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NOT
OF THIS WORLD
Last year ECONI commissioned Glenn Jordan to research the current attitudes,
beliefs and practices of evangelicals in Northern Ireland. During the
intervening period Glenn has interviewed 72 people who broadly identified
with the evangelical tradition and who were willing to comment on a variety
of themes ranging from evangelicals and politics to evangelical identity.
The outcome of this research will be published as a book under the title
Not of this World, available from ECONI and local bookstores from March
200I.
In the meantime, we
invited three disparate people to comment on a draft of Glenn’s work and
their reviews appear in this issue of Lion & Lamb. The three contributors.
Derek Tidball (Principal of London Bible College) believes ‘Jordan has written
a revealing and disturbing book’; Wallace Thompson from the Caleb Foundation
concluded that ‘the book is, in essence, a propaganda exercise’; Malachi
O’Doherty, a freelance journalist, found that Jordan’s research confirmed
his experience of evangelicalism, as a culture ‘constructed around a conviction
of being right’.
To give you a brief
taste of Glenn Jordan’s work we have published his ‘Epilogue’, in which
he offers some personal reflections based on his research. These include
the need for evangelicals to develop a deeper appreciation of their particular
history and of Christian tradition in general; the cultivation of a new
theology of community in order to help our understanding of the Bible; a
challenge for evangelicals in Northern Ireland to engagement with Catholics
in a more gracious and understanding manner.
In our major article,
Evangelicalism at its Best, Patrick Mitchel (Director of Studies at the
Irish Bible Institute) reflects on four attractive features of evangelicalism:
Historic Orthodoxy, Good News, Relevance and Radicalism. He argues that
evangelicalism is an empowering tradition which is ‘enormously adaptable
to changing social contexts’ and a liberating experience, because its ‘fluid
and open nature reflects something of the radical boundary-breaking message
of the New Testament’. In an important aside, Patrick seeks to differentiate
evangelicalism from fundamentalism, identifying the latter as a child of
the early twentieth century, born out of reaction to modernity. He argues
that the distinguishing differences between these traditions are discernible
in the issues of separatism, cultural criticism and social withdrawal.
Finally, we are delighted
to have a short article from David Hewitt, a founding member of ECONI, who
was recently appointed as our first President. In Truth to Live David appeals
for an evangelicalism that is distinctive in its faith values and commitment,
unapologetic in its fidelity to scripture, confident in the relevancy of
its witness yet open, humble and gracious in its engagement with the world.
I believe this is an
important edition of Lion & Lamb and that the issues weare considering are
significant for the future of evangelicals in Ireland. However, many of
you reading these pages may not necessarily identify with an evangelical
faith perspective and I hope the material does not seem too incestuous.
On the contrary, I trust the genuine process that ECONI is engaged in -
to help discern the nature of Christian witness in our divided society -
will be insightful to all who are concerned with the integrity of the church
and the healing of our wounds.
Derek
Poole - Editor
ECONI
WELCOMES the submission of unsolicited articles, but does not guarantee
publication, and manuscripts cannot be returned. Opinions expressed in
the magazine are those of the contributors and do not necessarily reflect
the views of ECONI. Permission to reprint any original article in Lion
& Lamb should be sought from the Editor.
Editor
Derek Poole
Asst Editor Ruth Hutchinson
Design Colin Maguire
Cover Spring Graphics
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