Augustus H. Strong and the Dilemma of Historical Consciousness

by Grant Wacker

At the end of the nineteenth century, Augustus Strong emerged as one of the most influential church leaders and theologians in America. But, as Grant Wacker reveals in this masterful study, Strong also proved to be as tragic a figure as he was influential.

Strong was forced to choose between conceptual worlds that were, to him, equally incompatible and compelling. Strong wrestled with how the critical study of history, exemplified in the method commonly called "historicism" (or "historical consciousness"), can be reconciled with the many ahistorical assumptions embedded in the claims of traditional Christianity. Is the notion of human sinfulness, for example, simply an artifact of time and place? Or does it carry an underlying truth that endures, independent of the biblical context and interpretation of classic Christian thinkers? Strong acquired a historical awareness considered rare among conservative scholars. Despite cultivating this historical sensibility, he struggled with its implications. In the end, Wacker writes, Strong "clung to the conviction that the faith once delivered unto the fathers somehow stands above the vicissitudes of history, even as he became increasingly conscious that all things human are fragile creations of time and place." This edition, complete with a new preface, reveals why Strong remains relevant today. Strong, though a man of his time, illustrates the perennial conflict created by competing interests of theology and history, a conflict that still torments those who seek to be faithful to the obligations of both the church and academy.

Genres: History, Theology, Religion

233 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 15, 2018

About the author

Grant Wacker is a historian of religion in America. He is the Gilbert T. Rowe Professor Emeritus of Christian History at Duke Divinity School. He specializes in the history of Evangelicalism, Pentecostalism, World Missions and American Protestant thought. He is the author or co-editor of seven books, including Heaven Below: Early Pentecostals and American Culture (2001, Harvard University Press) and America’s Pastor: Billy Graham and the Shaping of a Nation (2014, Harvard University Press). From 1997 to 2004, Professor Wacker served as a senior editor of the quarterly journal, Church History: Studies in Christianity and Culture. He is past president of the Society for Pentecostal Studies and of the American Society of Church History, and a trustee of Fuller Theological Seminary. Wacker is a lay member of Orange United Methodist Church in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Reviews

[Alex Strohschein · Rating 3 out of 5]

Augustus H. Strong was one of the most preeminent Baptist theologians of his day but his name has faded from theological prominence. This is primarily a study of Strong's confrontation and evolving views on historicism and its relation to revelation and doctrine. There is very little biography included; readers are basically plunged into Strong's thought.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought I had placed this book on my (read) list ages ago, but it appears I did not. I read this book 13 or 14 years ago in college. At the time when I read it, I did not understand any of it and I missed the lecture on it. As a result, it remained a dark blob of misunderstanding in my mind for these many years. I vowed to reread it someday, but never did.

Instead, I decided to ask ChatGPT about it, to help me fill in the gaps and teach me what the book is all about. The AI succeeded in giving me a description of the book and elaborated on some explanations. I now understand why this book was written and why my professor had included it in the curriculum. We take the historical-critical interpretation of the Bible for granted these days, in fact I read a book by a Yale professor that criticized our overuse of it. Mr. Strong was a theologian who was at the forefront of the historical-critical method gaining popularity and prominence.

Augustus H. Strong was a native of Rochester, NY, the same city I went to university, and the class I took was about American Christian history and thought, so it makes extra sense to me why my professor choose this short book. In retrospect there was a lot I could have gained from a more careful reading of this book and better attendance in class.

I urge the reader of this review to use ChatGPT to help fill in the gaps of books like these where, once upon a time, you may have read it for class or out of curiosity, but do not have the time or ability (no longer have the book) to reread and explore the contents of the book. It has proved invaluable to me since there is only one other review of this book on this site and none on Amazon, one would have to search high and low for more information but ChatGPT makes it quick and easy.

[Christy Wareham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rarely do I encounter an academic who can be thoroughgoing, concise, compelling, and rigorous, while at the same time conveying the humanity of his subject with both honesty and grace. Grant Wacker does it here.

I came away deeply informed and personally moved. As a consciously deconstructed retired pastor influenced by process theology and philosophy, I'd fall closer into the modernist camp, as discussed in this volume, but I felt a genuine affinity with the struggle Wacker portrays. A very worthy and satisfying read.