Authentic Spirituality: Moving Beyond Mere Religion (review)

Authentic Spirituality: Moving Beyond Mere Religion. By Barry L. Callen. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2001. 271pp. $18.99.

This book gives an interesting insight into an important segment of the Evangelical theological and religious spectrum. While Barry Callen sustains many classic Evangelical themes such as an emphasis on evangelism and heart religion, unlike many other Evangelicals he affirms many riches of church tradition especially from 100-600 CE. This results in a spirituality that has more affinities than usual with Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran spirituality. Callen, Professor of Christian Studies at Anderson University and editor of the Wesleyan Theological Journal, comes to this stance out of his own Wesleyan Holiness tradition.

Barry Callen intends to move beyond "mere religion," which he understands as "a mechanical, secondhand, self-serving, or ritualistic approach to God" (15). True to his Holiness tradition, Callen says what is needed is genuine heart religion. This is not postmodern privatistic spirituality, but "authentic spirituality" enlivened by the Holy Spirit and grounded in the biblical testimony to Jesus Christ. Callen shares these basic convictions with many other Evangelical theologians. What distinguishes him is the way he calls upon some spiritual resources in other church traditions.

Callen's strategy is manifest in the book's organization. After an introduction and initial chapter that lay out his basic approach, chapters two through seven treat aspects of the Holy Spirit's ministry and resources of the Christian heritage, and the final chapter suggests practices for spiritual growth. His procedure in chapter two exemplifies the pattern of the middle chapters. He begins with biblical and historical examples of the chapter's theme—the Spirit's presence as a presence that summons. Then he turns to "The Wonderful Bible Word" of parakletos, to fill out the picture of the present Spirit who calls and comforts or encourages for the task. Next, in a section on "The Rich Christian Tradition," Callen begins with a discussion of the Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany seasons of the church year, continues with a brief consideration of the Evangelical tradition of spirituality and then by noting that the general structure of the Apostles' Creed reflects the great commission. The chapter concludes with an exhortation to welcome the Spirit's presence in all aspects of life. This same structure is employed also in chapters three through seven: a focus on an aspect of how the Spirit impacts human lives, grounding in a wonderful Bible Word, Christian tradition resources in the church year, one of six spiritual traditions, and the Apostles' Creed, and a final reflection on the theme.

In taking this approach, Barry Callen differs from many Evangelicals on several points. A significant number of Evangelicals are restorationist in their view of church tradition. That is, they tend to see themselves passing over the intervening corrupt years of church tradition and restoring the New Testament church. The classic expression of this is the statement by Thomas Campbell, the 19^th century American revivalist and co-founder of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), "Where the Scriptures speak, we speak; where the Scriptures are silent, we are silent." Classic creedal statements are avoided, and a confession of faith using the words of a classic creed is not a common feature of worship. Furthermore, many Evangelicals follow what James White calls the frontier worship tradition, which does not follow the church year or a lectionary. So when Callen encourages attention to the church year and the Apostles Creed as integral elements of Christian spiritual practice, he disagrees with a considerable portion of Evangelicalism. Callen says, "The prejudice against church tradition typical of Protestants goes too far. There is great value in the accumulated wisdom of past generations of Christians who have engaged the Bible with Spirit-led seriousness" (117).

This generous attitude toward church tradition carries over to a rather ecumenical approach to spirituality. Like Richard Foster, Callen identifies six streams of Christian spiritual tradition: Evangelical, contemplative...