ten years ago when this text was first produced. McGrath does not see either fundamentalism or liberalism in terms of set doctrines or ideologies as much as methods and intuitive understandings. This allows for more interaction and cooperation, or at least mutual recognition of possibilities for validity. McGrath sees the recapturing of vision and education as a primary teaching office of the church to be key to the overall renewal of Anglicanism in the world. There is much history, much theology, much of worth, but it needs to be celebrated, promulgated and taught, not just preserved. Anglicanism is not the stuff of museums and historical theatre, at least not yet - it is meant to be a living, growing and vital strand in the life of Christendom, a unique voice that needs to be used as much as preserved. An update to this volume in light of current controversies would be welcome; apart from that, this is still a valuable text that gives a good background for thinking about things Anglican.