BOOK REVIEW: A survey of the birth of Christianity …

If you’re interested in developing an understanding of how the church and this “Way” of following Jesus began, you may want to check out Robert J. Hutchinson’s new book, “The Dawn of Christianity” (published by Nelson Books).

This book focuses narrowly on the telling of how the early “Jesus movement” cobbled together assorted fishermen, soldiers, prostitutes and others into a movement that world transform the world.

Promoted as using “up-to-the-minute” scholarship with the “latest in archeological, linguistic, and historical research,” the book is more of a survey of the birth of Christianity that, at times moves so quickly the author is revealing nothing new or unknown from the biblical narrative, and at other times provides a flurry of details that provide deeper insight and understanding.

The first third or almost half of the book really is just unfolding the biblical narrative of the “Jesus movement” in a more chronological fashion, so much so I began to wonder were all this “up-to-the-minute” and “latest” insights were. But then they came, and sometimes in ways you would not expect. Take, for example, a very different twist Hutchinson has regarding Jesus’ view and relationship with the Pharisees of His day:

“At some point, the debate escalated,” Hutchinson writes. “It appears that Jesus’ teaching on the kingdom aroused the ire of the Pharisees — the self-appointed guardians of Jewish law. In some ways, this is surprising. Jesus had good relations with many Pharisees and shared common ground with them. In the gospel of Luke, Jesus dined with Pharisees three times (7:36, 11:37, 14:1). The book of Acts mentions Pharisees who actually became believers in Jesus and the Way.”

Throughout the remainder of the book, Hutchinson quickly attempts to address various elements of skepticism and, I believe, is inconsistent in prevailing in his take of the story. At times, he can back up his surmising with data such as recent archeological discoveries, but at other times I think he just misses the boat. For example, on the question of whether Jesus ever really raised someone from the dead or were the people just sleeping, I wondered if the author didn’t lean on the side of the “just sleeping” skeptics – I don’t think Hutchinson made clear whatever his position is.

Throughout the book, Hutchinson does do a fair amount of “surmising” as he attempts to weave the Jesus movement narrative together in a chronological story that helps the reader understand how it all started, and how we have wound up where we are today. Overall, I think Hutchinson’s surmizing adds depth and insight to the story of the dawn of Christianity.

The book is written in a simple enough style that anyone can track with the author from cover-to-cover without having to be a theologian or historian. You’ll likely find some places of disagreement on a few biblical points, but the book is an interesting compilation of scripture, scholarship, history, and archeology that presents a coherent, heavily researched story worth exploring in depth.

Scotty

I received this book free from the publisher in exchange for this review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”