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Christian Origins: A People's History Of Christianity, Vol. 1From Brand: Fortress Press
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Dealing with a time when "Christians" were moving towards separation from the movement's Jewish origins, this inaugural volume of "A People's History of Christianity" tells "the people's story" by gathering together evidence from the "New Testament" texts, archeology, and other contemporary sources. Of particular interest to the distinguished group of scholar-contributors are the often overlooked aspects of the earliest "Christian" consciousness: How, for example, did they manage to negotiate allegiances to two social groups? How did they deal with crucial issues of wealth and poverty? What about the participation of slaves and women in these communities? How did living in the shadow of the Roman Empire color their religious experience and economic values?
- Sales Rank: #1429713 in Books
- Brand: Brand: Fortress Press
- Published on: 2005-11-01
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 1.08" h x 7.52" w x 9.56" l, 1.88 pounds
- Binding: Hardcover
- 318 pages
- Used Book in Good Condition
From the Publisher
With Horsley, contributors include: Jorunn Jacobsen Buckley, Allen Dwight Callahan,Warren Carter, Neil Elliott, Steven J. Friesen,William R. Herzog II, Clarice J. Martin, Carolyn Osiek, Raymond Pickett, Barbara R. Rossing, Antoinette Clark Wire.
About the Author
Richard A. Horsley is Distinguished Professor of Liberal Arts and the Study of Religion at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. He is the author of The Message and the Kingdom (2002 with Neil Asher Siberman), Jesus and the Spiral of Violence (1992), and Jesus and the Empire (2002).
Most helpful customer reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful.
History without people is not history at all!
By Valencia E. Edner
The people are the most important part of history...
Fortress Press' A Peoples History of Christianity series understands one fundamental premise. There is no real history if the people are forgotten. In the first volume, Chrsitian Origins, Richard Horsley and those who contribute essays present an intriguing view of the thoughts, practices and beliefs of those in the Judean community who were affected by Jesus' sojourn. These people, historically invisible, are the faces in the crowds; those who gathered and hoped for deliverance from their circumstances. Horsley et al, give a riveting view of the lives of these persons and the impact of the ministry of Jesus on their lifestyles and their political views. Horsley is particularly engaging as he articulates the importance of the "Jesus movement" and the people's expectation of its renewal of Israel. These essays not only give light to the well known biblical accounts, but present a fresh outlook through the lens of the people who were apart of the communities affected by the spread of Christianity throughout the places that the apostles traveled.
One of the most notable chapters is William Herzog's essay "Why Peasants Responded to Jesus." This chapter looks at "doing history from below" exploring the use of parables as a means of expressing the pain associated with the oppression felt by those who were poor citizens under Roman rule. The distress of the poor and peasants reflected the socio-economic climate of the day, and the words of Jesus, especially in the parables that illuminated the disparity between the rich and the poor, helped to empower and give hope to those who were apart of the community. Herzog, utilizing the liberation oriented "pedagogy of the oppressed" by Paulo Freire, contends with masterful juxtaposition that Jesus, in the parables, used what Freire would label "verbal codifications" to instruct the people and to empower them to "interpret their world differently" (55-58).
The text provides insight into the lives of people in the places where texts were written or addressed. The two essays Conflict at Corinth, by Ray Pickett, and Matthew's People, by Warren Carter, give candid exposition into the lives of the Gentiles at Corinth and the Jews to whom Matthew primarily writes. Notable is the influence of the Roman Empire on both, as they sought to establish Christian focused lives and to especially in the case of Matthew's people, maintain a connection with tradition. The influence of Greco-Roman philosophy and the economic views of the Roman Empire on Corinth is illustrated with candor and clarity providing new light to the biblical letters to the church at Corinth.
The text is quite eclectic as it goes beyond the lifestyles of those who were followers but also shedding light on the lives of slaves and the imperial rule that persecuted those who were apart of the movement. This text gives great insight into the feelings and struggles of those who were oppressed and martyred for the faith that many are able to experience unencumbered. As Stephen Friesen states in his essay Injustice or God's Will, "A people's history cannot ignore issues related to the uneven distribution of economic resources...throughout Christianity's existence" (240). This text does what many other historical accounts fail to do, it remembers that history is not history without the people, and it does this wonderfully.
43 of 56 people found the following review helpful.
Provocative, Interesting, Sobering, Infuriating!
By Dr. Marc Axelrod
I was really looking forward to getting this book. It is volume one of a seven volume series on the history of Christianity written from the perspective of the common peasants of the time rather than the usual history written from the viewpoints of kings and famous writers and theologians.
But whenever you teach history from only one side, you are bound to have distortions, and this book is a clear example. Richard Horsley's introductory chapter lays the groundwork for the rest of the volume, as he discusses the peasant revolts of Theudas and Judas and the factors that led some of the common people to go along with them.
But Herzog's chapter on how peasants would have responded to Jesus was where things really got interesting. He contends that Jesus taught in parables to give peasant people encouragement to interpret their world.
But the Bible says just the opposite. It says that Jesus taught in parables "so that they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding" (Mark 4:12). In other words, the parables were a way for Jesus to deliberately teach so that those who were missing the point would continue to miss the point (both peasants and teachers of the law), and by logical extension, those who were alive to the truth would get it (the disciples).
Herzog also states that the parable of the rich man and Lazarus was to encourage the peasants about how there could be a great reversal in fortunes for the poor and the rich.
But Jesus is alluding to eternity beyond this life whereas Herzog seems to think that Jesus was painting a dream of something that could happen on earth. Herzog completely misses the otherworldliness of the context.
Then Herzog somehow interprets the parable of the workers as an example where the boss is the bad guy instead of the good guy who gives everyone a denarius for a day's work.
Then Antoinette Clark Wire has an interesting chapter about the 26 birth stories of Bible heroes told in early Jewish literature from a woman's perspective in the decades leading up to the births of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ. She contends that these stories were told because this is the way the women experienced them, and that they saw the potential and the possibilities for pesant people of faith to overcome obstacles in life. She argues that the stories were just as political as they were theological, in fact, more so.
That may be true for some of the literature she discusses, but this doesn't seem to be true for the infancy narratives in the Gospel of Luke. In fact, the primary message of Luke is explicitly theological and only political in a smaller sense, that Jesus is a Savior for all people (Luke 2:10-11; 32). Having said this, I still thought that this was one of the more exciting chapters in the book, very well done.
Next, Jorunn Jacobsen Buckley contributes a chapter about the Mandaens, a group that descended from the early Christian movement. They practice baptism by immersion as a form of purification, and there are about 100,000 of them in Iraq and Iran today. They have a long series of traditions about John the Baptist, yet they do not accept Jesus as a prophet. They believe that somewhere down the line, Jesus rejected Jewish and Judaic practices. They also reject Pauline and Gentile Christianity. Buckley considers it probable that the Mandaens were in Palestine around 30 AD, and would have witnessed a rivalry between Jesus and His followers and John the Baptist and his followers. (The question I'm sure you're dying to ask is "What rivalry?" Buckley simply assumes one, without elaborating or trying to prove it.
Buckley also believes that Mandaens may well have become the inventors of or at least contributors to Gnosticism.
Next, there is a section of the book about the cities and texts of the common people. Ray Pickett contributes a chapter about the conflicts in the Corinthian church. He is interested in how Paul's letters to this church can tell us more about the beliefs and practices of the people.
The article about Matthew's community was really interesting. Warren Carter talks about how Matthew's Gospel was probably composed in Antioch, and how most of the people there were poor, and how their taxes were orbitant, and that there would have been a lot of anti-Roman sentiment in the city (which had about 150,000-200,000 people). Jesus's battle with the devil reveals the devil as the power behind the Roman government.
Moreover, the section on whether or not the sons of the kingdom should pay taxes to Caesar (Matt 17:24-27) is directly relevant to the questions Antiochan Christians would have been asking in 85 AD.
Carter also points out that the material in Matthew 5:38-48 was a reminder to the believers to give freely to those who are in need.
He also points out that there is a contrast in the gospel between people in need (Matthew 5), praying for their Daily Bread (6:11, 7:11), and the rich and powerful like Herod who can have lavish feasts in a moment's notice (Matt 14:1-12). In contrast to this, Jesus challenges people to have a wider table of fellowship (Matthew 9:9-14), and to not seek positions of status.
Carter also notes that Matthew points forward to the end of the age when God would settle all issues of disparity in society. This was a great chapter by Carter.
There is also a chapter called The Gospel of John as People's History, by Allen Dwight Callahan. He may be overreaching a bit when he contends that there are romantic innuendos in the story of Jesus and the woman at the well in John 4, mainly because the story takes place at a well and Jacob met his future wife Rachel at a well. Nevertheless, the social implications of Jesus saving a Samaritan village that has suffered long and hard under harsh leadership is significant for a people's history of Christianity.
Callahan tremendously misinterprets Jesus' words in John 2:19 as an overt challenge to the Judean authorities to destroy the Temple, when the writer of the 4th gospel makes it clear in verse 21 that Jesus was talking about the temple of His body. I couldn't believe my eyes until I read it again for myself. I kept asking, "How could an accomplished scholar miss the fundamental play on words Jesus is making?"
Not only that, but Callahan somehow sees Mary of Bethany's act of worship in pouring the perfume on Jesus (John 12) as a political act whereby she is anointing Him as King Messiah. But is that the significance of her act? Callahan also says that this is when Jesus becomes Messiah, which cannot be accurate, because Jesus has declared Himself to be the Messiah as far back as John 4:26, and a case can be made from other salient texts that Jesus was always the Messiah (Hebrews 13:8, John 1:1-18).
Moreover, in the chapter about Judeans in the Roman Empire (Disciplining the Poor), Neil Elliot thinks that Paul is being ironic in Romans 13, and (as a result) is not really advocating submission to the governing authorities. Holy cow, what was Elliot thinking?
The next chapter was a real eye opener. Carolyn Osiek discusses the living conditions of the Greco-Roman world at the time of Christ. Disease was widespread, conditions were filthy and unsanitary, there was no knowledge of basic hygiene, girls were often married and barefoot and pregnant before they were old enough for their first menstruation, and urination and defacation were not considered private functions. Most people were poor and didn't live past the age of 40. Women especially were plagued with health problems due to constantly being pregnant (and from such a young age). Child labor laws were nonexistent, and they were harshly disciplined. This chapter knocked me on my duff.
There are also chapters on slavery at the time of Christ and prophets at the time of Christ, the prophet like Moses.
I really enjoyed this book, and I learned a lot, and I am looking forward to reading the next volume in the series. Yet it is numerous misreadings of the scripture such as those noted above that prevents me from giving this book 5 stars. I really wanted to give it 5 stars, because it was provocative and interesting and so different from the usual history books that are written from the perspectives of the powerful.
But such terrible and irresponsible mishandlings of scripture need to be factored in when evaluating books like this. I almost gave the book three stars because the misinterpretations of scripture were so ridiculous. In retrospect, it's hard to believe that you had Ivy League scholars in on this book, the biblical interpretations are that bad! I guess the bottom line is that the book is good history, bad Bible. Order this book from the library or add it to your library, but read with careful discrimination.
9 of 12 people found the following review helpful.
Haven't they dominated center stage long enough?
By Kevin Hrebik
Haven't they dominated center stage long enough?
By Kevin Hrebik, MAR, MDiv (in process)
Having been significantly impressed with the book as a whole, it came as a surprise to read other basically negative reviews, especially to claim insufficient premise support. Granted, no book will ever please everyone, but what book claims to? By the same token, what perspective is all-encompassing? Even the Bible is criticized for not being a science book or a history book, but neither of these is its purpose (although it contradicts no real science or real history, i.e., micro-evolution portending macro-evolution and thus being junk science, putting theory ahead of fact). That the authors chose to explore the relatively young and still undeveloped social and literary science of a "people's perspective" is to make an a priori case for their not being able to speak simultaneously and with equal weight to all standard perspectives, or to possess incontestable evidence.
It seemed the critics were somewhat patronizing and arguably illustrated the thesis of the commendably creative seven-volume series, that the vast preponderance of history has been written from the "top down", from the perspective and perpetuation of the elite view, assiduously capturing only the key people, events and "major tradition". A "bottom up" view of history, thus the subtitle, "A People's History..." written from the "minor tradition" and encompassing much harder to find nuances, requiring incomparably greater research and analysis, and some necessary speculation, is not only welcome but sorely needed. Most average scholars can access and comment on the public record, but reading "across the grain" and between the lines, adducing the reasons behind the great proclamations, discerning the purposes of the documented material, and interpolating the causes of the official records requires an applaudable, even heroic drilling into the silenced, forgotten and often unnamed masses.
Other than what we glean from occasional, dramatic Hollywood efforts, who among us ever thinks about what life really was like in 1st century Greco-Roman times for the commoners, peasants, main streeters and average Joe's who shadowed Jesus like groupies? Or in the 2nd and 3rd centuries following his death and resurrection, when they labored to gain converts in a world more hostile than any of us will ever know? Are the non-elite and non-status masses really irrelevant to a comprehensive awareness and education of the history of Christianity--or is the top down view sufficient? What rare person analyzes parables from the vantage point of the "least among them"--or is only one historical perspective germane? One critic appealed to Rowan Williams, current Archbishop of Canterbury, as having a legitimate grasp on the genre of history, yet in his "Why Study the Past?" (2005, Grand Rapids: Eardman's), Williams is hardly a stranger to invention. His essential premise is to see all of history cast in a shroud of "strangeness," from which too many take too much certainty. His view is that only with the eyes of faith can we hope to clear the fog, and that only true believers can hope to peer through the unknowable into the lives of other believers experiencing the same Christ. If Williams' interpretive license, an "insider's view" so to speak, at once creative, novel and fresh, is wholly legitimate, why not a serious, multi-volume contribution to the relatively new "bottom up" view?
Regarding ancient history, the mass of the preserved and unearthed record that has been passed down through the centuries has been critical for the normal, established top-down view--one that also is as old and as tired as the hills. Not to say this is necessarily bad, because it is still both informative and instructive, but when others have uncovered something intrinsically valuable, a new tradition, a breath of fresh air, perhaps the fledgling genre should be given a little room to develop, and not immediately pounced on as not fulfilling all the established, normalized requirements of suitable historical documentation. Surely, as more join the effort, the new "bottom up" historical tradition will continue to be explored by the gamut of professions and generations of new thinkers. In this set alone, more than 100 contributed to the cause. Perhaps those well educated in old school history could lend a helping hand in weak areas instead of arms length, aristocratic-like condescension.
The critics complain of theories not being sufficiently well founded but the authors freely admit that obstacles abound, and supporting material is problematic in many ways (see especially Chapter Six, Warren Carter's "Matthew's People"), thus reinforcing the thesis that it is long overdue to make a credible and concerted effort to imagine and discover what went on behind the great elite historical tradition.
This writer for one was inspired by the upside down from normal interpretation of the parable of the rich man and Lazarus from Luke 16:19-31 (pp. 58-62). It was not a stretch at all to buy into the theory that virtually all of the peasants and poor, comprising 95% of the population, simply were sick and tired of being harshly dominated and unable to get ahead from triple taxation (Rome, Herod, Priests), and cheered at the idea of a just reversal of fortunes for a piggish rich man, now at the mercy of a poor man. A people's view of Jesus' parables offers previously hidden insights, and is not a threat to the standard interpretation (justice will prevail). Is there anything new to learn from it? And if yes, have not the authors succeeded at their task? Moreover, if we either cannot or do not learn anything new from the past, indeed as per Williams, why study it? Changing our vantage point for Jesus' parables is not only good Bible but great application--Jesus deliberately chose his words for specific reasons, in this case to help the poor masses relate and "get it", and his ultimate point is hardly the only lesson.
At the same time, much "big tradition" fact is incorporated in the view that oppressed peasants birthed the impetus of the various grassroots rebellions (pp. 24-30), which mushroomed into actual revolts, for these well-documented revolts did not materialize overnite. Non-status peasants simply do not rise up against a crushing, infinitely more powerful hierarchy for no reason--thus, "What pervasive, inherent, cumulative social/cultural/political factors contributed to their actions?" is as valid a question to investigate as any other; and more interesting reading than who led the revolt, what year it was crushed, how many were killed, and Rome's follow-up punishments. As well, to put readers in the well-worn sandals of the oppressed who heard Jesus' language like accessing the "kingdom of heaven" and becoming "children of the King" as immensely appealing--is not to rewrite eschatology or theology but to make the point of how and why the throngs followed him, how and why they dared to populate rebellions, and ultimately how and why they willingly faced death for their new faith. This is a view neither as empathetically nor as eloquently captured in standard history books.
If all you want is another top-down historical series hitting all the proper notes with all the proper documentation (perhaps even romanticizing Rome's brutish emperors), then by all means stay with the safe and predictable--there are certainly plenty of them. But if you want to step outside the box, are willing to be stretched a little, and can be obliged to see some new sights and new terrain, even if you don't agree with everything the tour guide suggests, consider this fresh, creative and for this reader at least, highly inspirational book. Who knows, you might even find--gasp!--some humor in history (for just one prime example, there is much remarkable and subtle humor in "The Cult of the Martyrs" by Vasiliki Limberis in the 3rd volume of the series, Byzantine Christianity). The elite and imperial aristocrats of the ancient world, both secular and Christian, have never been quite as important in the eyes of the populace and laity as they have been in their own, and neither have their best fans, their historians. Haven't the lot of them dominated center stage long enough?
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