Diarmaid MacCulloch: A History of Christianity – The First Three Thousand Years
I have embarked upon reading Diarmaid MacCulloch’s seminal work, ‘A History of Christianity.’
I’m only 145 pages in to this book of over 1000 pages, but my initial thoughts are that this is generally a super read. MacCulloch subtitles his book; “The First Three Thousand Years” which gives you an idea of the breathtaking scope of the work. One word of caution however, is that MacCulloch is not a believer and he does make this clear at the outset, and in some ways it is beneficial for this work that he is not a Christian, however, the drawback is that MacCulloch identifies many serendipitous happenstances, that we believers would perceive as the hand of God working through humans.
For example, MacCulloch identifies the ruination of the Jewish Temple in Israel by the hand of the Romans (AD 70) as “accidental”, whereas, we would tend to view this as a foreknown and forewarned prophecy fulfilled. The same would apply to the Christ believing Jews who fled the city of Jerusalem as the Romans surrounded. The drawing together of Canon and creeds, doctrines, the ascension of the Pauline works, and many other suchlike events, are also viewed as solely human activity, without the insight and discernment of God at work.
Many times MacCulloch questions the authorship of the Scriptures and the dating of said work, and perhaps he is right to do, however, alternative positions are not adequately presented in my opinion, that said, it is early days.
MacCulloch presents Christianity as primarily a “personality cult” and affirms future growth and survival. He draws together factors such as linguistics, politics, culture and philosophy to chart the growth and divisions of Christianity in a novel and refreshing way. MacCulloch also highlights the reactionary development of Christianity in terms of other religions, internal disputes and existential threats, which demonstrates aptly the adaptability, survivability and transformative nature of our faith.
MacCulloch says of himself and his motivations:
This is emphatically a personal view of the sweep of Christian history, so I make no apology for stating my own position on the story: the reader of a book which pontificates on religion has a right to know. I come from a background in which the Church was a three-generation family business, and from a childhood spent in the rectory of an Anglican country parish, a world not unlike that of Rev. Samuel Crossman, of which I have the happiest of memories. I was bought up in the presence of the Bible, and I remember with affection what it was like to hold a dogmatic position on the statements of Christian belief. I would now describe myself as a candid friend of Christianity. I still appreciate the solemnity of religious liturgy as a way of confronting these problems. I live with the puzzle of wondering how something so apparently crazy can be so captivating to millions of other members of my species. It is in part to answer that question for myself that I seek out the history of this world faith, alongside those of humankind’s countless other expressions of religious belief and practice. Maybe some familiar with theological jargon will with charity regard this as an apophatic form of the Christian faith.
Anyway, that’s enough for the moment, I may post more on this book as I work my way through and the mood strikes. In the meantime I leave you with this quote by Maurice Powicke, from the ‘The Christian Life’ in The Legacy of the Middle Ages (Oxford 1926), cited at the beginning of MacCalluch’s book.
Organized Christianity came into existence, and exists, to preserve a treasure, a command to be executed, a promise to be repeated, a mission to be fulfilled. This treasure belongs to past, present, and future; it is potential, yet active; an object of contemplation, yet the inspiration of right conduct. An unfathomable mystery, it must be related to all knoweldge. And in their endeavours to guard and transmit their trust, its guardians have raised the most preplexing issues. They have caused endless destruction of life in the name of universal peace. They have built up the most realistic of political systems in the effort to establish a kingdom not of this world. In the exploration of the recesses of the soul, they have developed the arts and sciences, and constructed theories of the universe. And, in their desire to satisfy the deepest needs of mankind, they have raised up against themselves the visions, prophecies, and extravagences of excitable and obstinate men, and the dislike of many sensible men.
The treasure which has caused all this activity was cast into the world with a few simple sentences. ‘Thou shalt love the Lord your God and thy neighbour as thyself. What shall it prosper a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own sould?’ And again, ‘God so loved the world the he have his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everalsting life. No one cometh to the Father, save by Me. Take, eat; this is my body.’ And again, ‘Go and preach the Kingdom of God. Feed my sheep. Thou art Peter, and upon this rock will I build my Church. Peace I leave you, my peace I give unto you. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.’
Tags: Christianity, Religion Society, Theology Doctrine Philosophy