2 of 3

Moynahan's story, like Schmidt's but unlike Garlow's, is intensely human. It is not, fortunately, rigidly humanistic; for example, Moynahan expresses doubt that Jesus ever meant to claim divinity (2) but later states without hedging that the Resurrection "was the evidence of Christ's divinity" (19). Still, theology is not Moynahan's main concern, as he is not seeking to illuminate God's work in the world or trace the development of true faith through many dangers, toils, and snares. He is interested in the faith and the snares, the interplay of factors that can lead to development, decline, or an unsettling mix of the two.

The scope and heft of The Faith (at 800 pages it is nearly as long as the other two books combined) make it difficult to adequately describe here, but one topic illustrates Moynahan's approach. On the subject of early Christian social ethics, the author first describes Jesus' example, taking the gospel narratives basically at face value. The author also notes directives from Paul, particularly in the epistles whose Pauline authorship scholars deem most certain (Galatians, Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, 1 Thessalonians, Colossians, and Philippians).

Then Moynahan delves into post-biblical history to show how human error obscured the New Testament ideals. Galatians 3:28 proposes radical equality of the sexes, and this principle bore some important fruit, but before long, "Christian sects were to become quite as patriarchal as Judaism" (35). The same verse, along with several episodes from Jesus' life, proposes a radical social egalitarianism as well, yet early Christian communities continued the practice of slavery and showed little political ambition. "The faith was a spiritual revolution," Moynahan writes, "but it was meek and intensely conservative in the face of temporal authority and the social order" (61).

By focusing on the interplay of Christlike ideals and an all-too-human body of believers, from the dawn of Christianity to the present, Moynahan tells a believable story. It's messy and frequently disappointing, but what else can one expect from "a faith exposed to the inconstancies and energies of mankind" (730)? Paradox rings true in history, too.

Elesha Coffman is managing editor of Christian History magazine.

Copyright © 2002 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

More Christian History, including a list of events that occurred this week in the church's past, is available at ChristianHistory.net. Subscriptions to the quarterly print magazine are also available.

Christianity Today's recent article, "In the World, but … | Richard Niebuhr's Christ and Culture is 50 years old—and still has something wise to say to evangelicals," reviewed a reissue of Christ and Culture.

next page... |  2 of 3

share this page

April (Web-only) 2002, Vol. 46