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The Courage to Be Protestant: Truth-lovers, Marketers, and Emergents in the Postmodern World | 
 enlarge | Author: David Wells
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
Category: Book
List Price: $25.00
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You Save: $11.01 (44%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  9 reviews
Sales Rank: 17895
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 253
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 5.9 x 1.1
ISBN: 0802840078
Dewey Decimal Number: 230.4
EAN: 9780802840073
ASIN: 0802840078
Publication Date: April 2008
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| Customer Reviews: Read 4 more reviews...
 A must read for serious Christians July 22, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
You must read this book if you desire to understand why Christian churches are heading off in so many bad directions. Read this especially if you are grieved over the decisions your own church leadership is making.
the courage to write this book July 21, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
i didn't agree with everything, but the primary point is a good one. there are some things that should/must never be neglected. the book took courage to write, and will take courage to apply. however we must also find the courage to listen to what emergents are telling us. combining those two messages may just lead to something spectacular.
 Disappointing work from a scholar past his apex June 21, 2008
5 out of 14 found this review helpful
This book, more than his other works, highlights Wells' strengths and weaknesses. He is at his best when diagnosing the manner in which mass culture has twisted Protestant orthodoxy into an entertainment-oriented program directed at parishoners' health, wealth, and happiness. This has been a theme in Wells' work ever since "No Place for Truth." The rubric that Wells developed in that first book still provides a useful tool for diagnosing the problems of those whom he calls the "marketers."
The rubric comes up short in examining those whom Wells identifies as "truth-seekers" and "emergents." Wells is correct in pointing out that some "emergents" care little for notions of truth. Nevertheless, he glosses over the fact that many emergents or quasi-emergents care deeply about truth. These "truth-seeking emergents" simply reject Wells' foundationalist epistemology. Thus, he draws a sharp line between truth-seekers and emergents that does not exist in reality.
Moreover, Wells fails to give any attention to the apparent implosion of the "truth-seeker" movement. "Truth-seekers" in conservative Reformed circles have spent much of the past decade turning their swords on each other on issues ranging from young-earth creationism to different articulations of the doctrine of justification. Thus, truth-seekers have had difficulty resisting the urge to draw battle lines over every difference -- whether central to Reformed orthodoxy or not. Moreover, Wells ignores the recent prevalence of "worldview" epistemology among those whom he calls "truth-seekers." This "worldview" epistemology drinks heavily from the same Kantian and Hegelian well that provides a partial source for Continental post-modern thought.
In short, in contrasting "truth-seekers" and "emergents," Wells seems to have no sense of the epistemic contours that are at play. Most "emergents" are not as post-modern as Wells supposes, while most "truth-seekers" are much more post-modern than Wells supposes. In many ways, Wells' truth-based rubric is simply not a useful metric for distinguishing "emergents" from "truth-seekers" -- if such an undertaking is even warranted. In many ways, the differences between the two groups probably relate more to age and sociology than to epistemology. Wells fails to account for this.
Just re-read "No Place for Truth" and save your money.
A Gentleman and a Scholar June 18, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The last quarter century of church growth methodology has left something of a burnt over stain on the evangelical church. Regrettably, many today crinkle their brow at doctrine as if it is some type of family secret that we try not to think too much about. How in the world have we gotten to the point where marketing and entertainment are pursued and embraced with the fervency that our forefathers clung to theology, prayer and preaching?
Enter David Wells. Wells is, among other things a very smart man. He is an astute observer of what is happening in our day and helpfully contextualizes this movement within its overall historical development. Wells has written extensively on this subject in his previous books, No Place for Truth, God in the Wasteland, Losing Our Virtue, and Above All Eartly Pow'rs. The Courage to Be Protestant builds on these previous works in his traditional Jeremiad tone.
The first 57 pages are outstanding. Wells writes with his usual clarity, biblical faithfulness, and subtly sarcastic humor. If you have ever wondered how gentlemen argue passionately while maintaining their status as a gentleman read Wells. He just does a fantastic job connecting the theological dots of where we have come from in evangelicalism. Wells contends that in all of our zeal to reach the unchurched, we are unchurching the reached.
Wells also spends some time in the ring with the folks in the emerging movement. He sees much of this as a reincarnation of `old liberalism' that never fully died anyway. It is helpful to read Wells and see the theological continuity between today's emerging church and those in the early 1900's.
There is little doubt that Wells is fed up, and rightly so. He sees little hope to rescue the term evangelical and instead opts for the recovery of the term Protestant. He sees this term more rooted in Reformational truths (ie Scripture) rather than a movement of people that are about a movement of people.
The rest of the book interacts with the contemporary theological and philosophical worldview. I wish I could say it was as interesting as the first two chapters. While there are a lot of helpful chapters, I felt the book dropped off a bit after page 57.
The first two chapters make the book a must read for pastors. Wells puts on a clinic in logic, theology, observing church history and connecting the (painful) dots.
Very clear, organized analysis of the failing American church June 9, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I could have killed a pack of highlighters on this well-written book. This is a biblically sound indictment of modern "christianity". The author does a nice job covering the predominant movements of the last few decades in a complete yet digestible way. From the seeker-sensitive to the "emergent" movement, this is a call to decide what true Christianity is really about. Why do we believe what we believe? How does the bible define repentance and faith. And how have we confused ourselves into masking our American humanism in evangelical terms. We have lost our relevance in today's society, not because we don't relate to the fashions and trends but because we have forgotten what the gospel really is and how timelessly relevant it is.
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