The Future of Faith
In The Future of Faith, legendary Harvard religion scholar Harvey Cox offers up a new interpretation of the history and future of religion. The author of When Jesus Came to Harvard and The Secular City, Cox explains why Christian beliefs and dogma are giving way to new grassroots movements rooted in social justice and spiritual experience.
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The Rise and Fall of Belief and the Coming Age of the SpiritThere is an essential change taking place in what it means to be “religious” today. As religious people shift their focus to ethical guidelines and spiritual disciplines—not doctrine—we are seeing a universal trend away from hierarchical, regional, patriarchal, and institutional religion. Now, legendary Harvard scholar Harvey Cox offers a new interpretation of the history and future of religion, revealing how doctrines and dogma are giving way to new grassroots movements based in community, social justice, and spiritual experience. The Future of Faith is a major statement and a hopeful vision from one of the most revered theologians today. Publishers Weekly What shape will the Christian faith take in the 21st century? In the midst of fast-paced global changes and in the face of an apparent resurgence of fundamentalism, can Christianity survive as a living and vital faith? With his typical brilliance and lively insight, Cox explores these and other questions in a dazzling blend of memoir, church history and theological commentary. He divides Christian history into three periods: the Age of Faith, during the first Christian centuries, when the earliest followers of Jesus lived in his Spirit, embraced his hope and followed him in the work he had begun; the Age of Belief, from the Council of Nicaea to the late 20th century, during which the church replaced faith in Jesus with dogma about him; and the Age of the Spirit, in which we're now living, in which Christians are rediscovering the awe and wonder of faith in the tremendous mystery of God. According to Cox, the return to the Spirit that so enlivened the Age of Faith is now enlivening a global Christianity, through movements like Pentecostalism and liberation theology, yearning for the dawning of God's reign of shalom. Cox remains our most thoughtful commentator on the religious scene, and his spirited portrait of our religious landscape challenges us to think in new ways about faith. (Oct.)
Ch. 1 An age of the spirit : the sacred in the secular? 1Ch. 2 Einstein's snuffed-out candles : awe, wonder, and faith 21Ch. 3 Ships already launched : the voyage from mystery to faith 37Ch. 4 The Road Runner and the Gospel of Thomas : what happens when it wasn't really that way? 55Ch. 5 The people of the Way : the devolution from faith to belief 73Ch. 6 "The bishop is your high priest and mighty king" : the rise of the clerical caste 85Ch. 7 Constantine's last supper : the invention of heresy 99Ch. 8 No lunch with the prefect : how to fix the papacy 113Ch. 9 Living in haunted houses : beyond the interfaith dialogue 127Ch. 10 Get them into the lifeboat : the pathos of fundamentalism 141Ch. 11 Meet Rocky, Maggie, and Barry : which Bible do the Bible believers believe? 155Ch. 12 Sant'Egidio and St. Praxedis : where the past meets the future 171Ch. 13 Blood on the altar of divine providence : liberation theology and the rebirth of faith 187Ch. 14 The last vomit of Satan and the persistent list makers : Pentecostals and the age of the spirit 199Ch. 15 The future of faith 213Acknowledgments 225Notes 227For further reading 233Index 235
\ Publishers WeeklyWhat shape will the Christian faith take in the 21st century? In the midst of fast-paced global changes and in the face of an apparent resurgence of fundamentalism, can Christianity survive as a living and vital faith? With his typical brilliance and lively insight, Cox explores these and other questions in a dazzling blend of memoir, church history and theological commentary. He divides Christian history into three periods: the Age of Faith, during the first Christian centuries, when the earliest followers of Jesus lived in his Spirit, embraced his hope and followed him in the work he had begun; the Age of Belief, from the Council of Nicaea to the late 20th century, during which the church replaced faith in Jesus with dogma about him; and the Age of the Spirit, in which we're now living, in which Christians are rediscovering the awe and wonder of faith in the tremendous mystery of God. According to Cox, the return to the Spirit that so enlivened the Age of Faith is now enlivening a global Christianity, through movements like Pentecostalism and liberation theology, yearning for the dawning of God's reign of shalom. Cox remains our most thoughtful commentator on the religious scene, and his spirited portrait of our religious landscape challenges us to think in new ways about faith. (Oct.)\ \ \ \ \ Kirkus ReviewsCelebrated religious scholar Cox (Divinity/Harvard Univ.; When Jesus Came to Harvard: Making Moral Choices Today, 2004, etc.) argues that we are witnessing the dawn of a third epoch in Christian history. First came the Age of Faith, a time of emphasis on the message of Jesus, lasting from his crucifixion to Constantine's decision to make Christianity the religion of the Roman Empire. Next came the Age of Belief, a long period marked by theological hegemonies and emphasis on creeds and theological points of view. Only in recent decades has this longstanding era begun to crumble against the insurgent Age of the Spirit, which is in many ways like the original Age of Faith. Cox examines the present death knells of two movements he describes as detrimental to people of faith: hierarchical theology, embodied mainly by the Catholic Church, and fundamentalism. These two movements, argues the author, stymie both faith and the true message of Jesus. Cox describes creed-making as a "toxin"; his disdain for orthodox theology is unmasked. As for the people, Cox attempts to show empathy toward Catholics, fundamentalists and even his own mid-20th-century divinity-school professors. This empathy, however, comes across as patronizing and condescending, opening him up to the "ivory tower" stereotype. Cox's work is intriguing, and there is certainly truth in his observations about global Christianity and the rise of Pentecostalism and liberation theology. The author is also an entertaining writer who has known seemingly every major religious figure in recent history, including three popes and figures ranging from Jerry Falwell to Gustavo Gutierrez. However, his black-and-white characterizations ofwide-ranging movements leave his arguments wide open for attack. A panoramic view through myopic eyes. Boston/Harvard publicity and events\ \ \ Boston Globe"With its overarching themes, Cox’s new book can be viewed as the culmination of his life’s scholarship."\ \ \ \ \ Karen Armstrong"At this crucial turning point in history, Harvey Cox reminds us of essential religious values and imperatives . . . A timely and prophetic book"\ \ \ \ \ Stephen Prothero"For the last four decades, Harvey Cox has been the leading trend spotter in American religion."\ \ \ \ \ Richard Mouw"The Future of Faith is insightful, provocative, and inspiring—I even found myself uttering a hearty evangelical "Amen" at many points!"\ \ \ \ \ Brian McLaren"This important book has not only helped me understand the past, present, and future of this amazing phenomenon called Christianity ... it has also motivated me to keep working to help make actual the possible future Cox envisions."\ \ \ \ \ Deepak Chopra"Harvey Cox has been a voice of both reason and faith in our cynical times. Now, he offers a fresh vision for the resurrection of a new global Christianity that will restore our faith both in ourselves and the divine."\ \ \ \ \ Diana Butler Bass"The Future of Faith is a tour de force. As passionate and challenging as his classic, The Secular City, Cox’s new book invites the faithful, the skeptical, and the fearful into a spirit-filled vision of Christianity that can renew a hurting world."\ \
