Why Do We Need the Past? | Theological Retrieval

"So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter."

-2 Thessalonians 2:15 ESV

Why Does It Matter?

Many Evangelicals are desiring a sense of being rooted in church history, and as a result, they are leaving for other groups (such as Anglicanism, Roman Catholicism, and Orthodoxy). While many Evangelicals are highly innovative, many have forgotten historic elements in the Christian faith. Does the past have anything to teach us? Do we need past Christians to speak to us? This article will address these issues.

This is typically considered a secondary issue when it dramatically affects worship or church life, and it is considered a tertiary issue when it does not dramatically affect worship or church life.

What Is It?

Simply put, theological retrieval is retrieving the past from church history for the contemporary church. Typically it is argued that retrieving church history can renew the church[1] and give a sense of rootedness in church history for which many Evangelicals are longing.[2]

In fact, it has been well-documented that many are leaving churches for more historically-rooted ones (see Gavin Ortlund's book in the End Notes for a good place to start your research into this). Anecdotally, an Anglican friend of mine has told me that most of the people that are joining his church are from an Evangelical church planting network that has gone through some serious issues in domineering leadership and personality-driven leadership. Some are even leaving Protestantism altogether and opting for Catholicism or Orthodoxy. Again, anecdotally, I heard from another friend that many people who were joining Orthodoxy at a particular church were seminary students at a local Baptist seminary!

Simply put, theological retrieval is retrieving the past from church history for the contemporary church.

When some think of church history, or tradition, they may consider it negatively. But traditions themselves are not bad; depending on the tradition, passing on traditions can be either good or bad. In 2 Thessalonians, Paul comments on the importance of passing on good traditions, "So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter" (2 Thess. 2:15). As Evangelicals, we do not view tradition as authoritative (unless, of course, it is traditions which are passed down from Scripture). Undoubtedly, traditions can get passed on which are bad and unhelpful.

However, among many non-liturgical Evangelicals, it seems that we have often valued innovation and rejected old ways of doing things (or at least find ourselves skeptical of tradition). This focus on innovation has often led to incredible creativity and breakthroughs in contextualization and mission. Sadly, however, we miss a treasure trove from the riches of church history which can affect our spirituality, worship, church, theology, parenting, marriage, rest, general life, and help us see some of our own blindspots. (As a side note, church history doesn't merely stop at the Reformation, as it seems to for many Protestants, but instead it stretches all the way back to the early church!)

Perhaps, we are sometimes guilty of what C. S. Lewis called "chronological snobbery." In other words, we think new things are good and old things are less advanced and antiquated. Arthur Lindsley comments,

This was one of the obstacles that C.S. Lewis had to overcome in order to come to faith in Christ. He dubs the problem as one of “chronological snobbery.” His friend Owen Barfield often argued with him on this issue. Lewis’s question was: How could this ancient religion be relevant to my present setting? Lewis defines this chronological snobbery as “the uncritical acceptance of the intellectual climate of our own age and the assumption that whatever has gone out of date is on that count discredited.”[3]

But old things shouldn't automatically be rejected. In some cases, the old ways are better.

While many Evangelicals are hungering for a sense of rootedness in church history, the truth is that many Evangelical churches simply do not worship, look, or sound like churches throughout church history. Instead, sometimes, contemporary American churches look more like a shopping mall, a strip mall, or a business, and are shaped by marketing and consumeristic tendencies. Thus, churches can look more like our current surrounding culture rather than churches throughout history. Gavin Ortlund explains the problem,

What shall we make of this movement and seeming restlessness within evangelical Christianity? Amidst other observations we might also make, one strong impression that arises is of a deep thirst for historical rootedness that evidently is not being met in many current evangelical contexts. Particularly among the younger generation of evangelicals today, there seems to be a profound sense of emptiness and dislocatedness and consequent malaise. We are aching for the ancient and the august, for transcendence and tradition, for that which has stability and solidarity and substance. And many of us simply aren't finding that in our evangelical churches and institutions.[4]

Admittedly, many of the ways retrieval has helped me have impacted secondary and tertiary issues (not primary ones). Still, in my own retrieval experience, I have been helped significantly in my spirituality, worship, theology, family life, pace of life, and intentional resting. Occasionally I have realized that I'm the weird one in church history for doing something the way that I do. Other times I've been confronted with blindspots. I'm not alone; others report the same experience as me.

Here are some of the practical ways retrieval has changed my life:

Recovering and valuing historic liturgy in worship (This led to my doctoral project on recovering ancient worship. You can read more on that by clicking here.)
Valuing and practicing rest/Sabbath (Here are a couple of articles to go deeper on Sabbath: (1) click here for the theological views on Sabbath and/or (2) click here for some thoughts on practicing the Sabbath.)
A model for fasting (As shown in the Didache, the early church typically fasted on Wednesdays and Fridays each week.)
Living at a better pace as I balance my inner life and outer life (Gregory the Great's The Book of Pastoral Rule is excellent on this topic.)
Developing a Rule of Life (Pete Scazzero has some helpful thoughts about how to implement this in our contemporary lives. Click here for more on that.)
Silence & Solitude (Click here for more on silence and solitude.)
Using the Daily Office in my devotional life (Click here for more on the Daily Office.)
Modifying my views on the doctrine of the Lord's Supper; I was challenged by the fact that the Memorial/symbolic view did not arise until much later in church history (Click here for more on the doctrine of the Lord's Supper.)
Leading my family in family worship (We often simply use the Daily Office in family worship as well.)

Therefore, I would argue that contemporary churches and believers have much to learn from past Christians. I know I have, and I continue to learn from them as well! Just like we need other contemporary Christians in our churches, communities, and across the world in different cultures to learn from, I would argue that we need past Christians as well.

Application

I hope this simply inspires you to learn from Christians in church history. By doing so, I'm confident you'll be encouraged and challenged by hearing from Christians in different places and time periods.

Where Can I Learn More?

End Notes:

[1] W. David Buschart and Kent D. Eilers, Theology as Retrieval: Receiving the Past, Renewing the Church (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2015).

[2] Gavin Ortlund, Theological Retrieval for Evangelicals: Why We Need Our Past to Have a Futre (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2019).

[3] Arthur W. Lindsley, "C. S. Lewis on Chronological Snobbery," C. S. Lewis Institute, March 5, 2003, https://www.cslewisinstitute.org/resources/c-s-lewis-on-chronological-snobbery/.

[4] Gavin Ortlund, Theological Retrieval for Evangelicals, 52.