I recently met with a group of Christian parents concerned about our increasingly secular society. They longed for a time when so-called cultural Christians would not exist and when “real Christians,” uninfluenced by the world, could live out 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 unlike anything in church history. The truth is that there have always been Christians who seemed more influenced by culture than by faith.
Cultural Christians in the Early Church: A Historical and Practical Introduction to Christians in the Greco-Roman World aims to demystify part of the history of our church. Nadya Williams shows that, like believers today, Christians in the Church’s first five centuries were prone to succumbing to cultural temptations. And they faced many of the same cultural pressures as we do today.
Cultural Christians in the Early Church: A Historical and Practical Introduction to Christians in the Greco-Roman World
Nadya Williams
Cultural Christians in the Early Church: A Historical and Practical Introduction to Christians in the Greco-Roman World
Nadya Williams
Zondervan Academic. 256 pages.
Too often, Christians today view cultural Christianity as a modern concept, likely to occur in areas where Christianity is the majority culture, such as America’s “Bible Belt.” The story presented in this book refutes both hypotheses. This book argues that cultural Christians were the rule rather than the exception in the early church. Using different categories of sin as an organizing principle, the book examines the cultural challenge posed to early converts to Christianity as they struggled to live on mission in the Greco-Roman cultural milieu of the Roman Empire.
Zondervan Academic. 256 pages.
Cultural Christianity
According to Williams, a historian of Greco-Roman culture, cultural Christians are “individuals who identify themselves as Christians but whose outward behavior and, as far as we can see, inner thoughts and motivations are largely influenced by the surrounding culture rather than by the surrounding culture. their Christian faith and the teachings of Jesus” (xiv).
In the ancient world, cultural Christians struggled in many of the same areas as we do. As the New Testament makes clear, believers have always struggled to remain faithful. The early believers made idols of their wealth, food, appearance, sex, and patriotism, all while claiming to be followers of Christ.
There have always been Christians who seemed more influenced by culture than by faith.
We may be tempted to view these cultural Christians, both past and present, as hypocrites who lack sincere faith in Christ. But Williams doesn’t make that accusation. Throughout her book, she refers to those who struggle with cultural sins as “believers” and “Christians.” Their succumbing to cultural pressure was not a matter of salvation; it was a question of sanctification. They struggled because it was simply easier to keep up with the surrounding culture than to live out their faith in a countercultural way.
But Williams recognizes the danger for those who desire their cultural preferences more than following Christ. Cultural sins can leading some who once claimed Christ to abandon Him. As Williams acknowledges: “The allure of culture. . . has sometimes proven more attractive than the countercultural community of the Gospel” (63). The challenge for all Christians is to put to death their cultural sins and pursue Christ.
Exhibit Roman culture
Part of Williams’ mission is to provide historical context for the New Testament. Her understanding of ancient Roman culture shines as she provides background information that illuminates Christian history, making this a valuable book for pastors and teachers.
For example, Williams provides insight into ancient Jewish and Roman property customs by telling the story of Ananias and Sapphira. The couple’s tragic actions recorded in Acts 5 reflect the Roman practice of euergetism, which involved beneficence with the expectation of glory for the giver in return. Ananias and Sapphira were not particularly evil; they were culturally captive. Although God ultimately held them accountable for their cultural sin, their story takes on a different flavor in this context.
New light also shines on other stories in Church history. Williams argues that the importance of two third-century martyrs, Perpetua and Felicity, illustrates a countercultural aspect of Christianity. Within the Church, women’s worth was not attributed to their ability to bear children. We see this because their stories have been celebrated by Church leaders for their spiritual achievements. All women, regardless of marital status, were recognized as valuable members of God’s family. This was radically different from the misogyny of Roman society.
However, Williams shows that the Church struggled to consistently apply its views in a changing society. Williams reminds us: “What remains unchanged, however, is the Church’s call to serve all believers. This ministry involves seeing the worth of each believer through God’s eyes rather than our own” (103).
Confront contemporary culture
Williams clearly states his goal of showing continuity between the errors of the early Christians and “the prominence of these same sins of cultural Christianity in the Church today” (xxvii). Each chapter ends with parallels between modern and ancient cultural requirements. However, many examples demonstrate Williams’ cultural or political preferences, which are rather progressive on monetary and regulatory issues, rather than being examples of clear compromises. Some of its contemporary applications distract from the historical scholarship it offers.
Within the Church, women were given value beyond 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 financially generous with the assertion of higher marginal tax rates in the United States. She argues that we should view state-run social programs as “paraecclesial types of ministries” (20). Although the effectiveness of non-emergency foreign aid is debatable, she says that those who oppose it “are like the pagan Romans” (20). Likewise, she argues that Christian conservatives who oppose certain government social programs are culturally compromised simply because of their opposition to these questionable policies (103).
His approach to these issues cuts discussion short, often moving directly from biblical principle to preferred policy without considering the many ways the mandate can be accomplished. The command to care for the poor does not mean that every government program aimed at redistributing wealth has a biblical mandate. This does not preclude consideration of the further effects of these policies and how they may create new, undesirable social consequences.
Even though I disagree with some of Williams’ preferences, his examples made me think and examine my negative responses. More often than not, my disagreement could be attributed to my cultural or political preferences rather than a deeper theological conflict. Williams’ book shows that we all tend to view contemporary issues from a particular cultural perspective, which is not always scriptural.
Cultural Christians in the Early Church provides useful context for early church history. There is no period in the life of the Church that we can restore to perfect biblical faithfulness. Williams is correct when she asserts: “This ideal past where the Church was fully holy and blameless is, in fact, a myth” (200). Instead, all believers, regardless of their cultural preferences, should look forward to the next City of God.
