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The Word became Flesh:Evangelicals and the IncarnationWhat would Jesus read?THE WORD BECAME FLESH The background to the book lies over a century ago in an 1889 conference called Lux Mundi. This was a watershed in the Church of England that crystallised what we now call liberal Anglicanism. The concerns of Lux Mundi sound biblical enough. It emphasised the incarnation as central to Christian thought. It pointed to the incarnation as a paradigm for understanding the mission of the church in the modern world. But, as so often is the case, fine words can mask a hollow theology and these evangelical authors expose it. Lux Mundi detached the incarnation from the atonement. While not denying the importance of the cross, it became increasingly relativised. The influence of this approach is not confined to liberal Anglicanism but appears in many different Christian circles. The papers that form this present book were originally given at an Oak Hill Theological College conference. Michael Ovey presents an extended argument in two papers demonstrating that the incarnation is not the culmination of an evolutionary process but God radically breaking into a hostile world. For this reason, the church should always be wary of being assimilated to the surrounding culture. David Peterson discusses the implications of the incarnation for discipleship and Chris Green writes an essay on mission that will be particularly provocative among evangelicals. While the 'What Would Jesus Do?' brace-lets raise a good question, we also have to be careful. There is a gulf separating the mission of Jesus and our own mission - what Jesus did and what we are called to do are not identical. The relationship between Jesus and the Bible is taken on by Timothy Ward who demonstrates how the evangelical view of Scripture is not in any sense 'Bibliolatry'. Indeed, if we are to really know and love Jesus, we will have to know and love his written word. Carl Trueman pulls no punches in describing the weakness of many evangelical views of the Lord's Supper. He argues that we have been too influenced by a view of the supper as a 'memorial' and lost sight of the stronger teachings of most Reformers on Christ being present in the meal. One thing this book makes clear is that rigorous, detailed theology need not and should not be a dull, boring, cul-de-sac of thought. I did not agree with everything I read in the book, but I appreciated a lively and penetrating engagement with deep rooted problems in the outlook of the contemporary church. Chris Sinkinson, © Evangelicals Now - May 2004 |