Down to Earth

Down to Earth:
A New Vision for the Church
By Donald Reeves
Mowbray. 117 pages. £14.99
ISBN 0 264 67371 9

Donald Reeves, rector of St. James, Piccadilly, is well-known for seeking to build bridges with those who are disenchanted with conventional religion, and has become a target for critics of New Age influence in mainline churches. His book is important because:

* he works among people whom evangelicals fail to reach - those who are passionate about spiritual reality, but disillusioned by traditional religion.

* he asks questions about the church's nature and mission which we need to face.

* to understand why many who begin as evangelicals turn to other forms of Christianity, we need to see ourselves as others see us.

From experience of being 'threatened and cajoled...into taking Christ as my Lord and Saviour', he comments: 'Evangelicals are the most vociferous in their attacks on the cults; little do they realise how they mirror the things they attack in others.' (page 5). Reeves sets out a new vision for the church in a world on the edge of disaster. Crucial is a rediscovery of the imagination, and he proposes new ways of 'knowing or imagining God' meaningful to those caught in the collapse of modern culture. He calls for a society which celebrates 'the public', in contrast with the current tendency to idealise the private and individual. Its leaders would need to draw on a rich, inner life: bankruptcy in this respect is seen as contributing to social decline. Such a society would encourage diversity, offering hospitality to those of different races and religions.
A major attraction of New Age spirituality is its rediscovery of ritual. Traditional forms of worship have become irrelevant because they separate the spiritual from the material. By contrast, Reeves calls for rituals which express awe, thanksgiving and lamentation over the state of the earth.
In a provocative chapter on Scripture, he criticises Biblical scholarship for its failure to connect with life and its emphasis on detachment and objectivity. The solution is to bring our experiences to our reading of Scripture: 'how the Bible looks depends on where you stand.' (page 89). As we ask questions of the text, we allow it to address us and spark our imagination. Two final chapters examine the resulting changes in our understanding of gender, and the new type of church which would emerge, embracing all of life, acknowledging its powerlessness (in contrast to the 'success culture'), allowing world needs to set its agenda without diminishing its commitment to an alternative lifestyle.
There is much to disagree with: underlying the author's thinking is an implicit denial of the idea of absolute truth. It is also unclear what he means by 'God': at times he appears to view God as a construction of our minds, but at other times he speaks in terms of a personal and transcendent God.
Despite this, I found myself moved by the author's challenge to develop a new vision. We must return to our roots, becoming radically biblical, and rediscover the dynamic provided by the hope of Christ's return. Read this book; disagree with it; but face the issues.

Tim Grass

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