The Future of Faith

I just finished a book by Harvey Cox titled The Future of Faith. I found it to be a fascinating book that captures in a broad sweep some of the changes happening in the church today. His view on faith fits well with what I’ve read and learned about ministry in a post-modern world.
Cox sees three specific periods within church history. The first stage, the early church following Pentecost, is defined as the church of faith. This new Christianity was being defined through a lens of how we live our lives. Small groups gathered in homes to worship and learn. They shared their goods with each other, providing for those in need. Their structure was one of various cells that may or may not interact with each other daily. While the Apostles played a leadership role it wasn’t as leaders as we define them in the organized church structure we have today. Having walked with the Master they brought their experiences and His teachings together. Cox sees Paul’s letter to the various church’s as specific to their church and its issues, not as a development of a Christian theology. The early church could be more clearly defined as a movement than as a denomination or church.
Cox defines the second stage in church history as the age of belief. As the small cells began to coalesce Christians began to become more focused on what they believed. The initial church consisted of large numbers of Jewish converts. This led to tension between Orthodox Judaism and this new movement, fostering long discussions in the house churches in how to interpret Jesus teachings in relationship to the laws and regulations many converts had observed throughout their life. The age of belief really picked up steam when the Emperor Constantine incorporated the church into the state. Congregations became formalized and disagreements over beliefs became organized discussions. Councils were called to try to develop definitive statements of belief. These definitive statements eventually were formalized into creeds. Cox believes that these creeds really served the purpose of keeping out those who did not agree with them rather than being vehicles to bring people into the church. At the same time the clerical caste developed, and with the backing of the state, they had tremendous power which led to tremendous corruption. With no access to the written word the common man was dependent on the clerical caste to explain Scripture. Constantine used the church as a political tool and the church leaders were more than willing to be used because of the huge benefits the leaders received.
The Reformation pointed out the problems in the Catholic Church, specifically the corruption in the clerical caste. It also brought about the printing of the Bible, putting the Scriptures into the hands of the common man. People no longer had to rely on the interpretations they received from the clergy; they could read and discuss and study the Bible themselves. This led to an increase in denominational splits, each developing their own creeds and doctrines. Some creeds, like the Apostles Creed, held throughout the Christian community. Additional statements of belief such as the Heidelberg and Luther Catechisms were developed by various denominations. This formalization changed the way we define faith. In the first movement faith was defined as action but now faith is defined as belief. Somehow we equated faith to confessing and adhering to specific beliefs. Cox argues that this change in the definition of faith has not been good for the church.
Cox defines the third stage in church history, the one occurring in religion today, as the age of the Spirit. The Pentecostal movement brought the work of the Holy Spirit to the front once again. While some denominations ran for cover and made sure to purge anything they felt was Pentecostal-like from their worship services, the movement itself grew worldwide. Cox sees the growth in this third stage to be particularly strong in the Global South church. Once again faith is defined as how you live your life, prompted by the Spirit’s leading, rather than an acceptance of standardized creeds and doctrines. He sees this third stage as closely resembling the first stage, the age of faith. The Emerging Church movement is a key example of this change in Christian churches in the Northern Global church. The movement towards house churches, the ecumenical ties between denominations, and the desire of younger Christians to accept a variety of faith beliefs within a single faith community are all evidences of the growth of the age of the Spirit.