Evangelicalism is awash in the 3Rs: retrieval, renewal, and ressourcement. As Michael Allen and Scott Swain explain in Reformed Catholicity, recently published by Baker Academic press, various movements have emerged sharing the conviction that “the path to theological renewal lies in retrieving resources from the Christian tradition.” In their view, these efforts have been haphazard, and their book sketches a “programmatic assessment of what it means to retrieve the catholic tradition . . . on the basis of Protestant theological and ecclesiological principles.” To that end, Baker and Swain offer an elegant, biblically grounded account of church tradition as a “fruit of the Spirit.” Scripture is norm and foundation of all theology, but the Bible authorizes the Church to build on the apostolic foundation. Scripture isn’t inert but is given so that the truth of God might be internalized and embodied in the Church: “Scripture is a means to the end of church tradition.” Tradition formation is the work of the Spirit, the teacher in the school of Christ, who anoints the Church and is personally active in the writing of creeds and confessions, the transmission of liturgical forms, catechetical training, and theological formulation. Though fallible and imperfect, these aren’t merely human products but “natural signs and instruments of the Spirit’s illuminating presence.” Tradition signifies that the Word has been received, believed, and spoken by the Church, and it ensures that the Word continues to be received and passed on.
