Renaissance: The Power of the Gospel However Dark the Times

Subtitled “The Power of the Gospel However Dark the Times,” the prolific author, speaker, and social critic Os Guinness pulls no punches about the bleakness of the times we live in. In his latest book entitled Renaissance, writes that“…all civilizations, whatever their momentary grandeur, have an ultimate flimsiness that is paper thin and cannot hold back the barbarism.”The “barbarism” Guinness refers to is not just the temptation to raw power or animalistic lust, but the underlying “spirit of the age” and our susceptibility to its whisper. And indeed, it’s the moral “barbarism” of our age, our constant drift from True North that, Guinness asserts, has led to the decline of the Western Church.“…at this juncture, the West has cut itself off from its own Jewish and Christian roots — the faith, the ideas, the ethics and the way of life that made it the West. It now stands deeply divided, uncertain of its post-Christian identity, and with its dominance waning in the global era.”While some dismiss the importance of Western civilization’s tether to its “Jewish and Christian roots,” Guinness sees the connection (or lack thereof) as central to the diagnosis of our spiritual plight. In fact, it is our disregard for God and desecration of Western tradition that has led to “decadence,” “desecration,” and “social chaos.”“Western cultural elites have disregarded God for more than two centuries, but for a while the effects were mostly confined to their own circles. At first, they disregarded God. Then they deliberately desecrated Western tradition and lived in ways that would have spelled disaster if they had been followed more closely. But now in the early twenty-first century, their movement from disregard to desecration to decadence is going mainstream, and the United States is only the lead society among those close to the tipping point.Soon, as the legalization and then normalization of polyamory, polygamy, pedophilia and incest follow the same logic as that of abortion and homosexuality, the socially destructive consequences of these trends will reverberate throughout society until social chaos is beyond recovery. We can only pray there will be a return to God and sanity before the terrible sentence is pronounced: “God has given them over’ to the consequences of their own settled choices.”A grim outlook indeed!So while “the Western church was the single strongest source of ideas that shaped the rise of the modern world,” it has now become “culturally captive to the world to which it gave rise.”While Guinness clearly writes from an Evangelical perspective, both wings of the Western church — the Left and Right — come under equal scrutiny in his assessment. In both cases, however, it is a move away from the plain, simple teachings of Jesus and an embrace of the “spirit of the age” which makes both the Evangelical and the Progressive contributors in our descent into “advanced modernity.”“A striking symptom of the church’s problems in the West today is that fact that in a country such as the United States, Christians are still the overwhelming majority of citizens, but the American way of life has moved far away from the life of Jesus — which means simply that the Christians who are the majority are living a way of life closer to the world than to the way of Jesus. In a word, they are worldly and therefore incapable of shaping their culture.”Ultimately, though Guinness’s assessment is bleak, he seeks to summon hope in the reader, concluding that the Western Church needs nothing short of a new Reformation, one that breaks from the allure of secularism and the Church’s enticement with the spirit of the age. It is less about labels than it is a return to orthodoxy.“There are many traditions among the followers of Jesus — the Orthodox, Catholic, Evangelical, Lutheran, Reformed, Anglican, Anabaptist and Pentecostal being only the main ones in the West. But an important fact has grown clear over the last generation. Those who are faithful and orthodox in each tradition are closer to the faithful and orthodox in other traditions than to the liberal revisionists in their own tradition. In other words, the closer we are to Jesus,k the less significant the labels that once divided us.” (emphasis mine)This is a relatively small book (170-some pages) but extremely dense. Each chapter ends with a prayer, reminding the reader that real, long-term change begins with the individual. It is as I move closer to Jesus and further from the enticements of “the world, the flesh, and the devil,” that hope arises, both in me and the world I inhabit. In this sense, Guinness’s central theme is simple, straightforward and hopeful:“Let there be no wavering in our answer. Such is the truth and power of the gospel that the church can be revived, reformed and restored to be a renewing power in the world again. There is no question that the good news of Jesus has effected powerful personal and cultural change in the past. There is no question too that it is still doing so in many parts of the world today. By God’s grace it will do so again even here in the heart of the advanced modern world where the Christian church is presently in sorry disarray.”

Call it what you want. Renaissance. Revival. Healing of a massive scale. We need it here in the west. Through self sufficiency and "relevance" our churches have grown sterile. Through comfort and distractions we Christians have forgotten what is at stake and have therefore taken our eye off the ball. A sharp rise in the religious "nones," a reversal of the moral compass, the explosion of the gender revolution, and the lack of power in our churches and in our lives--all collectively show: We need help.Guinness's book Renaissance looks to offer hope to the church in the Modern age, and while he has been a severe critic of the modern church in other works (such as the "The Last Christian on Earth"), "Renaissance" is strangely optimistic. Why? How could there be hope in a time like this you ask? Guinness says, "Let there be no wavering in our answer. Such is the power of the gospel that the church can be revived, reformed and restored to be a renewing power in the world again." Guinness's hope rests not in the power of mankind, the genius of leaders, or the laws of the land--but on the promise of Jesus Christ that "I will build my church and the gates of hell will not stand against it!"Guinness goes on to say that our hope is not naïve. “With the glory of the resurrection at the center of our faith, and the long story of the church’s decline and renewal behind us, it is on cliché but a conviction that the darkest hour is just before the dawn.” We do not serve a powerless God, rather we serve the God who puts flesh on dry bones, who brings to life those formerly dead in trespasses and sins, and who transforms children of wrath to adopted sons. This is the God we serve, and with such a God going before us, we can only be full of hope no matter how bleak the circumstances appear.Make no mistake Christ will build his church, but He will do it in His way and not in ours. In perhaps my favorite chapter entitled "The Dynamics of the Kingdom" Guinness reminds us: “The kingdom of God is an upside-down, back to front, inside out kingdom that stuns our expectations and blasts us out of our ruts and our prejudices. Above all, it rebukes our pride and pricks the bubbles of our pretensions.” We can look to no human savior or to no foolproof method. God alone holds the keys to revival and we would do well to follow wherever He leads.Like everything else I have read of Guinness up to this point "Renaissance" does not disappoint. I do think he spends a little to much ink defending the Christianity's effects on civilization (chapter 4) as it distracted me from the broader topic, but nevertheless this is a good read from one of my favorite authors. I highly recommend "Renaissance" to everyone, especially Christians who find themselves discouraged and searching for hope in these turbulent times.

the insight the writer expands in this book makes it a good read for this present age,the Church has to stick with the pure Gospel no deviation

excellent book - any thinking christian should read this

Die FragestellungHat der christliche Glaube überhaupt eine Zukunft, und wenn ja, welche? Die Antwort folgt vorab mit einem kräftigen Ja. Das Evangelium verfügt über die Kraft zu erneuern!Der AutorOs Guinness (* 1941), unter Peter Berger promovierter Religionssoziologe, versteht sich als Brückenbauer zwischen akademischer Sphäre und Alltagswelt. Er verfügt über eine globale Perspektive, denn er kennt China ebenso wie die USA und Europa. DieserDie AbsichtDieses kurze Buch stellt eine Art Kulturkritik dar, besser gesagt, es beschreibt die Grundlinien zum Leben einer christlichen Gegenkultur. In Guinness‘ eigenen Worten wird die Vision einer realistischen, dringend nötigen christlichen Renaissance entworfen.Die AgendaWelcher inhaltlichen Agenda folgt Guinness? In einem nachdenklichen und gleichzeitig eloquenten Stil durchschreitet er ein weit abgestecktes Gelände. Die erste Zone: Welche globalen Aufgaben stehen für die Gemeinde, deren „DNS“ ja eine globale Vision enthält, bevor? Im einem zweiten Teil beschäftigt er sich mit dem Argumentationsmuster „Jesus + Nothing“, einer Charakterisierung „Christus gegen die Kultur“ und befindet diese als unzulänglich. Im dritten Abschnitt stellt er die Frage, wie christliche Treue und Gehorsam der Wahrheit gegenüber die Welt verändern könne. Damit eng verbunden ist viertens die Dynamik des Königsreichs, insbesondere das Nebeneinander-stehen von göttlich souveränem Wirken und dem Wahrnehmen menschlicher Verantwortung. Der Schlussstein wird mit der Botschaft „das goldene Zeitalter steht noch bevor“ gesetzt.Die AntwortenWelche konkreten Antworten bietet Guinness auf seine eingangs gestellte Frage?1. Es gilt die Vision vom Königreich Gottes im Auge zu behalten. Guinness orientiert sich an der augustinischen Zwei-Reiche-Lehre. Unser finales Ziel ist Gottes Reich, nicht das dieser Welt. Wir werden uns in die Reihe der Glaubensvorbilder einreihen, die ihr Leben in der noch nicht realisierten Hoffnung verbracht haben (Hebr 11).2. Guinness ist (meines Erachtens zu Recht) zurückhaltend, eine zu pessimistische Optik einzunehmen. So rühmt er den Lauf der westlichen Geschichte als Sieg des Lammes über alle bestimmenden Mächte dieser Erde. Er bezieht dies beispielsweise auf den Siegeszug des Evangeliums in heidnischen Europa nach dem Zusammenbruch des Römischen Reichs.3. Ebenso verliert der Autor die gegenwärtige erstaunliche globale Entwicklung der Gemeinde nicht aus dem Blick. Welche Aufbrüche hat Gott in Afrika, Asien und Südamerika geschenkt! Allerdings fügt er sogleich warnend hinzu: Manche Entwicklungen der Moderne sind in diesen Gebieten der Erde noch nicht richtig angekommen bzw. beginnen erst jetzt Fuss zu fassen.4. Manche Stellen sind erfrischend einfach, aber nicht simplifiziert. So definiert Guinness etwa die Kultur als „ein Weg gemeinsam gelebten Lebens“ („a way of life lived in common“, 753). Wer sich schon tiefer im Thema Kulturkritik vergraben hat, ist dankbar um solch bündige Definitionen und Antworten.5. Guinness versäumt es nicht, zwei Seiten der christlichen Anthropologie gleichermassen herauszustellen: Die Würde des Menschen durch die Erschaffung im Ebenbild Gottes und seine Fähigkeit zur Kulturentwicklung ebenso wie die Perversion und Entstellung dieser Entwicklung durch die Sünde. Mit Bezug auf C. S. Lewis beschreib er Christen als Welt verneinend („world denying“) und gleichzeitig Welt bejahend („world affiriming“) Dieses Spannungsfeld darf und kann nicht aufgelöst werden.6. Besonders tröstlich empfand ich die Erinnerung, dass der christliche Glaube eine einzigartige Chance zur Erneuerung und Besinnung beinhaltet. Im Gegensatz zu Ideologien wie beispielweise dem Marxismus sind Christen in der Lage, eigenes Versagen als Sünde zu bekennen. Dies bildete in ihrer Geschichte immer wieder den Beginn von neuen Aufbrüchen.7. Das Warnschild, das über dem ganzen Buch aufleuchtet, lässt sich so beschreiben: Unsere Therapeuten und Consultants dürfen niemals unser Vertrauen in Gottes mächtiges Handeln ersetzen. Leider leben wir weitgehend so, wie wenn wir unseres Schöpfers gar nicht mehr bedürfen würden. Das täuscht uns über unseren wahren Zustand hinweg.FazitDas Buch ist nüchtern und gleichzeitig hoffnungsvoll gehalten. Guinness sieht das Buch in gewisser Weise als „Begleitschreiben“ des „Evangelical Manifest“ (2008), an dem er mitgewirkt hatte und das im Wortlaut im Anhang wiedergegeben ist. Etwas vom faszinierendsten sind die kraftvollen Gebete am Ende jedes Kapitels.

A timely analysis of the future of the Christian Church. The author is gifted with an ability to speak truth to power. have no hesitation recommending it to any reader serious about the Christian Faith.

Wonderful book, delivered promptly