“If evangelical Christianity is anything, it is orthodoxy on fire”

I’ve been reading Roger Olson and Christian Winn on Reclaiming Pietism which urges the case for reclaiming pietism as a way of shaping evangelicalism. It’s a great book and I thought the main tenets of conclusion were worth sharing.

“If evangelical Christianity is anything, it is orthodoxy on fire, ‘head belief’ and ‘heart experience’ brought together.”

“First, doctrine informed by Pietism should be ministerial rather than magisterial. It aims should be inspiration and instruction, not mere propositional knowledge. And doctrine, as important as it is, should not be viewed as the ‘essence’ of Christianity, which is transformation of the ‘inner man’ into the image of Christ.”

“Second, theology informed by Pietism avoids useless speculation and arguments over matters that do not touch the gospel or have nothing to do with God’s transforming mission in individuals’ lives and in the world.”

“Third, theology informed by Pietism seeks to be irenic and ecumenical.”

“Fourth, according to Pietism, theology should be informed and guided (not governed) by prayer and devotion.”

“Fifth, theology and doctrine informed by Pietism should never be objects of devotion. Karl Barth declared that the lowest reaches of hell are reserved for those who are more interested in their thoughts about God than in God himself.”

“We are convinced that classical Christian Pietism, as we have reclaimed it here, offers contemporary evangelical Christianity a resource for its own renewal, and that holds true for evangelical theology as well as evangelical devotion and worship. Forgetfulness of evangelicalism’s Pietist heritage can lead to dead orthodoxy, polemics over spiritual enrichment and growth, and a focus on speculation about obscure portions of Scripture. Evangelicalism that remembers and learns from the Pietist heritage can only be spiritually stronger and theologically more balanced as a result of rediscovering its impulses.”