COMING SOON: Cultural Christians in the Early Church

Considering the challenge of culture to the earliest converts to Christianity

COMING SOON: The earliest Christians were not so different. Cultural Christians in the Early Church, which aims to be both historical and practical, argues that cultural Christians were the rule, rather than the exception, in the early church. Using different categories of sins as its organizing principle, the book considers the challenge of culture to the earliest converts to Christianity, as they struggled to live on mission in the Greco-Roman cultural milieu of the Roman Empire. These believers blurred and pushed the boundaries of what it meant to be a saint or sinner from the first to the fifth centuries CE, and their stories provide the opportunity to get to know the regular people in the early churches. At the same time, their stories provide a fresh perspective for considering the difficult timeless questions that stubbornly persist in our own world and churches: when is it a sin to eat or not eat a particular food? Are women inherently more sinful than men? And why is Christian nationalism a problem and, at times, a sin? Ultimately, recognizing that cultural sins were always a part of the story of the church and its people is a message that is both a source of comfort and a call to action in our pursuit of sanctification today. "Nadya Williams performs the amazing feat of presenting ancient believers as real human beings, with highly recognizable virtues and flaws, living in environments not that different from what we know today." —PHILIP JENKINS, Baylor University "Williams hopes that these ancients can put up a mirror for us to see our own blind spots and vices in their stories. She creatively uses early Christian history to illuminate the narrow road of faithful discipleship." —NIJAY K. GUPTA, Northern Seminary "An excellent example of how understanding the struggle of Christianity and culture in antiquity can help us to understand our own cultural struggles in the present. Thoroughly recommended!" —REV. DR. MICHAEL F. BIRD, Ridley College "...a nuanced account of the early church and the sinners who filled it. Williams calls on contemporary Christians to stop idealizing people in the past and challenges us to renew our efforts to resist sin in all its forms, from the familiar vice of avarice to the more insidious idolatry of Christian nationalism." —MEGHAN DILUZIO, Baylor University "Williams is a talented writer who tells a story that is engaging, witty, and instructive while also being accessible to nonspecialists with no previous knowledge of early Christian history." —DR. JENNIFER EBBELER, University of Texas at Austin "Cultural Christians in the Early Church is not a work of "presentism," judging our ancestors by the values of today. In some ways, it is the reverse. By shining a gospel light on ancient Christians, Williams succeeds in providing a scorching critique of aspects of contemporary Christianity. This book is not for the fainthearted, but it is highly recommended." —JOHN DICKSON, Wheaton College LEARN MORE ›   © 2023 HarperCollins Christian Publishing. All Rights Reserved. 501 Nelson Place, Nashville, TN 37214, USA Privacy Policy | Terms and Conditions

 

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