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Church in Frenzy
Chronicles the extremes to which some of the clergy are going to attract new worshippers, examines the recent changes which have helped to produce confusion in the church, and predicts future trends in American Christianity
146 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 1980
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July 17, 2024
AN EPISCOPALIAN RECTOR LOOKS AT THE MODERN CHURCH (circa 1980)_
At the time this book was written in 1980, the Reverend Canon William V. Rauscher was an Episcopal rector in the New Jersey diocese; he is interested in spiritual phenomena and was also a founding member of the Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship (see his book, 'The Spiritual Frontier'), and author of 'The Case Against Suicide,' 'Pleasant Nightmares - Dr. Neff and his Madhouse of Mystery,' etc.
He wrote in the Introduction, "This book is not considered to be an apologia for the church. It is not a heavy scholarly dissertation designed to carry forward an esoteric theological argument... My readers are simply asked to accept honest reporting in order that they, as intelligent individuals, may view the whole picture of the church today in a comprehensive way... one of the things I wish to show in this book: How one is led by the example and direction of a church may well determine his destiny. What is the church in our day?"
While acknowledging that "I am open to the thought of all possible kinds of paranormal manifestations," he ridicules the "Holy Tortilla" face that a housewife saw on a tortilla prepared for her husband in New Mexico. (Pg. 21-22) He observes that people "are no longer paying attention to authority and certainly not to the authority of the church. They admire Pope John Paul II, wait in long lines to see him, and then reject his authority." (Pg. 29) He later notes, "So each clergyman will do 'his thing,' and each will be convinced of a different approach, all one in Christ but divided in form and structure. A complete parochialism pervades the church." (Pg. 93)
He concludes on the note, "Whether or not the institutional church is to survive is really the question... Future church may well be unlike anything we can imagine at this moment. Until then, we have only the present church structures with which to work and in which to live and serve. Should we not make them as respectable and inwardly palatable as possible? Should we not look to our tradition to give us guidance into the future?" (Pg. 144)
While Rauscher's examples are now "dated," he nevertheless poses some questions that are still of contemporary relevance.
At the time this book was written in 1980, the Reverend Canon William V. Rauscher was an Episcopal rector in the New Jersey diocese; he is interested in spiritual phenomena and was also a founding member of the Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship (see his book, 'The Spiritual Frontier'), and author of 'The Case Against Suicide,' 'Pleasant Nightmares - Dr. Neff and his Madhouse of Mystery,' etc.
He wrote in the Introduction, "This book is not considered to be an apologia for the church. It is not a heavy scholarly dissertation designed to carry forward an esoteric theological argument... My readers are simply asked to accept honest reporting in order that they, as intelligent individuals, may view the whole picture of the church today in a comprehensive way... one of the things I wish to show in this book: How one is led by the example and direction of a church may well determine his destiny. What is the church in our day?"
While acknowledging that "I am open to the thought of all possible kinds of paranormal manifestations," he ridicules the "Holy Tortilla" face that a housewife saw on a tortilla prepared for her husband in New Mexico. (Pg. 21-22) He observes that people "are no longer paying attention to authority and certainly not to the authority of the church. They admire Pope John Paul II, wait in long lines to see him, and then reject his authority." (Pg. 29) He later notes, "So each clergyman will do 'his thing,' and each will be convinced of a different approach, all one in Christ but divided in form and structure. A complete parochialism pervades the church." (Pg. 93)
He concludes on the note, "Whether or not the institutional church is to survive is really the question... Future church may well be unlike anything we can imagine at this moment. Until then, we have only the present church structures with which to work and in which to live and serve. Should we not make them as respectable and inwardly palatable as possible? Should we not look to our tradition to give us guidance into the future?" (Pg. 144)
While Rauscher's examples are now "dated," he nevertheless poses some questions that are still of contemporary relevance.
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