I recently met with a group of Christian parents who are concerned about our increasingly secular society. They longed for a time when there were no so-called cultural Christians, and when “true Christians,” uninfluenced by the world, could practice their faith in a countercultural way.
Many of these parents seem to believe that cultural Christianity is a recent development and that today’s challenges are unique in the history of the church. The truth is that there have always been Christians who seemed more influenced by culture than faith.
Cultural Christianity in the Early Church: A Historical and Practical Introduction to Christianity in the Greco-Roman World It aims to demythologize parts of our church’s history. Nadia Williams shows that Christians in the church’s first five centuries were as prone to succumbing to cultural temptations as believers are today. And they faced many of the same cultural pressures that we face today.
Cultural Christianity in the Early Church: A Historical and Practical Introduction to Christianity in the Greco-Roman World
nadia williams
Cultural Christianity in the Early Church: A Historical and Practical Introduction to Christianity in the Greco-Roman World
nadia williams
Zondervan Academic. 256 pages.
Christians today think of cultural Christianity as a modern concept that is most likely to occur in areas where Christianity is the majority culture, such as America’s “Bible Belt.” Masu. The story this book presents refutes both of these assumptions. This book argues that cultural Christians were the rule, not the exception, in the early church. Using various categories of sin as an organizing principle, this book examines the cultural challenges to early Christian converts as they struggled to live missionally within the Greco-Roman cultural milieu of the Roman Empire. I am.
Zondervan Academic. 256 pages.
cultural christianity
According to Williams, a historian of Greco-Roman culture, a cultural Christian is someone who “professes to be a Christian, but whose outward behavior and, as far as we know, his inner thoughts and motives are outside the scope of society.” rather, they are individuals who are greatly influenced by the culture of their surroundings. their Christian faith and the teachings of Jesus” (xiv).
In the ancient world, civilized Christians struggled in many of the same areas as we do. As the New Testament makes clear, believers have always struggled with faithfulness. Early believers, while claiming to be followers of Christ, created idols based on wealth, food, appearance, sexual relations, and patriotism.
There have always been Christians who seemed more influenced by culture than faith.
We may be tempted to dismiss these cultural Christians, past and present, as hypocrites who lack sincere faith in Christ. But Mr. Williams makes no such accusation. Throughout her book, she refers to those who struggle with cultural sin as “believers” and “Christians.” It was not a matter of salvation that they succumbed to cultural pressures. It was a question of sanctification. They struggled because it was simply easier to conform to the culture around them than to practice their faith counterculturally.
But Williams acknowledges the danger for those who seek cultural preference over following Christ.cultural sin can He led those who once claimed to be Christ to abandon Him. As Williams also acknowledges, “the appeal of culture…at times proved more appealing than the evangelical counterculture community” (63). The challenge for all Christians is to put cultural sin to death and pursue Christ.
Introducing Roman culture
Part of Williams’ mission is to provide historical context for the New Testament. Her understanding of ancient Roman culture shines in providing background information that illuminates the history of Christianity, making this a valuable book for pastors and teachers.
For example, while telling the story of Ananias and Saphira, Williams provides insight into the wealth customs of ancient Jews and Romans. The actions of the tragic couple recorded in Acts 5 reflect Roman philanthropy, which involved acts of charity expecting a glorious return to the giver. Ananias and Saphira were not particularly evil people. They were culturally trapped. God ultimately held them accountable for their cultural sins, but their story takes on a different flavor due to this context.
Other stories in the history of the church are also shed in new light. Williams argues that the importance of two third-century martyrs, Perpetua and Felicity, illustrates the countercultural dimension of Christianity. Within the church, women were considered to have value apart from their ability to bear children. We can understand this because their stories were celebrated by church leaders as their spiritual achievements. All women, regardless of marital status, were recognized as valued members of God’s family. This was fundamentally different from the misogyny of Roman society.
But Williams shows that the church has struggled to consistently apply its views in a changing society. Williams reminds us: “But what remains the same is the Church’s call to serve all believers. This service involves seeing the value of every believer through God’s eyes, not ours.” ( 103).
Facing modern culture
Williams clearly states that his goal is to show continuity between the errors of early Christians and the “prominence of the same sins of cultural Christianity in the church today” (xxvii). Each chapter ends with similarities between modern and ancient cultural demands. However, many of the examples are indicative of Williams’ cultural or political preferences, showing progressive leanings on financial and regulatory issues rather than clear examples of compromise. Some of her contemporary applications stray from the historical scholarship she provides.
Within the church, women were seen as valued apart from their ability to bear children and were recognized as valuable members of God’s family.
For example, Williams combines the expectation that Christians should be economically generous with an affirmation of higher marginal tax rates in the United States and argues that state-run social programs should be viewed as “a type of parachurch ministry.” (20) The effectiveness of non-emergency foreign aid is questionable, she says, but those who oppose it are “like pagan Romans” (20). Similarly, she argues that Christian conservatives who oppose some government social programs are culturally compromised simply because they oppose those controversial policies. There is (103).
Her approach to these issues often closes off discussion and goes straight from biblical principles to preferred policies without considering different ways to accomplish the mission. The command to care for the poor does not mean that all government programs aimed at redistributing wealth are accompanied by a Biblical command. This does not preclude consideration of the subsequent effects of these policies and how they may create new and undesirable social effects.
Although I don’t agree with some of Williams’ preferences, her example made me stop and consider my own negative reactions. More often than not, my disagreements can be traced to my cultural or political preferences rather than deeper theological conflicts. Williams’ book shows that we all tend to view contemporary issues from a particular cultural perspective, and it’s not necessarily a Biblical perspective.
Cultural Christians of the Early Church Provides useful background on early church history. There is no period in the life of the church that can be restored to find perfect Biblical faithfulness. Williams is right. “This ideal past, where the Church was completely holy and blameless, is actually a myth” (200). Rather, all believers, regardless of their cultural preferences, should look forward to the coming city of God.