Remaking of Evangelical Theology, The

The Remaking of Evangelical Theology. By Gary Dorrien. Louisville, KY. Westminster John Knox Press, 1998. 264 pp. $24.95 (paper).

Dorrien is an 'Anglican social gospeler and dialectical theologian' (p. 11) aiming to incorporate evangelical thought into the map of modern theological developments. He writes on evangelical theology as 'an outsider' (a rarity in itself), and does so sympathetically and constructively (rarer still). Both tasks he manages very well. His is an exercise in historical theology, as distinct from a history of evangelicalism as might be written by George Marsden, Mark Noll or other religious historians. He focuses on the last 100 years, and hence on fundamentalist and post-fundamentalist developments, and attends almost exclusively to North America.

In order to set the scene, Dorrien traces evangelicalism back to its roots in the Reformation (he does not go back beyond that), and notes its 'classical,' pietistic and fundamentalistic expressions. He also proposes a fourth category, which by now is generally familiar: that of the progressive or post-conservative evangelical who has 'postmodern' leanings. He recognises that fundamentalist evangelicals have dominated evangelical thought throughout the century, but quite rightly looks to the post-conservatives for signs of 'health and vitality' in contemporary evangelicalism (p. 11).

In recounting evangelicalism's recent history, his sympathies lie with whoever is not fundamentalistic: those in the Reformed tradition who see Calvinism as antithetical to attempts to prove Christianity by rational or historical means (p. 110); Wesleyan evangelicals who combine 'Spirit-filled personal religion with respect for tradition' (p. 163); and the Chicago Callers who attempted to promote a 'catholic evangelicalism' conscious of Christianity's historic traditions. Commendably, he draws attention to Arminian evangelicals, including radical campaigners such as Jim Wallis, Ron Sider and Nancy Hardesty, who are easily overlooked because of scholarly and media preoccupation with the Reformed heritage and with the New Christian Right.

The fundamentalistic obsession with owning a secure, biblical foundation is a sign of evangelicalism adrift. Dorrien finds contemporary leaders such as John Stott, or the more intellectual Donald Bloesch, Gabriel Fackre, Alister McGrath, and Thomas Oden, not doing enough theologically to get evangelicals over this hurdle. The progressives, by contrast, are revitalising evangelical theology,' with postmodern insights, such as come through postliberal and narrative theology. These thinkers operate in a post-conservative mode, working positively with philosophical challenges to objectivity and certainty, and hence to biblical foundationalism, so as to find ways of expressing truly Christ-centred faith. Dorrien mentions such names as William Abraham, Stanley Grenz, Nancey Murphy, J. Richard Middleton, Brian Walsh and Miroslav Volf, and well lie might. All of these figures have become players in the theological world (major players in the case of Murphy and Volf), influencing thinkers beyond the evangelical fold in ways that new- and open-evangelicals have failed to do. Henry and Pinnock may receive attention in a journalistic kind of way, from people interested in what evangelicals are up to, but Murphy and Wolf are shakers and movers. Conservative evangelicals have long been lamenting their poor track record in academic theology. Let us hope that they will commend the impact being made by their post-conservative heirs.

HARRIET A. HARRIS

University of Exeter Exeter, United Kingdom

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