The Courage to Be Protestant: Truth-Lovers, Marketers, and Emergents in the Postmodern World

by David F. Wells

Publisher:

Eerdmans

, 2008

Overview

“It takes no courage to sign up as a Protestant.” These words begin this bold work—the culmination of David Wells’ long-standing critique of the evangelical landscape. But to live as a true Protestant—well, that's another matter.

This book is a jeremiad against “new” versions of evangelicalism—marketers and emergent—and a summons to return to the historic faith, defined by the Reformation solas (grace, faith, and Scripture alone) and by a high regard for doctrine.

Wells argues that historic, classical evangelicalism is marked by doctrinal seriousness, as opposed to the new movements of the marketing church and the emergent church. He energetically confronts the marketing communities and their tendency to try to win parishioners as consumers rather than worshipers, advertising the most palatable environment rather than trusting the truth to be attractive. He takes particular issue with the most popular evangelical movement in recent years—the emergent church. Emergents, he says, are postmodern and postconservative and postfoundational, embracing a less absolute understanding of the authority of Scripture than traditionally held.

The Courage to Be Protestant is a forceful argument for the courage to be faithful to what Christianity in its biblical forms has always stood for, thereby securing hope for the church’s future.

Key Features

• Encourages faithfulness to biblical Christianity
• Confronts today’s “marketing” mentality
• Calls for a return to doctrinal evangelicalism

Contents

• The Lay of the Evangelical Land
• Christianity for Sale
• Truth
• God
• Self
• Christ
• Church

Top Highlights

“What is the binding authority on the church? What determines how it thinks, what it wants, and how it is going to go about its business? Will it be Scripture alone, Scripture understood as God’s binding address, or will it be culture? Will it be what is current, edgy, and with-it? Or will it be God’s Word, which is always contemporary because its truth endures for all eternity?” (Page 4)

“In fact, 90 percent of those in Rainer’s studies said the preaching was important to them, and not just any preaching. Almost the same percentage, 88 percent, said that what they came to hear was doctrine. The beliefs of the church were important to 91 percent. They wanted to know what the church believed. They wanted to have this laid out for them—with conviction. This was their preeminent concern. The next issue of importance, the friendliness of people, was far down the list—only 49 percent cited it.” (Page 55)

“Today, in our modernized world, what seems implausible is that there is a God who is objective to us, who stands outside of us, who is the measure of truth, and who holds us accountable. We simply do not experience this in the course of life, and our experience inclines us to think that it is probably not true.” (Page 68)

“Emergents, as I shall call them, are about deconstruction” (Page 16)

“This is a time when we prefer to be envied for what we have rather than admired for who we are” (Page 51)

Product Details

• Title: The Courage to Be Protestant: Truth-Lovers, Marketers, and Emergents in the Postmodern World
• Author: David F. Wells
• Publisher: Eerdmans
• Print Publication Date: 2008
• Logos Release Date: 2016
• Pages: 267
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Evangelicalism; Postmodernism › Religious aspects--Christianity; Protestant Churches › Doctrines
• ISBNs: 9780802840073, 0802840078
• Resource ID: LLS:CRGBPSTMDRNWRLD
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-29T23:00:03Z

About David F. Wells

David Falconer Wells (born 1939) is Distinguished Senior Research Professor at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He is the author of several books in which his evangelical theology engages with the modern world. Wells received his B.D. from the University of London; Th.M. from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School; Ph.D. from Manchester University (England); and was a post-doctoral Research Fellow at Yale Divinity School. Wells is a Council member of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals.