The Great Emergence 1

This is the third post in a series on the Great Emergence by Phyllis Tickle.

One of the first things to note is that it isn't a book that deals much with theology, but functions more like a history lesson with a glimpse forward at what the future might hold. I found as I read that lights were coming on in my head all over the place. I began seeing how key events were connected and had much larger, far-reaching effects than I previously understood. I also was impressed with her ideas of what the future might entail, as it aligned quite well with some of the things I've seen happening on a micro level. I think as you read this, you will find yourself going "Wow, I've been thinking about that a lot lately, but I thought I was the only one, and I had no idea it had anything to do with that other thing over there." It seems to accurately reflect many of the things I've heard from a lot of my friends and family: those who have theology degrees and the ones who have never been to college, those who might be considered more liberal and others who are very conservative (whatever those terms mean), and a wide range of age from my parents and some of their friends to high school kids.

One of the biggest ideas in the books is that there have been huge shake-ups in Christianity every 500 years. The most recent was the Great Reformation, where Protestantism was born and split from the Roman Catholic church. It was in 1517 that Luther pounded his famous 95 Theses into the door of the church in Wittenberg, which is almost 500 years ago. Obviously the Reformation was not born over night, and in fact the events leading to its explosion were hundreds of years in the making. To make it more interesting, Tickle explains that the Reformation was not the first cataclysmic shift in the Church. About 500 years before then, the Great Schism split the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Western, or Roman Catholic Church.

Looking even further back, we find the collapse of the mighty Roman empire (and more or less the rest of civilization). A lot of research has been done into the factors causing the fall of Rome and the chaos that resulted from it. Less noticed is that this collapse birthed great changes in Christianity. The Church had become wedded to the empire and was in danger of shattering with Rome. Gregory the Great, a pope so popular and influential that he was given his nickname immediately after his death, held the Church together and worked to clean up the mess that had come of mixing Christianity with the most powerful Empire the world had ever seen. And while much of the western world's knowledge was lost to looting and burning, monks studiously copied the Bible, the teachings of the early church fathers, and classic literature. Without them humanity may have been set back many hundreds of years.

It was also during this time that Patrick brought the Gospel to the Irish. While much of Europe struggled through the Dark Ages, Christianity and scholarship flourished in Ireland. The Irish embrace of mysticism, nature, simplicity, and charity greatly painted their understanding of Christianity, and many today are once again finding much value from what the Irish can teach us. They would eventually re-take the teachings of Jesus back to the rest of devastated Europe, acting as missionaries to the people who had once taught them.

Of course, 500 years before this was the time of Jesus and the birth of Christianity, first as a sect within Judaism but quickly as something new on its own. It is worth noting that the 1st century was in many ways an ending to the priestly Judaism of the Old Testament. The Temple in Jerusalem was completely destroyed in 70AD, and the Jews were banned even from even entering Jerusalem a short time later and were then scattered around the world. Looking back in approximately 500 year increments you will also find core changes in the lives of the Jews, starting with the destruction of Solomon's Temple and the exile, then back to the shift from the rule of judges to Kings (including of course David and the beginning of messianic expectations), then further back to Moses and the Exodus, and finally back to Abraham and God's calling of a people through whom he could bring about his plans for the world.

Tickle refers to these gigantic shifts as "rummage sales", a term which she borrowed from Anglican bishop Mark Dyer. She writes "about every five hundred years the empowered structures of institutionalized Christianity, whatever they may be at that time, become an intolerable carapace that must be shattered in order that renewal and new growth may occur (pg 16)." To use the rummage sale analogy, the Church eventually decides that it is time for a new look and feel, and decides that the best way to do that is to clean out the closet and start fresh.

History has shown that there are 3 major results of these rummage sales. The first result is that a new expression of Christianity is born as a criticism of the dominant form. It is a recognition of the ways that the institutionalized Church has lost some of the message of Jesus and more importantly it is also a desire to return to more obedient beliefs and actions (orthodoxy and orthopraxy). The goal isn't to help Christianity "catch up" to the rest of culture or to change the message so it's more acceptable to people. The driving force behind these shifts is an awareness that something fundamental is broken, and therefore something needs to change.

The second result is that the existing form of Christianity continues on, albeit in a diminished role, and eventually adopts some of the changes brought on by the new form. We all know that the Protestant Reformation did not kill the Roman Catholic Church, and the Catholic Church did eventually recognize that many of the points raised during the Reformation were valid and necessary. The third result is that Christianity has been spread dramatically as a result of this split, reaching new people in new areas. The new expression of Christianity is able to effectively communicate the gospel to a significant number of people the old form couldn't, or wouldn't.

So with these points in mind, I'd love to hear some thoughts from you. Phyllis Tickle seem to view this split as inevitable, but ultimately good. Can this be done without hatred, anger, and unnecessary division? I think much of what God wants to do will be lost if western Christianity slips into a civil war. The last 500 years is full of Protestant vs Catholic wars. That can hardly be thought of as an answer to Jesus' prayer that his followers would be one, just as he and God are one.

Second, what new group of people do you think will be particularly influenced by a new practice of Christianity? What would you say is a bigger driving force for you: "a new practice of following Jesus" or "relationships with a new group of people"? I realize that these both drive each other and truly you need both, but I'm curious as to what brought you to this place of being open to questions and new answers. Maybe thats a good exercise for yourself, if nothing else.