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Great Emergence, The: How Christianity Is Changing and Why (emersion: Emergent Village resources for communities of faith)
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Average Rating:  out of 10 Reviews
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Price: $17.99
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Sale: $11.19
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Manufacturer: Baker Books
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EAN (European Article Number): 9780801013133
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Number of Items: 1
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Binding: Hardcover
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Author: Phyllis Tickle
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Publisher: Baker Books
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Dewey Decimal Number: 270.83
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Publication Date: 2008-10-01
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Reading Level: 176
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Description: Rooted in the observation that massive transitions in the church happen about every 500 years, Phyllis Tickle shows readers that we live in such a time right now. She compares the Great Emergence to other "Greats" in the history of Christianity, including the Great Transformation (when God walked among us), the time of Gregory the Great, the Great Schism, and the Great Reformation. Combining history, a look at the causes of social upheaval, and current events, The Great Emergence shows readers what the Great Emergence in church and culture is, how it came to be, and where it is going. Anyone who is interested in the future of the church in America, no matter what their personal affiliation, will find this book a fascinating exploration.
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Customer Reviews
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Review Summary: Great Springboard for Discussion |
Date: 2008-11-18 |
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Details: Phyllis Tickle's books are always intelligent and thought-provoking. "The Great Emergence: How Christianity is Changing and Why" is no exception. Following in the footsteps of the Papacy of Gregory the Great (@ 590), the Great Schism (1054) and the Great Reformation (1517), the Great Emergence refers to the massive changes going on in the Christian faith and society at large in our present day. As Tickle puts it, every 500 years the Church has a massive rummage sale during which the old ways are cast off and a new way of being Christian comes to the forefront. As Tickle emphasizes, however, "no standing form of organized Christian faith has ever been destroyed by one of our semi-millenial eruptions. Instead, each simply has lost hegemony or pride of place to the new and not-yet-organized form that was birthing."
Tickle offers a historical overview of the three previous upheavals, with a special focus on the Reformation as it is the transformation that immediately precedes our current era. There are parallels between the two, especially in that increased forms of communication made both possible. The invention of movable type made possible the widespread dissemination of ideas via the printed word. In many ways, this brought the Reformation into being. Everyone could now have a Bible. By the same token, modern communication advances such as the radio, television, and perhaps most importantly, the internet, have encouraged communication among different branches of Christianity and exposure to other faith traditions.
Tickle explores the many pivotal people, things, and ideas that have contributed to the Great Emergence. Among these were Darwin, Faraday, Freud, and Jung, new forms of communication, the increased use of the automobile, a rediscovery of the historical Jesus, communism, World War II, changing roles of women, the drug age and the birth control pill. Tickle doesn't pass judgment on any of these developments. She simply reports on the many changes they brought to society in general and Christianity in particular.
The last section of this book, "Where is it Going?" is the most speculative. Tickle divides Christianity into four main areas: Liturgicals, Social Justice Christians, Renewalists, and Conservatives. No one quadrant is the sole domain of any one denomination. Rather, there are Christians of many denominations in all four. In the middle is the convergence, the new way of being Christian, that is developing.
"The Great Emergence" is an excellent sociological and historical study of a Christianity in flux. It provides a springboard for much discussion. |
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Review Summary: Very Helpful, and Worthy of Vigorous Debate |
Date: 2008-11-14 |
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Details: Before The Great Emergence: How Christianity is Changing and Why appeared on the shelves at the local bookstore it was on my radar screen. I've read Phyllis Tickle's work in the past and have been amazed at her command of the language. Her ability to translate complex ideas and vivid images into captivating prose is undoubtedly impressive, and her latest work is no exception. The ideas contained in The Great Emergence cannot be ignored, and will surely be of vast importance for "emergers," "emergents," and the "hyphenateds" (Presby-mergents, Metho-mergent, etc.) as the church charges into the future.
After naming the historical reality in which we stand "The Great Emergence," Tickle states her task as answering three questions, "What is this thing?", "How did it come to be?", and "Where is it going?" The church, according to Tickle, stands in the midst of a giant rummage sale. This rummage sale is not the first of its kind, as each of the great Abrahamic faiths have been through this before. These moments have come about in history at approximately five hundred year intervals. Quoting the Anglican bishop Mark Dyer, Tickle states, "about every five hundred years the empowered structures of institutionalized Christianity, whatever they may be at the time, become an intolerable carapace that must be shattered in order that renewal and new growth may occur." Now, Tickle believes, is one of those times. Tickle generalizes three results each time one of these historic shifts has occurred. According to her analysis: (1) a more vital form of Christianity emerges, (2) organized expressions are reconstituted into a more purified expression of the former self, and (3) the "the range and depth of Christianity's reach" expands.
To support her argument Tickle provides a broad historical sketch. Her markers in history include the rise of Gregory the Great and the monastic movement in the 500s, the Great Schism which occurred near 1000 AD, the Great Reformation of the 1500s, and, now, the Great Emergence. During each period she uses a tethered cable as a helpful analogy which consists of four components. The exterior of the cable is a mesh sleeve, represents the common imagination of the time. Once punctured, lying beneath that common imagination are three strands representative of the spirituality, corporeality, and morality of the age. Tickle's examination of each designated time period show how an individual, a group of individuals, or some historic event punctures the common imagination and brings about the reexamination of each of these three strands, raising new questions pertaining to authority, reality, and meaning in the world. When challenges arise, a new common imagination must be formulated which will guide existence within reality. As this occurs, the process can be painful and discomforting. Yet, purgation leads to purification.
According to Tickle, the two central questions of the Great Emergence are: "(1) What is human consciousness and/or the humanness of the human? and (2) What is the relation of all religions to one another--or, put another way, how can we live responsibly as devout and faithful adherents of one religion in a world of many religions?" Tickle further asserts, "the other great truth here is that we can not be said to have truly entered into any kind of post-Emergence stability until we have answered both of them." Interestingly for Tickle the question is one of plurality, or the truth of plurality. In order to negotiate this question one must wrestle with the location of authority. The dilemma of authority today is present not only in Christianity, but in the world at large. Tickle is right to point us in this direction.
In an attempt to explain how we got here, Tickle traces important philosophical, sociological, theological, scientific, and technological developments including Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, Einstein's theory of relativity, the advent of the automobile, the shifting relationship of families, the rise of the drug culture in the 1960s, the quest for the historical Jesus, and the rise of Pentecostalism. All of these factors, in a way, eroded the Reformation foundation of authority, sola Scriptura.
To address her final question, "Where is it going?", Tickle provides a quadrilateral to serve as a guide. In each of the four quadrants (moving from upper left, clockwise to lower left) she locates Christians on Liturgical, Social Justice, Renewalist, and Conservative terrain. The Great Emergence has brought about a stirring in each of these four quadrants, drawing leaders in each area in to a gathering center. As this gathered center begins to draw more and more people of like mind together the church becomes primed for renewal, though this new reality is turbulent and challenging. The church together must navigate these new frontiers, with traditionalists, re-tradition-ers, progressives, and hyphenateds engaging in constructive dialogue which paves the way forward.
As this pattern emerges, Tickle turns to the sources of authority in this new environment. Here she defines and explores two terms, "orthonomy" (correct harmony & beauty) and "theonomy" (only God can be the source of perfection in action or thought). Under this context she explores how Christians in the Great Emergence will define authority underneath these categories, offering that authority is established in Scripture and Community. Authority becomes a dynamic conception based on a network theory or crowd sourcing, and levels hierarchical structures which have carried the day in the past. Christian communities will become a centered set rather than a bounded set, will emphasize narrative, and will return to Hebraic roots of the Christian faith, purging Hellenistic influences which have defined certain aspects of Christian belief and doctrine. Tickle's ideas are complex and defy simplification. I recommend you read them.
Tickle's book is a good one. At times I found places where her argument could be strengthened, though not to the detriment of the whole. This book should be read by practitioners and church leaders seeking a way forward and then discussed with fervor. There will be moments when one may strongly agree or disagree with her argument, but Tickle must be contended with. We stand at the precipice of a new age, which in and of itself is not a new dilemma. Christian people must seek to be faithful in that age. A debt of gratitude is owed to Tickle for how her ideas might sharpen our thinking, strengthen our practice, and spur us on to greater deeds.
Read this book. |
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Review Summary: Keep moving |
Date: 2008-10-31 |
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Details: To move is to emerge, and become what you are destined to be. HOORAY for writers like Tickle who amuse and amaze you with their insights on the church's future. Don't dispair, there is HOPE for the future if we go back to the basics and learn to love our neighbors and to care for the poor. |
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Review Summary: a better-than-average emergence |
Date: 2008-10-29 |
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Details: Much of what Tickle's book is can be summarized in her own statement capturing the sentiment of Anglican bishop, Mark Dyer: ". . . that the only way to understand what is currently happening to us as twenty-first-century Christians in North America is first to understand that about every five hundred years the Church feels compelled to hold a giant rummage sale" (16). Indeed, this is a more accurate reflection that might initially be recognized and Tickle's rendering of church and history follow along such lines.
The book itself is rather accessible, though most laity and less-than-averagely-interested clergy will find parts of it difficult to follow. This is a shame as much of this readership would otherwise be greatly interested in the material and could certainly benefit from understanding the current climate of the church a little bit better. So I will have to hesitate on where to recommend this as a read, though initially I thought it would be a book for many in such a position. Further, the overall structure of the book can become confusing to the reader, especially the large sweeps through history on a thematic level. Such a presentation lends itself to a back-and-forth telling of selective history and sometimes loses the reader (I found at certain points if I wasn't paying close enough attention I was mixing up time periods).
These critiques aside, what one does find in the book is an interesting presentation of the changing Protestant climate in North America. Further, the evaluation of the socio-religious climate is quite helpful in understanding the whys and whats of the *emerging* movement. Much of the bread and butter of this book is found in Part 3, where Tickle works on how the movement is working now and where it is likely to head as it unfolds. And while the rummage sale of the church does not render the previous forms of the faith useless, it does change up the in-house decorating of what this generation of believers look like.
Although the *great emergence* is a very uncertain and unsettling process for many, Tickle does well to remind the reader throughout that these movements are necessary and vital to the overall work of the church. She asserts that this leads to a "more vital form of Christianity" (17), that it breaks down the encrusted dogmatism of the previous generation, and that it energizes the church and leads to the spread of the gospel. And she backs these three assertions up with the great 500 year moments in the history of the church.
My primary caveat to a book like this is that it is quite difficult to understand and properly evaluate a movement which we are currently experiencing. With *emergent* Christianity, it seems that everyone is jumping ahead quickly to assert the significance of their approach to the faith and to be the first and best to characterize the movement itself. Although no book can critique the current landscape without hitting some of these snags, Tickle does a really good job at navigating away from such pitfalls (she comes close a few times, but that's my critique). It would do the *emergent* crowd well to move forward with great humility before God (some do and others don't), and not get ahead of themselves on their own impact.
In the end, this is a good book with a good message, though not without its own faults. How emergent of itself.
[...] |
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Review Summary: The Great Emergence |
Date: 2008-10-13 |
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Details: Up until a few months ago I'd never heard of Phyllis Tickle, but a few weeks ago I ordered her latest book The Great Emergence; How Christianity is Changing and Why
It arrived from the US on Friday; it's only a short book (162pages) so I read most of it the following day.
Tickle (refreshingly) is not an academic or theologian, but is recognized by CNN, USA TODAY, NEWSWEEK, TIME and The NEW YORK TIMES as one of the most respected authorities on religion in the US, she is also the founding editor of the religion department of Publishers Weekly, she is also a lay Eucharistic minister of the Episcopalian Church and a senior fellow of Cathedral College, so she is well credentialed to make these observations.
In the opening pages of the book she makes a timely but also disturbing observation (at least to some!) She says; "every five hundred years or so, the Church cleans out its attic and has a giant rummage sale"
She articulates the challenges facing the Church in a way that few others have, she takes us right back into the early days of Christendom and points out with great accuracy starting with Gregory the great in 500AD and in a brief yet comprehensive fashion creates a broad picture of the issues (and what would appear) and unrelated facets in this period of history and shows with some conviction the factors that contributed to the demise of the first "Great" re-formation. This was followed by a similar tectonic shift around 1000AD and of course the Great Reformation of Luther, Calvin and co in 1517.
Tickle points out in each instance that the great unrest started in years and in many cases sometimes even centuries before the event was officially recognized, and in may cases as pointed out earlier these co-contributors were not religious in nature, a good example of this was the first printing press by Gothenburg, it started its production within a short time of the famous "Wittenberg Door" and the nailing of the thesis to the same, this reformation owes its so called success in no small way to the arrival of the printing press. This fuelled the state, national and international debate and discussion on a level unprecedented in history.
In our own case the end of modernity and the painful dawning of a new era called post-modernism has challenged to the very core all that we hold dear, this in itself has created untold anxiety, fear and uncertainty, we are by nature (not all of us thankfully!) Creatures of habit and the Church more than any other institution has been woefully unprepared for change on any level. Not only do we want things to stay the same, but we will move heaven and earth to make sure that it does, and woe betide anyone who has the temerity to even think of doing this, as one minister once pointed out when taking over a church with a very conservative congregation, `how do you move the organ in a church...inch by inch, week by week'
The emerging Church has attempted over the last few years to move the church with what would appear to be great haste, and the old warhorses of modernity have had much to say about this, most of it scathing in nature. When looking at the different eras of the church over the last 2000years modernity has brought its own unique challenges, its obsession with black and white absolutes, its manic need to have everything reduced to quantifiable outcomes and then bringing out the old black and white plans to see if everything measures up to the millimeter, this has made things difficult indeed, the old guard in terms of all things theological, has mostly produced Christians that are `sentry guards' or `boundary keepers'
McLaren has rightly pointed out that this is a conversation not a blue print for the final model. Unfortunately modernity has for far to long turned any conversation into a monologue, wanting to monopolize the end result, conversation brings with it the suggestion of a mutual exchange of ideas, not the old model where the defense of a worn out theology that has long had its day. The rummage sale will always be stressful, when moving house one will always feel that everything is sacred, it is no longer about what to keep but what to let go of, and the reasons (within this context) will more than likely contain elements of co-dependency. To let go is to feel that one will not be caught and so plummet into the depths. Modernity has finally come to the cross roads, it is time to put aside its adolescent angst, and realize that is time to `grow up and grow out' of its obsession with not only a theology that was systematic but a whole lifestyle, the emerging church as an observer over many years is declaring that this is now problematic. Tickle brings two new words to the table and the conversation, "orthonomy" and "theonomy" these words are a good description of what the `great emergence' are endeavoring to do;
* Orthonomy:
This is a difficult word to describe; it was used in the Septuagint and the New Testament it is best understood as meaning the employment of aesthetic or harmonic purity as a tool for discerning the truth, this word presents a great challenge for those who are steeped in doctrine and or practice.
* Theonomy
It means to say or name the principle that only God can be the source of perfection in action and thought...As is patently clear, the burden of the argument of theonomy is still the principle of sola scriptura, albeit in more modish and culturally attractive clothes.
These new words also describe in more comprehensive fashion the new model;
The old model looked a little like this, it could be described as `the quadrilateral' this was simple divided into four boxes that looked like this;
* Liturgicals
* Renewalists
* Social justice Christians
* Conservatives
These four categories are well defined by four square boxes, this model will never lend itself to any sort of mergence, the boundaries are too well defined, within this old model one was forced to guard the boundaries for fear of theological contamination, this in itself and by its very nature created friction, this was and will always be divisive, forcing people into one camp or the other, and one would be challenged when the pressure was on to declare ones `colors' little wonder that we have more than 20,000 denominations always looking for an edge, this model bordered on compulsive-obsessive, like the man who washed his hands dozens of times a day, never wanting to suffer any contamination, and so with this model theological purity at all costs leads one to break away again and again, pride will always seek to express itself in elitist language, will always major on the minors, never wishing to see that as a body of Christ we will always have much more in common that not.
The new model looks more like a `rose' with the petals interwoven towards the center, indeed as one gets closer to the center the greater cohesion where each petal compliments and supports the other, the goal of this new model is nothing short of miraculous, since when and where has the body of Christ ever worked in harmony every sought to compliment and support those with different ideas and views. This new model is seeking to create a dynamic where for the first time the boundaries (which have always bordered on the level of autistic in the sense that there has been a repulsion of any and all intimacy and contact) are removed and we are encouraged to embrace for the first time. The real need here is for a fresh understanding a more informed view of the bigger picture. Only the spirit of God is capable of creating this sort of cohesion
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