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Holiness and Christian Renewal

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Holiness and Christian Renewal Quaker Religious Thought Volume 17 Article 2 1-1-1967 Holiness and Christian Renewal Arthur O. Roberts Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/qrt Part of the Christianity Commons Recommended Citation Roberts, Arthur O. (1967) "Holiness and Christian Renewal," Quaker Religious Thought: Vol. 17 , Article 2. Available at: https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/qrt/vol17/iss1/2 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ George Fox University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Quaker Religious Thought by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ George Fox University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. w would say, we need to put it into that “gospel order” in which the particular patterns of personal and col-porate witness take Holiness and Christian Renewal their direction from Jesus Christ. We seek Christian renewal, whether within Quakerdom or Christendom. ARTHUR 0. ROBERTS Large segments of Christendom give only token adherence to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The same may be said Whatever else may be said about the Quaker Theological of us. Our number barely reaches 200,000, and this aggre gate Discussion Group, it is not interested simply in reporting the is neither firmly disciplined to Christ nor does it comprise a religion of the Quakers. It is my hope, shared by others, that mneaninful fellowship. Although some churchmen try to the QTDG “aims to restore free, Christ-centered, theologically smother our contradictories in general religiosity, they only make more articulate Quakerism” (see May 1, 1965 Minutes). difficult the achievement of theological consensus I venture we are more easily agreed on the questions than without which Christian fellowship is not found. the answers, but at least we should strive to be theologically Paul wrote to Titus words appropriate for our consider articulate. And this reminds me of the delightful piece by ation, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according Lon Woodrum in Christianity Today (March 26, 1965), in to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regenera which “Spinoza Jones,” erstwhile beatnik turned believer, re tion and renewing of the Holy Ghost.” (Titus 3:5, AV) ports on hearing “Dr. Bulltillich.” Says “Spinoza Jones,” This is not the place to deal with the various aspects of “Existentialism this pulpiteer can speak of, and docetism. And Christian renewal today but I do think they are significant. without definitions. These we are supposed to comprehend. The so-called lay movements, cell prayer groups, and campus With Weltuntergangstirnnutng he stops and explains. But awakenings are examples. The phenomenon of tongues-speaking having what’s with a man who can toss out a double jaw-cracker like moved from the Pentecostal denominations into certain that but who cannot make clear the meaning of regeneration?” old-line groups speaks to me of spiritually hungry people who Any sober appraisal of our heritage should aim at making desire neither the refinement of ritual nor intricate mazes of clear to people the Christian doctrine of regeneration. theological double-speak. They hunger for an authentic word Before lifting up some Quaker insights into regeneration, from the Lord. Some of this yearning yields to mass hysteria, in particular the meaning of holiness, let me express a caution but in any case the church needs to take heed to the Holy ary word about the conference theme: “The Quaker Contribu Spirit and encourage His better gifts for those entrapped in tion toward Reshaping Christianity.” In some ways I would formal religion of any sort. prefer to consider the Christian contribution to the reshaping Of all people Quakers ought to speak to those who look of Quakerdom. “Lord, keep back thy servant from presump for authentic Christian experience. As R. Newton Flew so aptly tuous sins.” A contribution to give? Ought we not ask first wrote, the early Quaker movement gave a distinctly Christian doctrine of the Holy 1 how we Quakers may be more Christian? These questions arise Spirit. We have not always from consideration of our own weaknesses, of our historic losses continued to do so. But our contribution to Christian renewal, in both numbers and opportunities, and reflection upon certain significant at several levels, may well lie in recovery of this vigorous Christian movements about us. truth. A number of years ago I consulted Henry Cadbury con SET OUR OWN HOUSE IN ORDER cerning Quaker research. He directed me to a book by Geoffrey The first way we ?nay aid in the reshaping of Christianity Nuttall, a book with, as he put it, “a rather strange-sounding is to set our own house in spiritual order. As George Fox title” — The Holy Spirit in Puritan Faith and Experience. 4 5 w A strange title, perhaps, but upon reflection an apt descrip what alien to both spheres tion of Quaker perfectionism. From of Christian renewal in the seventeenth century. Friends neo-orthodox movements, the from Lutheran confessionalism, had much to say about the work of the Holy Spirit in • from and accomp classical and catholic theologies fishing personal victory over sin and giving have come reassessments immediate guidance • of the sinful nature of man. So sobering to men. As Frederick Tolles has pointed out, Friends of has been the mood in the this introspection that the nomenclature eighteenth century were curiously untouched by tury of nineteenth cen the Great holiness theology and early Awakening. Enthusiasm had turned c1uietism. twentieth century liberalism to Portions of appeared superficial to many. The straw man of evil could this awakening were remarkably akin to their fiery Quaker blown over by one be mighty camp-meeting crisis or predecessors: Tolles quotes lines from Whittier’s poem “The gram of a better pro peace education. Both reflect an Preacher’ depicting the Quaker as “A non-conductor insufficient view of I among sin and of the holy acts of Cod! the wires wiLls coat of asbestos proof to fires.” 1 he perceptive opposition to the holiness doctrine from The fires of Wesley and Whitefield burned through to within the church may Friends, howwcr, be summed up by the three gnostic fea a century later, and marked them more sig tures which Stephen Neill nificantly charges recur in all perfectionist than in the earlier period. From various causes the movements: I) the calm assumption of superior status modern period of Quakerism evidences a bifurcation of the dignity in the church; and 2) the strong tendency to holinss message into forms which we may call “humanistic tin the terse antinomianism phrase of S. Whale, ‘‘belief perfectionism’’ and ‘‘experiential perfectionism.” (I J. in the inner light mean “ex may he the shortest road to outer periential’ in the Christian darkness”); and 3) the clis sense.) ruption of the unity of human nature.3 Humanistic perfectionism emphasized social redemption In the face of such indictment, Friends are taking based on theories of the natural goodness of man, with action look at themselves. a sober It may be heartening to know that ranging from sympathetic charity to all-out commitment to Christians are not all “preaching up sin to the grave” despite poliucai scnemes for bringing in the kingdom. The other, agement by various encour theologies. In addition to the experiential holiness, stressed the personal, emotional experi Wesleyan holiness various groups, Mennonite theologians and ence of sanctification. It was often cast in Wesleyan terms of Calvinists are Keswick seeking to show that the grace a “second definite work of grace” upon the recalcitrant, carnal Christ of God in Jesus not only pardons, but regenerates, heart. A kind of spiritual elite activated, that it radically was with Bible changes the nature of sinful man. schools, camp meetings and other forms of fellowship uniting Through Soren Kierkegaard postwar theologians Quakers with segments of the post-Civil War churches of Wes covered have re the cheep consciousness of the leyan doctrine. In the twentieth century, under the impact meaning of sin. The of Danish father of Christian existentialism modernism, splintered Methodism shored wrote: “Fundamen up evangelical Friends tally, the relation between God and man is in this, that a man until more indigenous structures could provide stability. Most is a sinner, and God is the Holy One. Confronting a Friends, perhaps, tacked between the two points, uncertain man is not God a sinner in this or that regard, but in where their loyalties were to be placed. is sinful, his being he not guilty in this or that, but guilty Easy identification of Quakerism with liberal idealism on absolutely.’’ essentially and the one hand or Wesleyan revivalism on the other has been Karl Barth has made us look again to Christ, rendered difficult by the apparent obscurantism of both in the ourselves. and not to .He reminds us that the locus [ace of world-warring society. The postwar years witnessed of grace is “in Jesus a Christ who alone must be proclaimed resurgence of evangelicalism and by the Church.” revival, much of it within At this juncture we need to know “what the Spirit saith to the more strongly Calvinistic ranks of the churches and some- the churches,” in the language of the Apocalypse, rather than 6 a 7 I what we may say to each other in technical theology. It will before the Pharisees. The Gospels demonstrate not suffice to make contemporary experience the the love of God test of truth, — on earth; and it is significant that and thus try to damn the seventeenth century at Pentecost Peter talks for bad meta • about Jesus as one who went about doing good. physics and poor psychology. We ask again for the Holy Spirit In specific objective details of the one who bore our to renew the church.
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