In Search of Ancient Roots: The Christian Past and the Evangelical Identity Crisis, by Kenneth J. Stewart. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2017. 304 pp. $30.00.
One of the more contested topics of church history is the search for historical roots and the theological consequences of that search. It is not uncommon for Christian historians and theologians who have spent much time searching for roots to eventually find their way to theological camps that appear to have the most impressive roots, usually Roman Catholicism or Eastern Orthodoxy. This is nothing new, as the nineteenth-century figure John Henry Newman shows, though several recent high-profile evangelicals have also made a similar shift, such as Francis Beckwith, Thomas Howard, and Hank Hanegraaff. Kenneth Stewart, professor of theological studies at Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, TN, has offered up his thoughts on this phenomenon in his book, In Search of Ancient Roots.
Stewart’s major questions are focused at evangelicalism: Why are so many people leaving or dreading evangelicalism? Why is there an evangelical identity crisis? What is evangelical Protestantism in relation to the Great Tradition? This introspection and self-doubt, according to Stewart, is due to at least three factors. First, there is a run-down factor, meaning that the guiding principles of movements like evangelicalism lose their edge over time. Second, there is a lateral factor, meaning that the largest portions of evangelical Protestantism trace to non-direct Reformation movements. Third, there has been a thaw in Protestant and Roman Catholic relations. Stewart feels the weight of the questions above and believes his factors go a long way to explaining how this crisis has come to be. Essentially, Stewart agrees that there is an appearance of shallowness to evangelical history; but it is only apparent, not actual: “Evangelical Protestantism is not the problem; evangelical Protestantism that has severed its roots in early Christianity is a problem” (273).
To substantiate his assertion that evangelicalism has only an apparent problem, Stewart gives two central arguments: first, that evangelical movements are a perennial and recurring feature of Christian history (chap. 2); and second, that appropriation from the pre-Reformation past is acceptable and welcome, provided it is done according to the agreed principle of Scripture as the supreme authority (chap. 3) and a healthy Protestant understanding of the development of doctrine (chap. 4). Chapters one through four are part one of the book and provide the basic argument. Chapters five through nine make up part two and in them Stewart gives several fascinating historical examples of how evangelicals have performed healthy historical engagement. Here Stewart shows his historical acumen and provides a goldmine for those who want to learn how to be Protestant and also deep in history. Part three (chaps. 10–12) looks at three common subjects often proffered to show evangelicalism’s shallow history: the place of the Apocrypha, the use of monasticism, and the appeal to John Henry Newman. Again, Stewart provides strong historical evidence which shows that the appeals made to these arguments are not convincing and actually quite complicated. The final part address challenges that remain. Stewart argues that a central bishop of Rome is not required (chap. 13) and that justification has been a very significant part of pre- and post-Reformation history (chap. 14). He then concludes the book (chap. 15) with some implications and closing thoughts. In his conclusion, Stewart admits that the pragmatism and adaptability characteristic of evangelicalism certainly can lend to charges of un-rootedness. Thus, the search for roots is a good exercise because it has forced evangelicalism to ask overdue questions, the primary being: Why has evangelicalism let its roots in antiquity wither so badly?
Stewart’s book is a great place to start the discussion on why evangelical Protestantism can lay claim to historical rootedness, particularly since he gives discussion questions at the end of each chapter. Stewart impressively demonstrates that Protestants have a long history of engagement with the Christian tradition; however, in a book this length none of the arguments will answer every question that could be raised on any given subject. One question that will certainly be raised by this book is the understanding of evangelicalism that Stewart adopts. He describes evangelicalism as recurring and perennial. This is not a new debate for Stewart. He co-edited the 2008 volume, The Advent of Evangelicalism, which looked at David Bebbington’s famous quadrilateral by which he defined evangelicalism. When Stewart discusses the idea of evangelicalism as recurring and perennial (meaning that it is as old as the church itself), he offers a careful explanation. In this book, he is referring to evangelicalism as an identity (rather than a specific movement) that came to the fore of church history at several times when the mainstream of Christianity was deficient in its understanding of Scripture, personal faith, and a pure visible church. Thus, dissent and controversy happened. That dissent, to Stewart, is the evangelical tendency. In sum, he argues that what evangelicalism is precisely and when it started are not settled issues, but that does not take away from the assertion that evangelicalism does have a strong historical basis (see chap. 2 especially). Still, the current book gives a timely pushback against certain historical critiques of Protestantism as well as naïve appropriations of history. The book is also highly suggestive (and in my opinion, very good) in its method for how to interact with church history.
In Search of Roots is not just for seminary theologians and historians but also for pastors and lay people. I appreciate that Stewart provides three helpful ways that a local church could be affected by this study (269–73). In connecting the local church to Christian antiquity, Stewart recommends talking about historical legacy and encouraging engagements with it. In connecting the local church to the small “c” catholic church, Stewart recommends bringing historical roots into corporate worship through song, story, and the reading of creeds and confessions. And in connecting the local church to the global church, Stewart encourages teaching that each local church is one outpost of the church of all times and all places. Helpful words indeed that can assist us Protestants to see and to hold firm the roots that we already possess.
