Defining and explaining emergent theology is a rather formidable task because it is a theology without any specific boundaries or models. Emergent theology is perhaps best defined as a theological conversation between parties with the intended purpose to come to a further understanding of what it means to be a Christian . The persons involved in the discussion come from diverse backgrounds and theological traditions, with each bringing their own unique views into the discussion. In this paper I will examine some of the main features of this conversation, identifying some strong and weak points, and also looking at what this means ecclesiologically for the church.
The central features of this theology involve creating a conversation wherein new and old traditions of the Church are brought together so as to discover what can and must be done in the Church to help people grow in their Christian faith. “Emergents believe that theology is local, conversational, and temporary. To be faithful to the theological giants of the past, emergents endeavor to continue their theological dialogue.” Emergent theologians are not afraid to readdress issues that have long been considered resolved, and instead focus upon discovering the truth of the Christian faith through their own conversation and study. Topics of discussion in emergent theology include ecclesiological questions on how we do church and what are appropriate practices, and also included in the discussion is a concern with the reading and understanding of the Bible.
Ecclesiology is of the utmost importance for the emergent theology. Many have come to see emergent theology as direct reaction against mainline Christian denominations and traditions. However, it is also more than that. There is a push toward recognizing the importance of the mystics in Church history, primarily in regards to monasticism and that way of living, a way of living that focuses upon drawing ever closer to God through means of meditation and of a life focused solely on devotion to Him. Tony Jones identifies emergent theology as “a mash-up of old and new, of theory and practice, of men and women, and of mainline, evangelical, and, increasingly, Roman Catholic Christians.” From such a definition it is obvious that emergent theology is not simply a new idea about how we understand God, rather it is more of a revisiting of the ways in which we understand God, and how we understand the role of the Church in the world. Emergent theology and its proponents are concerned with moving the Church from merely speaking of the role of the Church in the world, to actually fulfilling that role within the world; they don’t want to just “be” the Church but more importantly they want to “do” Church actively in the world.
Jones identifies emergent theologians as striving to approach Scripture with an attitude of humility. He defines this attitude as “humility about what human beings can know, about the limits of human knowledge and our ability to accurately articulate that knowledge” . Dan Kimball supports this idea of humility in theology, suggesting that just because we have certain “fundamental beliefs” doesn’t mean that we can’t explore those beliefs. Emergents recognize the value of Scripture for the Church, taking it so far as to not want to assume ideas individually about Scripture based on what they were taught, but rather wanting to investigate and come to an agreement for themselves about what it means. This further supports the idea of conversation within the emergent theological discussion. There is also an emphasis upon reading the whole Bible, rather than selecting specific parts of it to focus on and leaving out those parts which would be more difficult to understand or preach.
Another of the main tenants of emergent theology is an engagement with the idea of the Kingdom of God and seeking to find out what the Kingdom is. This topic carries significant weight because it addresses an ecclesiological and eschatological question which many in Christianity struggle to answer. The fact that the emergent theologians are looking into this question is nothing new for the Church, but it is important because they desire to reform how we as Christians go about doing and understanding Church as a result of our understanding of the Kingdom of God.
Tony Jones writes about the nature of God and the requirement of the Church to fulfill the Great Commission in his book, The New Christians. He argues that contrary to what much of history has shown the Church to believe, God’s action in the world does not depend upon the actions of those who follow him. “God is a being whose activity is, by definition, not contingent. God can forgive whomever God wants to forgive, whether or not the forgiven person has adequately confessed his or her sins. And God can return whenever God pleases.” Jones is pointedly addressing what he considers a misconception in Christian theology, a misconception that says that the entire world must be evangelized before the second coming of Christ can take place. He prefers to view the subject through a lens where God can act apart from the human endeavors of his people, and do what He wills. In such a model the Church gains a much more intense mission as it is indicated that Christ could return before the work of the Church, as man understands it, has been completed.
The principle advocates for this theology are Brian McLaren, Tony Jones, and Doug Pagitt. Other advocates of renown include Dan Kimball and Leonard Sweet . Many of those involved in the theological conversation are pastors, who came into ministry in or since 1990. Many have served as youth pastors and have evolved their ministry and ideas while working directly with the post-modern culture.
There are many writings on emergent theology, but the clearest are those written by McLaren and Jones. These works include McLaren’s Generous Orthodoxy and Jones’ The New Christians. There is also a book edited by Jones and Pagitt called An Emergent Manifesto of Hope which outlines the place of hope within emergent theology and practice as expressed by multiple persons involved in the discussion including Dan Kimball. Jones’ book, The New Christians, clearly defines emergent theology to be “talk about the nexus of divine and human action. In other words, it’s how we talk about the points of intersection between God and us, the places where God’s activity meets our activity. But theology isn’t just talk… human life is theology.
The Biblical support varies largely depending upon the subject being addressed at the time. Most evident is the emergent emphasis upon being in community with other believers and their use of the book of Acts to support that emphasis. Passages such as Acts 2:42 lend credence to their idea of community, emphasizing that the Christian calling is to that life. Unfortunately biblical backing is often sparse in the writings of emergent theologians as they are seemingly more concerned with the conversation of people, rather than the conversation of people and Scripture. Certainly there are biblical statements behind their ideas, but they are often hard to identify or find.
This theology most aligns with traditional orthodoxy in its endeavor to reach out to the world, its ecclesiological ideas may vary in certain degrees, but the mission remains the same. It is also similar in that it is investigating the very topics that were addressed by the councils hundreds of years ago, and which were again addressed in the Protestant Reformation. Protestants were concerned with how it is that a person is saved, and emergent theology is concerned with the very same thing. It recognizes the oneness of God, Christ and the Spirit, and also the role of the Church in relationship to the work in the world.
This theology most differs from traditional orthodoxy in its readiness to ask any question of any topic within or outside of the Christian faith. A further departure from Orthodoxy is its inclusion of practices such as transcendental meditation and yoga type exercises which seem to ally it more with the New Age movement rather than with Christianity. Roger Oakland stresses such points in his book, Faith Undone, making the statement that “No Bible-believing Christian would ever fall for such deception.” This statement might be taking things a bit far, but it does assert the need to look for meaning in what we do as Christians.
The most inviting or appealing aspect of this theology for me is the fact that I do not see myself as being very far outside of this. I see no problem with revisiting the topics of faith, for example, defining the kingdom of God. I see this as a very healthy exercise, so long as it is done in conversation with Scripture and with the understandings of the past. A discussion does not necessarily have to lead to a new understanding; it can simply prove to back up how we already understand something.
I also find the call to live a life of devotion to God very appealing. As Christians this is something that should not be a radical idea, but it seems to have become one. Many Christians do not see a problem with the way that they live their lives, as long as they have surrendered to God. However, surrendering our lives to God involves allowing Him to transform us into his likeness in our attitudes and lifestyles. This surrender is not just a commitment and an endeavor to live a life for God; it is an endeavor to live always in complete relationship with God.
I find it very disconcerting that certain practices are being allowed in emergent ecclesiology. Meditation wherein one loses consciousness of their physical being and is only involved as a spirit in conversation with the supernatural is very dangerous and I cannot believe is even Christian. It opens one up to connecting with spiritual forces, but I do not think that God is the only force to be met in this way. I find this practice nowhere in Scripture and therefore it is very troubling to me. Meditation wherein one ponders a thought or secludes oneself away to meet with God are alright, but practices wherein one loses their self in their connection with the supernatural should be avoided or at least approached a measure of serious caution.
The outcomes of this theology if carried out to its logical conclusion are hard to identify, because the theology itself is largely fluid and in formation at this time. McLaren, Jones, Pagitt, and other theologians all bring their own diverse ideas on things. In this paper, I have focused largely upon Jones’ emergent theology, and I cannot say what the outcomes would be. I fear that one outcome might be a loss of viewing Scripture within the uniqueness of each text, but rather engaging the entire text together and looking for a specific meaning for a postmodern context. The way to avoid this would be to practice proper hermeneutics and to not let personal bias dictate understanding.
Another potential outcome involves a loss of the theological traditions and heritage of the Church. As previously mentioned, Jones considers emergent theology to be a mixing of the old and new, and this could lead to a loss of the meaning of the old traditions and understandings. The two types of ideas, old and new, can co-exist, but they have to still be recognized as such and the distinctions must still be made about how things have been understood in history, and how they have now come to be understood in the present.
The profile of those who are most likely to find this theology attractive is that of people belonging to my generation: post-moderns. We are looking for places to belong; we are intent upon finding answers and discovering truth for ourselves. This theology expresses those desires and embraces our culture in a way that many feel Orthodox Christianity does not. In terms of ecclesiology it makes worship of God within the Church exciting and experiential, two things which my generation desires. It reaches out to a demographic that desires to experience things for themselves, rather than just learn of the experiences from those who have come before.
Bibliography:
Jones, Tony. The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2008.
Oakland, Roger. Faith Undone: The Emergent Church… A New Reformation or An End-Time Deception. Eureka: Lighthouse Trails Publishing, 2007.
Mark Scandrette. “Growing Pains: The Messy and Fertile Process of Becoming.” In An Emergent Manifesto of Hope, ed. Tony Jones and Doug Pagitt, 22-32. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2007.
Dan Kimball. “Humble Theology: Re-Exploring Doctrine While Holding On to Truth.” In An Emergent Manifesto of Hope, ed. Tony Jones and Doug Pagitt, 214-224.Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2007.
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