A Review of C. Vaughn Doner’s book “The Late Great Evangelical Church”
Posted by Anthony on October 17, 2007
I have in hand C. Vaughn Doner’s book “The Late Great Evangelical Church: How an Age-Old Heresy is Killing the Modern-Day Church and How it Can still be Saved.” It is set to be released soon, but you can pre-order it through their website and it is listed on Amazon.com: The Late Great Evangelical Church
Doner aims to diagnose the ailments of the Evangelical church and comes to the conclusion that Gnosticism is the chief culprit. Gnosticism was repudiated by the early church but Doner argues that it was actually re-introduced by many church fathers via Plato and Philo and others. Gnosticism continued to arise under different guises and often succeeded because of its ability to adapt and employ arguments based on the Christian Scriptures, thus making the Christian Church itself the primary source for new Gnostics.
Tracing this pattern, Doner finds that it leads to a pack of Catholic mystics who in turn influence and infect early founders of the Evangelical church such as John Wesley before given real life under Charles Finney and D.L. Moody, and then generating real power when armed with the Dispensationalist teachings promulgated by Scofield’s Reference Bible which came out in 1909. Making the matters worse, the Evangelical churches abandoned the heritage handed down by the Apostles through the church fathers and set aside the principles of Calvin and Luther which aimed to reform the catholic (universal) church and do so while recognizing the weight of the historic orthodox Church.
The result, Doner argues, is an America filled with Christians who do not act like Christians, at least and especially outside the homes and the local church building. After all, Gnosticism holds a dualistic view of the world where matter is evil and our quest is to set aside such inferior entrapments and pursue true reality, the spiritual. Why try to engage society when you think it is all crude and inferior, anyway? Doner argues that this attitude also led to an emphasis on nothing more than individual salvation as being the goal of church activity. The net result is Christians who don”t know anything about their historic roots (orthodox or heretical) who focus only on their own personal piety (thou shalt not drink, smoke, or dance) who in the American tradition are contemptuous about ecclesiastical authorities such as the clergy or scholars and who do very little to affect society, to “disciple all nations.”
That is the basic argument. Doner’s book is well-researched and there are plenty of references. Doner makes it clear that he himself shared this background and was actually a leader of the Evangelical church operating on the same principles he is now rejecting. Before I go on to add some of my own reactions to his book, let me state in no uncertain terms that this is a book that should be read by millions. If you are a Fundamentalist Dispensationalist you will not like this book, but you should read it. Those from traditions that remain more in line with Calvin and Luther will find it intriguing to say the least. I would say that even Roman Catholics would be helped.
This review goes on for a ways. Read on.
