Nothing New Under the Sun

Emergence Christianity
Phyllis Tickle Book

Summary: Welcome to the story that's still being written . . .Whatever else one might say about Emergence Christianity, one must agree it is shifting and reconfiguring itself in such a prodigious way as to defy any final assessments or absolute pronouncements. Yet in Emergence Christianity, Phyllis Tickle gathers the tangled threads of history and weaves the story of this fascinating movement into a beautiful and understandable whole.Through her careful study and culture-watching, Tickle invites you to join this investigation and conversation as an open-minded explorer. You will discover fascinating insights into the concerns, organizational patterns, theology, and most pressing questions facing the church today. And you'll get a tantalizing glimpse of the future.


Review: There is a number of confusion, by the author, related to the many ideas stimulated in this book. To say one does not have a dogma is a dogma. This was one of many themes and contradictions in this book. That emergence as a new movement or isolated is thin since Universalists are not that different in their beliefs, i.e., everyone’s beliefs are equal to the extent that they need them to be. That is relativism at its best, despite being popular. The only ‘new’ idea they have is a building. However, there is a ministry named ‘church without walls’ so I am going to have to say again there is nothing new under the sun. I would like to agree that the author restrained from projecting her own beliefs into the book, but again there was little mistaking that she was a follower of this. I once heard it said you can be very sincere, but sincerity does not make one right and this sums up the entire book. I am afraid that even her account or understanding of the Reformation was poor and limited. I am sorry to say that as the book continued many of the ideas or rhetoric in the book was silly. There is no other way to explain so many of the contradictions. The author brings up 2/3rd into the book that there has never been a split in Emergence and yet quickly contradicts this by explaining the difference now between Emergence Christianity and Emerging Christianity and how they are no longer interchangeable titles. That I made it through this book was a chore. The best part of the book was that it ended.

I would like to thank Net Galley and Baker Books for allowing me to read and review this book in return for a free copy and I was never asked to write a favorable review by anyone.