The Thrill of Orthodoxy
I had the pleasure of reading, endorsing, and then reviewing Trevin Wax’s new book The Thrill of Orthodoxy: Rediscovering the Adventure of Christian Faith (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2022).
Here’s the blurb:
In The Thrill of Orthodoxy, Trevin Wax turns the tables on those who believe Christian teaching is narrow and outdated. Returning to the church's creeds, he explains what orthodoxy is and why we can have proper confidence in it, and lays out common ways we can stray from it. By showing how heresies are always actually narrower than orthodoxy―taking one aspect of the truth and wielding it as a weapon against others―Wax beckons us away from the broad road that ultimately proves bland and boring, and toward the straight and narrow path, where true adventure can be found.
I wrote an extensive review over at Christianity Today, of which the most substantive point is my appreciation for chapter nine.
There, Wax explains how orthodoxy is historical yet flexible. Orthodoxy is not an end in itself, when it is an end in itself, doctrine becomes idolatry. In what is becoming a post-Christian age, Wax warns about a righteous remnant mentality, where we are the faithful few. But he also warns against ideational vacuity, where it doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you believe. Because of our ancient faith, we hold to the faith delivered to the saints once for all (Jude 4), but because we live in the modern world we have to be semper reformanda, “always reforming.” One thing Wax highlights, and boy I really wish more Americans heeded this, is the need to see ourselves connected to the global church. Then Wax produces a quote worth the price of the book: “The beating heart of orthodoxy is not a personal adventure of self-discovery, a patching together of our preferred versions of the Christian faith. It is the connection to saints in various cultures and climates, with different languages, and traditions, all united by a common confession in Jesus Christ, the king” (180).
Definitely one to add to your Christmas stocking or buy for someone who think that old time religion is stale and stagnant.
I learned what's in the last quote from reading Tom Oden. I look forward to reading this book!
It sounds like a very interesting reading. We certainly need, specially here in the United States, some correction. The situation here is very reprehensible.
However, my dear Dr. Bird, is there a book that suggests useful and proven ways to communicate the gospel of Jesus Christ in in terms that are understandable to a postmoderm-hyperindividualistic-sex-and-gender-infatuated “woke” society? Biblical terms like “sin” and “repentance” have no meaning in a society that emphasizes the realization of the self and individual freedom by doing whatever brings personal happiness and fulfillment and, therefore, there’s no such thing as sin nor need for repentance. I find that many books on evangelism are outdated in this sense.
People are lost while the church squabbles about politics, complementarian vs egalitarian views, and “tribal” theological views. Many Christians, if not most, can not even explain what the gospel is about!