“Cultural Christians in the Early Church” by Nadya Williams

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I would recommend Cultural Christians in the Early Church, by Nadya Williams, to exactly the audience the author specifies: those who yearn for the “good ole days” of the church.

Part 1

The first part is the least developed, from an academic point of view, and shows the author’s weakness (Biblical studies), but her topics are sensible. She pulls out three issues the apostle Paul was dealing with that stemmed from the cultural milieu of the believers he was writing to: using wealth to attain status, using food to display status, and using people sexually, particularly the enslaved and women. 

Part 2

The second part, a bit better developed, discusses the cultural pressures that led to apostasy, women emboldened to stand firm in Christ in opposition to male authority (i.e., remaining single, choosing faith over father, husband, child), a misguided longing for martyrdom over risking one’s life to care for the sick, and a misguided priority to protect wealth as inheritance rather than give generously.

Part 3

The third and last part of the book is the best developed, and appears to me to be the author’s original material. The author compares Christian violence against other Christians with the inuring of violence and blood due to Roman arenas, Christian nationalism as a natural offshoot of Roman nationalism, and the profoundly self-centered motivations of those who fled to the desert–as well as the spectacles they became.

What I Liked

What I liked about this book (besides plentiful citations) was the author’s premise: the early church was just as culturally influenced as the church is today. There is no “good ole days” to be had. The author also uses wry humor and an approachable writing style to (presumably) keep the reader engaged. A wide range of topics is covered, and Williams makes reference numerous times to the many direct corollaries we are experiencing right now in the U.S.   

What I Did Not Like

I could go page-by-page to the times I did not agree with Williams’ biblical interpretation, or with what I felt was a too-brief treatment of a thought. For example, right there on page 7, Williams avers Levites were never to own land. Really? Numbers 35:2 makes it clear the Levites were to be given homes and pasturelands within the tribal lands of each of the tribes where they lived. The Levites did not inherit their own tribal land, that is correct. But they -did- own their homes in the city, and they -did- have pasturelands to support them when the tithes were too few. Much later, during the Judahite exile, Jeremiah specifically told the exiles to build homes and get jobs, they were in it for the long haul (Jeremiah 29:5). Though Williams gives citations, they are too inadequate for my taste. Such remarks happen throughout the book.

I appreciate Williams naming her bias as a Reformed background, this would explain the use of the word “gospel” in place of “God,” “Jesus,” “Holy Spirit,” and “divine power.” Williams does not name her biases for marriage, having children, and the institutional form of church, but they show. For example, Williams inadvertently disqualifies Paul and Jesus from being elders in the church because “only those who are married … and raising … children” may be elders (p. 194). In a discussion on the reluctance towards generosity, Williams takes it in stride that the first two priorities for an institutional church’s budget are building and staff, and only “ultimately” might there be funds left over for good works (p. 113). Overhead is one of the several reasons many people today are returning to house/simple/organic churches.

Williams does not spend the kind of time it takes to really explore any of the topics she covers and makes what feel to me as unsupportable assessments all throughout. However for the purposes of the book, I can appreciate why.

My Recommendation

That said, the stories of women and men Williams writes about are fascinating, and right on point. She makes it easy to see the culture at work in ancient trends within the church, and how similar cultural trends affect us today. Williams acknowledges that we are more enculturated than we realize in how we read the Bible and live out our lives of faith (e.g. p. 201).  For me as a reader, Williams comes across as no theologian, but as a historian, she has taught me much and given me much to mull over. Despite its flaws, this is a good book and appropriate for an undergrad class.

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