Book Review.
Foster,
Richard J. Streams Of Living Water. Celebrating the great traditions of Christian
faith. Harper San Francisco. 1998
R.J.F.-
author- Celebration of Discipline and Prayer.
Gold Medallion Award. Founder of
Renovare.
Comment. Henry.
There is
some similarity between this resource and the previous on I did. The last one was about sixteen spiritual
practices of Christianity. This one is
about six traditions; contemplative, holiness, charismatic, social justice,
evangelical, and incarnational. Each
presentation (chapter) begins with a ‘timeline’ going from the time of Christ
with whom each tradition began up to the present. Examples are given of individuals and/or
organizations that were paramount in the development of each tradition.
The first
tradition that is examined is the “Contemplation Tradition” (23). Mark 6:31.
Antoney of Egypt the founder of the Fathers and Mothers of the 4th
century was an early practitioner of this tradition. John the Beloved is a biblical example of one
who practiced contemplation. “Put
simply, the contemplative life is the steady gaze of the soul upon the God who
loves us.” (49)
The story of
Phoebe Palmer (1807-1874) is presented as an example of the “Holiness Tradition”
(59) James the acknowledged leader of the church at Jerusalem is a biblical
example. His epistle is about “the source
of action, the heart of virtue.” (70)
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was an eloquent example and proponent of holiness
living. Holiness is not the result of
action but a virtue that results in action.
Functioning
together with the Holiness Tradition is the “Charismatic Tradition”. (99) St. Francis of Assisi practiced this
tradition. The apostle Paul is a
biblical example. A contemporary example
of people practicing this tradition are those who were impacted by the “Azusa
Street Revival”.
Mention of
the “Social Justice Tradition” (135) is made in Amos %:24, “Let justice roll
down like waters”. The anti-slavery
movement is an example of this happening at a national level. The second part
of the ‘great commandment’, Love your neighbor as yourself, is a manifesto of
this tradition. It can happen at a personal, interpersonal, and international
level. Justice is motivated by “a life
committed to compassion.” (182)
The life of
Augustine illustrates the “Evangelical Tradition”. (197) Peter is a biblical example. Our contemporary example would be Billy
Graham. The tradition is defined as “the
proclamation of the gospel, the centrality of the Scripture, and the
confessional witness”. (219)
Finally we
come to the “Incarnational Tradition”. (237)
It “concerns itself with the relationship between spirit and
matter. In short, God is manifest to us
through material means.” (260)
“Appendix A”
(275-301) gives an interesting overview of some critical turning points in
church history as reflected by the Constantine era, the Roman Catholic Church,
the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Protestant Church.
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