Stuart Piggin gets it.
I bumped into him in Sydney last week and picked up a copy of his history of Australian evangelicalism, Spirit of a Nation.
He contends that true evangelicalism is experiential, Biblicist, and activist. It is concerned with the Spirit, the Word, and the world. It aims to produce right-heartedness (orthokardia), right thinking (orthodoxy), and right action (orthopraxis). It calls for the consecration of heart, head, and hand.
Where these three concerns were held together in synthesis, evangelicalism was strong in itself and made a significant contribution to the shaping of Australian society and culture. But where one was promoted to the neglect of the the other two, or even two at the expense of the third, the movement lacked vitality and was even divided against itself.
His history of Australian evangelicalism is centred around the idea that evangelicalism is best understood, not as a theology, a party, or an ideology, but as a movement concerned with three major elements—Spirit, Word and world—and where these three synthesised the movement is strong, and when they are separated the movement is weak.
2 Comments
Ok Steve, I can’t find that book in the States, even used. What would it take to get a copy?
This sounds incredibly fascinating!
David
There is always a way. Here are some options:
1. The book has been released under another title: Evangelical Christianity in Australia: Spirit, Word and World.
You can purchase a copy second hand for just $197.
2. Offer me $195 for my copy.
3. Pray.
4. I can put you in touch with Stuart Piggin and you could help him re-publish. It’s a great book, although the market is pretty small here in Oz.
5. Track down the copy I left on a Qantas flight.
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[...] world. You’ll find movements there that are concerned with three major elements—Spirit, Word and world. They don’t just confront reality, they shape [...]
[...] keep coming back to Stuart Piggin’s challenge to hold together the evangelical synthesis of Word, Spirit and [...]