Professional Documents
Culture Documents
BY
DAVID W. RHODES
FLORENCE, SC
INTRODUCTION ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1
CONCLUSION --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5
BIBLIOGRAPHY ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 6
iii
INTRODUCTION
students with theological critique of contemporary culture for over a decade. God in the
Wasteland (1994) is the second book in a series which also includes No Place for Truth (1993),
Losing our Virtue (1998) and Above All Earthly Powers (2006). All are centered on the loss of
philosophical, and theological sources. Wells provides the cultural factors that have diminished
the place and importance of our basic theology in the church. His analysis examines the collapse
of theology in the church and in modern culture, raising profound questions about the future of
conservative Protestant faith. Wells takes us through various steps of action that are required to
BRIEF SUMMARY
changed our world. This revolution, coupled with modernization, has brought about radical
changes in every aspect of our political and economic external world with technology,
capitalism, urbanization, and telecommunications. Our inner worlds have also seen
unprecedented change with traditional values, expectations, and meanings. This revolution is in
the profoundest sense spiritual. It is not just the outer fabric of our life, but rather the inner core
of our being that has changed.1 What is most alarming is this change is driven by common,
ordinary people that go quietly about their business in a very innocent manner.2 These very
1
David F. Wells, God in the Wasteland: The Reality of Truth in a World of Fading Dreams (Grand Rapids, MI:
Eerdmans, 1994), 6.
2
Ibid., 7.
1
people and the Christian faith in general should be the ones immune from the revolution, yet they
In the midst of this “Cultural Revolution”, the Christian Church has lost its footing.
Specifically, Wells contends, evangelicalism has lost its theological foundation, seeking "cultural
acceptability by emptying itself of serious thought, serious theology, serious worship, and
serious practice in the larger culture".3 The fundamental problem in the evangelical world finds
the consequence of these compromises has been to render God inconsequential, in our lives.
Wells further tells us, "Love of God and love of the world are in competition with each other,
and we have to understand this competition in order to pinpoint how our love for God has
Simply stated, the reason Christians are losing our souls is because we have lost God. We
have not lost our belief in God, but simply He is no longer of consequence to our belief. Wells
maintains the doctrine is believed, defended, affirmed liturgically, and in every other way to be
inviolable—but it no longer has the power to shape and summon that it has had in previous
ages". God has become immaterial or weightless as Wells tells us. 5 The specific reasons for this
“weightlessness” are varied and complex, but in general can be summed up to show the church
has lost transcendence truth and the goodness of God.6 Rejecting the worldly call to modernity,
Wells insists we must recover a commitment to objective truth, rightly apprehending what's real.
We must dive into deep waters to find truth. As P.T. Forsyth said, "The lazy cry of simplicity is a
great danger".7 Finally, Wells offers us a simple directive for survival in this modern world by
having a deep understanding of God's “otherness”. Specifically, "His transcendent holiness and
3
Ibid., 27.
4
Ibid., 30.
5
Ibid., 88-89.
6
Ibid., 117.
7
Ibid., 118.
2
knowledge enable us to stand outside the charms of modernity in order to act morally within it."8
Wells central theme in God in the Wasteland is very clear in that he objects to any
homogenizing of the Christian faith with modern worldly culture. The Christian faith theme
centers on the doctrine of God's transcendence and immanence and is approached from a Biblical
perspective. Throughout the book, Wells pleads with his audience to return to basic Biblical
truths and perspectives that have been “sold out” and tarnished by the worldliness that is
modernity.
Considerable time and attention is given to substantiating his position that modernity is
the worldliness of present culture. Wells explains that "worldliness" is "the way in which our
collective life in society (and the culture that goes with it) is organized around the self in
substitution for God."9 Modernity and post-modernity are both "worldly" as they displace our
theocentric knowledge with anthropocentric knowledge. This movement has largely made man
“shallow” and drives us to fill the void of modernity by internal “self” means instead of
theological means. This fundamental shift has created any interesting dynamic in that while we
A prime example of this can be seen in today’s “modern methods” with the church
marketing itself to consumers. These methods have dramatically changed the church’s ethos and
structure of evangelism. The consequence of which has been that church growth is reduced to a
matter of simply knowing how to market to the consumer. These non-Biblical, anthropocentric
8
Ibid., 151.
9
Ibid., 40.
10
Robert K. Johnston, "God In the Wasteland: The Reality of Truth In a World of Fading Dreams," Journal of
the American Academy of Religion 63 no 4 (Winter 1995): 874.
3
methods lead to devastating effects on our understanding and experience of God.11 The church
itself then becomes “worldly” as techniques and methods take priority over theology to become
“successful” by today’s modern definition. This worldliness then separates us from God and we
then position Him into the state Wells calls “weightlessness”. 12 The discussion and platform of
weightlessness demonstrates this book is fundamentally theologically based and uses many
One of the most important discussion topics concerns the subject of God's transcendent
knowledge and holiness. He maintains that holiness is what fundamentally defines the character
of God and that love is an expression of it. This is in opposition to the Christians of modernity
who "seem to think that God is fundamentally if not exclusively love--and hence that talk of
divine holiness is distracting or intrusive."13 Our modernistic society has too easily turned to a
God of “love only”, eliminating God’s consequences for our sins. "Without this holiness of God,
sin has no meaning and grace has no point, for it is God's holiness that gives to the one its
the modern Church, God’s word has become silent or worse, misused. Without the divine
revelation of Scripture, we have little to no means of combating the shallowness that modernity
ultimately brings. Society will not be released from the modern mind's "refusal to allow external
knowledge. 15 Wells tells us that we must recover these two basic elements of God's
transcendence—God’s holiness and God’s knowledge. Until the tables are reversed on these
11
Ibid., 61-62
12
Ibid., 89.
13
Ibid., 135.
14
Ibid., 144.
15
Ibid., 111.
4
elements, we will continue to conform to the sinful nature of the modern world. "His
transcendent holiness and knowledge enable us to stand outside the charms of modernity in order
Wells consistent and persistent solutions throughout the book point us to his ultimate goal
of returning God and his Word to the epicenter of the Church and overall Christian life via
CONCLUSION
In this book, Wells provides the reader with ample evidence and illustration to grasp the
seriousness of this dilemma that is so often overlooked and glossed over in our modern society.
This book challenges one to think seriously about the issues and possible solutions available. The
Church has clearly gone too far in compromising doctrine and objective truth to gain “market
share” by the way of attendance. The Church finds itself in a culture that is now predominantly
secular due to the use of these modern methods. Using even more modern methods will only
compound the problem. Wells solution for prescribing a renewed appreciation for and actual
application of God's holiness and the authority of his Word would appear to provide the best
scenario for success. The evangelical community needs to give serious thought and direction as
to how we put these solutions into practical application without further exacerbating the
fundamental issue. In my opinion, a radical approach from a new breed of seminarians that put
Biblical authority back into actual practice on a broad scale will be required to win the daunting
war.
16
Ibid., 151.
5
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bolt, John. "God In the Wasteland: The Reality of Truth In a World of Fading Dreams."
Theology Today 52 no 4 (January 1996): 872-875.
6
Johnston, Robert K. "God In the Wasteland: The Reality of Truth In a World of Fading Dreams."
Journal of the American Academy of Religion 63 no 4 (Winter 1995): 540-546.
Wells, David F. God in the Wasteland: The Reality of Truth in a World of Fading Dreams,
Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1994.
Zylstra, Carl E. "God in the wasteland: the reality of truth in a world of fading dreams."
Homiletic 20, no. 2 (1995): 52-52.