For the Union of Evangelical Christendom: The Irony of the Reformed Episcopalians

Rating:
Summary: Subjective History
Review: Dr. Guelzo has compiled a long needed history of the Reformed Episcopal Church and he has done so in a fair writing style although a somewhat dry prose. The subject matter of what amounts to a denominational history does not lend itself to an exciting read, AND the heavy doses of personal opinion and seemingly subjective delving into the reasoning and motives of long dead figures does not enhance the reading experience. The epilogue reads like a selection from Jeanne Dixon or Joyce Jillson as the author gives us his predictive look into what he believes is the future history of the Church. A future history heavily flavored by what appears to be the author's disapproval of the past history related in this volume. Owing to the fact that it is the ONLY volume on REC history available I would recommend it to the student of this period and movement in Church history.

Rating:
Summary: Subjective History
Review: Dr. Guelzo has compiled a long needed history of the Reformed Episcopal Church and he has done so in a fair writing style although a somewhat dry prose. The subject matter of what amounts to a denominational history does not lend itself to an exciting read, AND the heavy doses of personal opinion and seemingly subjective delving into the reasoning and motives of long dead figures does not enhance the reading experience. The epilogue reads like a selection from Jeanne Dixon or Joyce Jillson as the author gives us his predictive look into what he believes is the future history of the Church. A future history heavily flavored by what appears to be the author's disapproval of the past history related in this volume. Owing to the fact that it is the ONLY volume on REC history available I would recommend it to the student of this period and movement in Church history.

Rating:
Summary: "Guelzo the Prophet"
Review: I could not disagree more with the previous reviewer. Guelzo's work, 'For the Union of Evangelical Christendom: The Irony of the Reformed Episcopalians,' is a staggering and truthful history of the REC. Not only is his analysis of the history of the REC correct, his prediction for her future is quite accurate as well. The epilogue is a must read for any interested with the identity crisis of the REC. The denomination has succumbed to Christian Reconstructionism (i.e., though no longer using this title), and as the saying goes, "men who want to be very big fish in a very small pond."

I believe one of the most profound statements comes from the epilogue where Guelzo argues, "In the Sociology of sectarianism, insularity tempts churches like the Reformed Episcopal Church to reward antiintellectualism and eccentricity and punish genuine breadth of theological opinion. The result is that 'Anglicanism' (or any other 'ism') can easily become defined in the shallow terms of controversy (vestments, terms of address, and the like) rather than in serious self-examination and self criticism." He goes on to argue that the REC is ripe to attract men "who hope to maximize their desires for status through the desperation of a small church to recruit members."

As one who studied at an REC Seminary, I can attest to the accuracy of this work. There are many wonderful people in the denomination who would be forced to admit Guelzo's accuracy in this book. I reccomend this work for its scholarly approach and honest appraisel of the history of the REC. My hope is that Allen Guelzo's prophetic work will one day prove to be untrue. Until such a time, this work will be helpful to many.

Rating:
Summary: "Guelzo the Prophet"
Review: When I see the subjects of non-fiction books these days, I often wonder if writers are running out of broad-based ideas to write about. The Reformed Episcopal Church, 126 years old in 1999, is hardly a blip on the American ecclesiastical landscape, yet no history of the denomination had been written since 1902 until this work appeared five years ago. Evidently there was no popular groundswell of demand for a new history. Guelzo's book only traces the story of the Reformed Episco- palians from the nineteenth century up until 1930. Why, then, should this book have been written at all? At the time of the book's publication in 1994 it was reviewed by John Anderson in Christianity Today in the same article with Charles Dennison's new history of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Such a comparison was appropriate because of the uncanny similarities in the situations surrounding the foundings of both of these denominations. For example, the founders of both Churches died within a few years of their respective inaugurations. In fact, the organizational meeting of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church was held in a Reformed Episco- pal church building. In his review, Anderson noted the contrast between Dennison's hagiographic history of the Orthodox Presbyterians and Guelzo's history of the Reformed Episcopal Church which is iconoclastic, critical, and fault-finding. If Anderson had known that Guelzo, who at the time he was working on his book was Professor of Church History at Reformed Episcopal Seminary, represented a clique within the Reformed Episcopal Church which had a vested interest in debunking and rewriting the early history of the denomination, he would have understood. Guelzo is an engaging writer as well as a lecturer, and his recounting of details of inter- est only to trivia buffs will hold any reader's attention. His facts are often faulty, however, and he would have done well to submit his manu- script to someone familiar with Reformed Episcopal history prior to its publication. For example, he refers to Arno Gaebelein as one of the champions of dispensationalism within the Reformed Episcopal Church, when in reality the person in question was Arno's son Frank. His views of the thoughts and trends of the early Reformed Episcopalians are flawed as well. Guelzo was the spokesman for the movement which for the last ten or fifteen years has dislodged the Reformed Epis- copal Church from its traditional moorings, but he was unceremoniously dumped when philosophical dif- ferences arose. Fortunately he is a prolific and prolix writer, so this book will not stand as his monument.

Rating:
Summary: History with a Purpose
Review: When I see the subjects of non-fiction books these days, I often wonder if writers are running out of broad-based ideas to write about. The Reformed Episcopal Church, 126 years old in 1999, is hardly a blip on the American ecclesiastical landscape, yet no history of the denomination had been written since 1902 until this work appeared five years ago. Evidently there was no popular groundswell of demand for a new history. Guelzo's book only traces the story of the Reformed Episco- palians from the nineteenth century up until 1930. Why, then, should this book have been written at all? At the time of the book's publication in 1994 it was reviewed by John Anderson in Christianity Today in the same article with Charles Dennison's new history of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Such a comparison was appropriate because of the uncanny similarities in the situations surrounding the foundings of both of these denominations. For example, the founders of both Churches died within a few years of their respective inaugurations. In fact, the organizational meeting of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church was held in a Reformed Episco- pal church building. In his review, Anderson noted the contrast between Dennison's hagiographic history of the Orthodox Presbyterians and Guelzo's history of the Reformed Episcopal Church which is iconoclastic, critical, and fault-finding. If Anderson had known that Guelzo, who at the time he was working on his book was Professor of Church History at Reformed Episcopal Seminary, represented a clique within the Reformed Episcopal Church which had a vested interest in debunking and rewriting the early history of the denomination, he would have understood. Guelzo is an engaging writer as well as a lecturer, and his recounting of details of inter- est only to trivia buffs will hold any reader's attention. His facts are often faulty, however, and he would have done well to submit his manu- script to someone familiar with Reformed Episcopal history prior to its publication. For example, he refers to Arno Gaebelein as one of the champions of dispensationalism within the Reformed Episcopal Church, when in reality the person in question was Arno's son Frank. His views of the thoughts and trends of the early Reformed Episcopalians are flawed as well. Guelzo was the spokesman for the movement which for the last ten or fifteen years has dislodged the Reformed Epis- copal Church from its traditional moorings, but he was unceremoniously dumped when philosophical dif- ferences arose. Fortunately he is a prolific and prolix writer, so this book will not stand as his monument.