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| Above All Earthly Pow'rs: Christ in a Postmodern World | 
 enlarge | Author: David F. Wells
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
Category: Book
List Price: $18.00
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Avg. Customer Rating:  19 reviews
Sales Rank: 92776
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 339
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.8 x 6 x 0.2
ISBN: 0802824552
Dewey Decimal Number: 261.0973
EAN: 9780802824554
ASIN: 0802824552
Publication Date: September 15, 2005
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Product Description
In our postmodern world, every view has a place at the table but none has the final say. How should the church confess Christ in todays cultural context? Above All Earthly Powrs, the fourth and final volume of the series that began in 1993 with No Place for Truth, portrays the West in all its complexity, brilliance, and emptiness. As David F. Wells masterfully depicts it, the postmodern ethos of the West is relativistic, individualistic, therapeutic, and yet remarkably spiritual. Wells shows how this postmodern ethos has incorporated into itself the new religious and cultural relativism, the fear and confusion, that began with the last centurys waves of immigration and have continued apace in recent decades. Wellss book culminates in a critique of contemporary evangelicalism aimed at both unsettling and reinvigorating readers. Churches that market themselves as relevant and palatable to consumption-oriented postmoderns are indeed swelling in size. But they are doing so, Wells contends, at the expense of the truth of the gospel. By placing a premium on marketing rather than truth, the evangelical church is in danger of trading authentic engagement with culture for worldly success. Welding extensive cultural analysis with serious theology, Above All Earthly Powrs issues a prophetic call that the evangelical church cannot afford to ignore.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 14 more reviews...
 Insightful Analysis of Our Culture October 29, 2008
This book is the fourth in a series by Wells examining culture from a theological perspective. I read No Place for Truth a decade ago and have not yet read the other two books, so I am unaware of any continuity between the works. Standing on its own, Above All Earthly Pow'rs is a work worthy of serious attention and study. Wells packs a lot of punch into 300 pages.
The book opens with a remembrance of the cultural mood following 9-11-01, a time when the word "evil" surprisingly re-emerged into our vocabulary and a time when the church seemed largely impotent due, as Wells says, to a "loss of spiritual gravitas" to offer any compelling answers in the midst of tragedy. Wells' chief contention in the book is that the American church faces the dual challenge of dealing with massive shifts from modernity to postmodernity and from large-scale cultural unity to great diversity.
Wells then examines the vestiges of modernity which still form a large part of our national (and Christian) identity: consumerism, technology, and the marginalization of God top the list. In the next chapter, Wells explores how Postmodernism seeks to throw off the limitations of modernism. Chapter three details the way in which postmodern thought has made the church just one more special interest group among many and not a decisive prophetic voice in the culture. Chapter four speaks of the move toward spirituality over religion in our culture and how the spiritual quest is ultimately a self-centered quest. Chapter five speaks of the meaninglessness and hopelessness that come in the postmodern worldview and how the gospel can provide real hope. Chapter 6 shows some of the theological shakiness (open theism) that has come with the ascension of postmodernism and contrasts it with the biblical view of the sovereignty of God. Chapter seven then brings all of the previous material together in a penetrating analysis of how the church has been shaped by the culture rather than being an agent for change in the world. Wells does some of his best work as he considers the shortcomings of the "seeker-driven" approach. Rather than demonizing those involved, he simply points out that their assumptions are culturally-based rather than gospel-driven. The final chapter sounds a note of hope for the future but does not lay out many specifics for the church on how to engage the postmodern world. Maybe another Wells book addresses this or maybe a future one will. A very worthwhile read.
 Thought Provoking... January 25, 2008
"There has been a long trail of contextualized theologies, written over the last half century, in which the external dimension virtually replaces the internal, cultural interests eclipse biblical norms, and the result has been a kind of compromise, trendiness, and manipulation which ends up promoting worldly agendas, be they political, social, ideological, or personal, in the place of biblical truth." (6-7)
The Argument of the Book
Wells begins by explaining that `creating a new self' is championed in culture. This theme is developed as the essence of the postmodern rebellion, where a reconfiguration of life is deemed a necessity.
The next portion of the book articulates that the melting pot of cultures has contributed to a lack of group history, and an unhealthy focus on our own individualistic historie.
With these developments there has been a sense of metaphysical loneliness. Which Wells argues has driven the search for new consciousness.
The next three sections of the book are devoted to themes of Christ in a spiritual, meaningless, and decentered world, where man has been left to find substitutes for meaning to fill the void of emptiness.
Wells concludes that the church has bought this man-centered mentality and has become entertainment driven. In the scramble for success the church is moving away from truth, doctrine, and discipline.
Tracing the Argument
What the enlightenment thinkers dreamed of has become reality in postmodernity. God has been pushed to the margins, and the `improvement' of man has become the measure of progress in society. This paradigm shift has given birth to the lies of postmodernity and consumerism, which have crept into the church. The mission of many churches has become to `satisfy mans individualistic needs'. The free market of religion has encouraged this change by the fear of boredom. In the scramble for success, the church has progressively moved away from truth, doctrine, and discipline. Human progress and self fulfillment have become society's goals. Unless the church stands for biblical truth it will strip itself from all that make it distinctive and become an irrelevant, unauthentic social club.
Thoughts on the Argument
David Wells argument is well thought out and articulated. The thesis of this work is well illustrated throughout the book with examples from the veins of history, philosophy, and sociology. The reasons behind Wells prophetic warnings to the church are clearly stated and to the point, but often less specific than desired. Overarching statements about the condition of the church sometimes fail to give clear examples of particular instances. In some portions it seems that certain themes and statements appear too often. In short the weakness of this work can be defined as elusiveness when it comes to particular examples and the authors' tendency to become redundant. Overall, Wells brilliantly pens a poignant theological/philosophical warning call to the evangelical church under the influence of postmodernity.
Cultural Phenomenon Of Non-Christ November 20, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
'Wells unabashedly locates American postmodernism's roots in the last century's wave of immigration...' quoted from the Editorial Review. The contemporary Church in the Western World is undergoing systemic change (from the inside) and experiencing systematic challenges (from the outside) - known as culture wars, leading to what Wells inevitably coins 'the future becomes the constant preoccupation'. pg 27
The loss of religious influence in the Courts, education, cultural entities and even some para-church organizations, has sought to deprive Christians from defending their specific worldview. This attack on our faith is the latest attempt at closing the evangelical 'lion's mouth'.
In the State-sanctioned securing and enforcing of human rights, there has been a concurrent rejection of biblical truth. The emphasis has fallen on equality to mean tolerance, which means that all have an equal claim to truth. That means this dominant worldview seeks direct and confrontational engagement with the exclusivity of Christ and His truth-claims, thru a hostile society, which will not be subjected to any form of authority or truth-speech - from a confessing Church.
Wells enters the scene with clear intent. He engages back. Wells' argument for the objective existence of God is extremely salutary and provides valuable gumption to the confessing Church's ability to stand firm against the plural waves of cultural and sociological change distinct to our times.
'This (Enlightenment) understanding was not so much a worldview as an ideology. Ideologies, we might say, are worldviews with an attitude. The intent of every ideology is to control. Because they leave only one way out, the become coercive. At the same time, ideologies create a sense of inevitability...they produce passivity in people because what is inevitable cannot be resisted.' pg 25
'(The Enlightenment) both underestimated the magnitude of the problems and overestimated the capacity of human nature to remedy them.' pg 31
'Its unintended consequence is 'the exclusion of God, grace, and morality from contemporary public life'...it excludes, among other things, a place for wisdom in life, that way of knowing which takes its bearings on the character and revelation of God, brings that understanding to life in all of its dignity and wretchedness, and issues in principled, good judgments.' pg 37
'...the absence of serious engagement with the truth of God and the God of that truth...is fearful idolatry and the immediate judgment visited upon us is that our culture has become shallow, cheap and vulgar. And far from challenging this emptiness and futility, evangelical churches have too often been its exemplars, pitching their 'product' to 'consumers' and emptying themselves of every vestige of spiritual gravitas.' pg 47
'The consequence is that we have come to believe that the 'self' retains its access to the sacred, an access not ruptured by sin.' pg 165
A Tour de Force June 3, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Above All Earthly Pow'rs takes the reader on a panoramic tour of contemporary Evangelicalism. Along the way, David F. Wells touches on numerous subjects of considerable importance. Wells' comments are insightful and he leaves the reader little doubt as to where he stands on various issues, and references some of the very best works available for further study.
This work is a rather remarkable investigation that traverses a number of disciplines including: Biblical & Systematic Theology, Philosophy, History, Sociology, Missiology and Practical Theology. New Testament Theology, Systematics, and Philosophy are utilized with great skill, and history and sociology provide the context for much of what is written. These disciplines in turn, are brought to bear upon topics such as Postmodernism, the Seeker-Sensitive Movement, and the Emergent Church. Theological issues include the Atonement, Open Theism, the New Perspective, and Eschatology.
Wells points out many of the errors prevalent in contemporary Evangelicalism, but ends the book with hope and helpful suggestions for the road ahead. The final chapter is entitled The Day of New Beginnings, and closes with these words:
It is only ours to see the victory of Christ on the Cross being realized afresh in the actual circumstances of our time. That will happen when the church humbles itself afresh, seeks the power and cleansing of God, and asks to have its vision renewed of the victory of Christ and to see, once again, his greatness. So may it be!
One other benefit of this book is the modeling of an engaging writing style filled with substance and humor.
This book should be compulsory reading for everyone who aspires to Christian leadership. The Evangelical world owes Dr. Wells a word of thanks for his labors on behalf of Christ and His church.
A Timely And Important Warning May 9, 2007
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
Other reviewers have indicated how important & difficult this book is to read. It is dense and requires sustained thought. But the insights in this book are absolutely essential to understanding how dramatically, comprehensively and severly Evangelical Christianity has been compromised or is being compromised in the post-modern cultural context.
I will focus on what I consider to be the hinge-point of the book (pg. 123). Wells states... "..the current evangelical disposition to shuck off its cognitive structures and minimize the practical place of revealed truth in the life of the Church means that it has brought itself to the edge of a precipice. It is a precipice precisely because as evangelical faith has chosen to minimize itself in these way ....it is losing what makes it distinctive from all of the other postmodern spiritualities."
There you have the complexity of thought, density of writing and insights which characterize the entire work. You also have the major premise. The post-modern world is a reversion to pagan spiritualities at the same time it is distancing itself from religion (you have to think about that). These spiritualities manifest themselves in an accumulating, individual, syncretic attitude toward life that is distant from any external authority. The Evangelical Church, in seeking to engage this culture, is too often joining it in a fundamental manner and by doing so, is in almost certain danger of losing the actual gospel that Jesus was so adamant to proclaim (the precipice).
This book needs to be widely read and digested by Christians throughout the world. It is only by recognizing the threat that it can be resisted and yet, all too often, Evangelical zeal has blindly charged on, perhaps, already, into the chasm. Give yourself time to read it and work on following the thought. It is worth the effort. In fact, it is perhaps absolutely necessary that it be done.
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