Tickle, who spent a good majority of her life as an editor for a popular trade journal, would be the first to claim that she is one with no technical schooling on the subject of the Great Emergence, but is more considered a public intellectual. Despite her lack of formal training, she is a great student of religion and this book is beneficial to all who are wondering where the paths of religion are heading next. Tickle notes that throughout her book, she will be discussing what the Great Emergence actually is, how it came to be, as well as where it is going.
Chapter one begins by going into detail about where religion is situated in time. She uses the analogy of being in the middle of a “Rummage sale” that the Church goes through about every 500 years. This chapter is mostly spent tracing the roots of Christianity in 500 year chunks, in order to show how we have arrived at where we are today.
In Chapter two, Tickle boldly states that “Religion is a social construct as well as an individual or private way of being and understanding” (Loc. 367-372). She maintains that religion is a tether that allows us freedom and secures us to something that is larger than ourselves. She goes deeper into this analogy, breaking down all the portions of the tether, and how they relate to society, coming to the conclusion that while we are in the middle of a religious upheaval, we are also amidst a time of social change as well.
The primary focus of Chapter three is the Great Reformation and how we should see that as a prequel to Emergence, mostly due to the fact that is was the closest “rummage sale” to our own current history. One of the interesting things the reformation posed to its contextual society was the discussion on authority and where it comes from. This question came about because of the rise of multiple Pope’s all vying for the supreme Pontiff position. If all Pope’s in question believed they were “God’s elect”, who indeed was the authority? In reaction to this discussion, the foundational “Priesthood of all believers” came to be from Luther and the Reformers.
Chapter four really begins to focus down onto the current context within the 20th century. Here, Tickle discusses the role of Darwin, as well as Faraday, and how they contributed to the Great Emergence. She also highlights the use of technological advances within the societal structure and how those brought about widespread communication. With the invention of the telegraph and television, great thinkers were able to make their ideas and beliefs open to a larger audience bracket.
Chapter five is probably the most interesting and controversial chapter. Tickle discusses our current century and how emergence works in the context of Einstein, the automobile and the Marginalization of the previous generation. She also touches on how this century is allowed to have the idea of uncertainty, due to Heisenberg and the relation of his Uncertainty Theory. This is part of the rising of Pentecostalism as well, and helps to answer Tickle’s continual question of “Where now is the the authority?” Tickle also goes into detail on how the Model T, or “Tin Lizzie” changed the idea of Sabbath, as well as idea and definition of traditionally female roles across the generation. Also, Tickle states, “Perhaps no other single thing has so threatened and changed the hegemony of formal Christian worship as has this shift in our general affection from performed to participatory music” (Loc 1306-12). Lastly, Tickle goes into great detail on how Rose the Riveter has affected women and the entire familial structure from the 1940’s and forward, and “What now is society’s basic or foundational unit?” (Loc 1404-10).
The last section of the book is dedicated to the Great Emergence and where it is going. She goes into a detailed discussion of this using the “Rose” diagram and the emergence of how people and Christianity fit into these diagrams. Tickle also discusses the ideas of “orthonomy” as “theonomy” and how they relate to orthodoxy and orthopraxy. Because of these relations, “When one asks an emergent Christian where ultimate authority lies, he or she will sometimes chose to say either ‘in Scripture’ or ‘in the Community’. More often though, he or she will run the two together and respond, ‘in Scripture and the community’ “ (Loc 1888-18895).
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and found it very beneficial to our current contextual surroundings of the Church. I would recommend this book to all peoples involved in Christianity and wondering where the Church is heading next.
2.5/2.5