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A review by openmypages
After Jesus, Before Christianity: A Historical Exploration of the First Two Centuries of Jesus Movements by Brandon Scott, The Westar Institute, Hal Taussig, Erin Vearncombe
3.0
“History tends to preserve only the voices it wants to hear.”
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I'm always interested in learning more about history and have always been obsessed with Roman history and I am a fairly well read Catholic, so I had high hopes for this new angle on both topics. I'm not sure that this one scratched the itch I had though, much of the Roman history was a re-run for me but if you don't know that part, you will learn a lot. I did find it quite interesting that there was less of an organized movement than I had envisioned with the apostles and early preachers following Jesus's death. The information the authors provide makes perfect sense though, in a society where the average person would not be literate, the need for written structure for Jesus's teachings is logical. While our New Testament writers eventually eek out their stories and Paul is writing his letters, the authors present early "Christianity" as a fairly piecemeal movement with many small insular groups perpetuating the words of Jesus rather than large groups coming together and moving in the same direction. I guess it's even more remarkable that Christianity grew and coalesced and became something more enduring.
A bit surprising for me, although it's certainly seeing ancient history through a modern lens, was the discussions of gender roles and how Jesus did not support the patriarchal, society established rules. I feel like I hear the argument and agree with it but could totally see how "the Church" would refute a lot of this. I was also surprised about how Paul was viewed in his time and how there was a concerted PR "fixer" type clean up on his role and teachings.
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I'm always interested in learning more about history and have always been obsessed with Roman history and I am a fairly well read Catholic, so I had high hopes for this new angle on both topics. I'm not sure that this one scratched the itch I had though, much of the Roman history was a re-run for me but if you don't know that part, you will learn a lot. I did find it quite interesting that there was less of an organized movement than I had envisioned with the apostles and early preachers following Jesus's death. The information the authors provide makes perfect sense though, in a society where the average person would not be literate, the need for written structure for Jesus's teachings is logical. While our New Testament writers eventually eek out their stories and Paul is writing his letters, the authors present early "Christianity" as a fairly piecemeal movement with many small insular groups perpetuating the words of Jesus rather than large groups coming together and moving in the same direction. I guess it's even more remarkable that Christianity grew and coalesced and became something more enduring.
A bit surprising for me, although it's certainly seeing ancient history through a modern lens, was the discussions of gender roles and how Jesus did not support the patriarchal, society established rules. I feel like I hear the argument and agree with it but could totally see how "the Church" would refute a lot of this. I was also surprised about how Paul was viewed in his time and how there was a concerted PR "fixer" type clean up on his role and teachings.