Roger Olson’s next chp in Reformed and Always Reforming takes on yet another crucial theme: tradition and orthodoxy in postconservative evangelical theology.
Evangelicalism is rediscovering tradition. But, postconservatism believes modern conservative evangelicalism is trapped in tradition and increasingly appealing to tradition instead of to Scripture. A recent book, whose impulse I value but whose impact could lead to sterility, is by Tom Oden and JI Packer, called One Faith. I remember the day when such a book would have been verboten, and I also wonder what kind of evangelical world brings such a book into existence. Anyway, this post is about Olson’s book.
Postconservatism “relativizes tradition without discarding it; it distinguishes between the status quo and real tradition … and Scripture as God’s inspired Word” (190). So, postcons aim for a “critical orthodoxy”:
1. It is critical: always under scrutiny. Respect but not obedience to.
2. It is generous: tradition is not a cudgel; it is a beacon to guide sojourners. (He mentions here a CT article in 1999 by conservatives that had both a statement, which Olson thinks was fair enough, and an appended set of denials that he thinks was “garrulous, speculative, and divisive” and “read like a document from an evangelical inquisition.”)
3. It is progressive: vision changes as new light is discovered through God’s Spirit.
4. It is dispositional: “as much a matter of the affections as of the intellect” (202).
The last chp is about open theism and I don’t want to get into that topic on this blog for right now.