Given the ultra-modern era we live in, I’m sure that if you are not the type of person I am about to describe then you know someone who is. These days, it is not at all uncommon to hear people say that any and all tradition doesn’t matter, and all that is important is “me and my Bible” and “gettin’ people saved” — even in (or more like especially in) the evangelical world. As you consider whether or not that comment describes you or someone you know, think about the following statements:
There was no ecumenical statement on the Trinity until 325 AD.
There was no official canon of Scripture until 367 AD.
There was no ecumenical statement of the Holy Spirit as a divine person until 381 AD.
There was no significant ecumenical statement on the person of the Lord Jesus until 451 Ad.
And yet there has never been an ecumenical statement on the atonement…EVER.
What does all that mean? Well, it means that it took some of the most Biblically savvy and intelligent people in the history of the world over 3 centuries to come to an agreement of who God is, and yet people today think that they don’t need ecumenical church councils, creeds, or any of church history in figuring the great truths of God out.
You might say to me, “All I need is my Bible.” And I must reply, “Really? It took over four centuries just for the earliest (and most brilliant) Christian thinkers to understand who the God who reveals Himself in Scripture is, and yet you are capable of doing it all on your own?”
You might say to me, “All that matters is gettin’ people saved.” And I would reply, “Really? In the history of the church, the issue of the atonement has been so huge that no ecumenical statement has ever been issued concerning it, and yet all on your own you, even though you have thrown out the history of Christian thought, somehow know what ‘gettin saved’ even is? You can’t even rightly identify the One who’s doing the saving?”
I recoil at the supremely arrogant, pompous, nearsighted, and audacious essence of the ultra-modern attitude that says history and tradition mean nothing. And yet that is what I encounter everywhere I turn. Forget pipe organs and electric guitars; all of that is for the birds. Give me a group of Christians that are truly (not superficially) in touch with the past, and I’ll show you a group of Christians that can be a life-changing instrument in a fallen culture.
Am I wrong?
Great post Sean! I have always had a problem with the thought “it’s in there so I believe it without question.” “So in other words I don’t have to think on it and why would I look at what 2000 years of the church has said about it.” A great example is something that happened in a small group I attended. They were going through Purpose Driven Life and the leader was agreeing with what Warren says about Romans 7. Trying to be a good pastor in the Wesleyan Tradition said I can’t agree with that statement and she flew back with “it’s in the bible isn’t it.” So to your post Amen and Amen.
Just a thought
Heath
I’m only beginning to read the Church Fathers, but as I’m doing so I’m trying to share bits and pieces of thoughts and ideas via my blog.
Which relates to that last post you commented on… it dawned on me that in this age you cannot even quote the CFs without explaining yourself. People just don’t get it… “why are you reading the CF’s?” they ask… “what’s the point in that?”
Nice post, Sean. We need to drink from tradition so that we don’t remain shallow in our thinking or in the lives we live.
Heath,
Thanks for the compliment. As for the Rick Warren book, I know what you mean. I had to go through that book a couple of years ago and listen to how for some persons it had the most revolutionary, ground-breaking, life-changing ideas in it. Obviously the persons who thought that have never read a single world that any of the Cappadocians ever wrote or a John Wesley sermon.
Doug,
You’re exactly right in your observation that any comment on the fathers requires some sort of explanation/qualification. We face a situation in the church today where we are not only dealing with ignorance concerning tradition but hostility as well. Thank God for pastors like yourself who are sensitive to the situation. Your parishioners are very blessed.