(8 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)
Loading ...A People’s History of Christianity by Diana Butler Bass
Am I the only one who gets depressed reading church history sometimes? For supposed followers of Jesus, there sure seems to be a lot of killing and ugly attitudes among the faithful through the ages. I was pleased last year to read Saving Paradise by Brock and Parker, and I’m equally thrilled to introduce you to Diana Butler Bass’s latest offering, which I think will transform how emerging and missional Christians see their heritage.
Subtitled A History of the Grassroots Movements in Christianity that Preserved Jesus’ Message of Social Justice for 2,000 Years and Their Impact on the Church Today, Bass’s A People’s History of Christianity is written in the same spirit as Howard Zinn’s radical and groundbreaking work A People’s History of the United States. In this landmark volume, Bass reveals the under-reported movements, personalities, and spiritual practices that continue to inform and ignite contemporary Christian worship, activism, and social justice reforms in the name of Jesus. The book will offer up a much-needed “other side of the story” for missional and emerging Christians, drawing from examples of alternative practices in every period of Christian history, including:
- Care for the environment and celebrating God in nature
- Defining compassion, hospitality, and social justice as integral to the Gospel
- Peace-making as the pervasive Christian response to war
- Highlighting the female attributes of God, and the power of women in the Church
- Celebrating human sexuality as a gift from God
This is the book that “the great emergence” has been waiting for – a deeply researched history of Christianity that sheds new light on the underreported personalities and movements of the faith.
Bass has garnered a groundswell of support for this innovative project, spanning the conventional left/right spiritual divide. Here’s a sampling:
“It would be difficult to imagine anyone reading this book without finding some new insight or inspiration, some new and unexpected testimony to the astonishing breadth of Christianity through the centuries.”
—Philip Jenkins, author of The Next Christendom
“A perfect armchair companion for contemporary Christians. Charmingly written and refreshing to read, yet rich in details and thorough in its mapping of the major themes and events that have shaped the evolution of the Western Church, A People’s History of Christianity is our story re-told with both clear-eyed affection and a scholar’s acumen.”
—Phyllis Tickle, author of The Great Emergence
“In this beautifully written history, Diana Butler Bass reveals the living, beating heart of love at the core of Christian faith.”
—Sara Miles, author of Take This Bread
“Intelligent and sassy, honest and redemptive. …a warning that if we don’t remember the blood-stained pages of the past, then we are doomed to repeat them., but also an invitation to participate in the next chapter of what it means to be the Church in this broken world.”
—Shane Claiborne, author of The Irresistible Revolution
“An excellent introduction to grass-roots renewal movements as well as to the various shapes that Christian spirituality has taken through the ages. …necessary reading for any who may have thought that history is irrelevant for present-day living.”
—Justo L. Gonzalez, author of The Story of Christianity
“…this book is so much more than a wonderful overview of Christian history. It is also a joyful apologetic for a ‘new kind of Christianity.’ I already gave away my copy, because I knew it would help salvage the faltering faith of a disillusioned friend.”
—Brian McLaren, author of Everything Must Change and A New Kind of Christian
“Interesting, insightful, illuminating, and remarkably relevant.”
—Marcus Borg, author of The Heart of Christianity
“In a refreshing look at 2,000 years of Christian history from the bottom up, Butler Bass offers unique insights into the spirit has stirred the hearts and minds of faithful people over the centuries and brought renewal to Christianity during periods of upheaval and distress.”
—Christian Science Monitor
“…immediately accessible, helped along by frequent and shrewd linkages to contemporary counterpoints. This presentation includes lots of folk along the way who never made the ‘power lists.’ Readers will resonate with this inclusiveness and be grateful to Bass for making them fellow travelers in the on-going story.”
—Walter Brueggemann, Columbia Theological Seminary
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bkjohn
A People’s History of Christianity by Diana Butler Bass looks at the history of the church from the view of those we have never or seldom hear about. In her words she wants to look at the other side of history, the side that differs from the usual side of church history that we know about. She calls the familiar side the “Big-C” of Christianity: Christ, Constantine, Christendom, Calvin and Christian America.
The book is divided into 5 phases of history: Early, Medieval, Reformation, Modern and Contemporary Christianity. Each section talking about events and people that made that time period what it was and is.
I was moved by the early church’s concern for justice and mercy as seen in their hospitality and forbearance in the midst of sickness and persecution. There was a epidemic in the 2nd century known as the Plague of Galen in which hundreds of thousands died in the streets. While most people were fleeing the city the Christians remained behind to help. We modern/contemporary Christians seem to be more concerned about self preservation than about loving and taking care of our neighbor. A couple years ago in our neighborhood there was a rumor going about that a certain individual had TB so some from the Christian community became panicky and began worrying about weather they may have caught it from the person and making sure they did not go near him. Somewhat a different reaction from the early church (by the way they found out the guy did not have TB-panic for nothing)
The early church took the command “love your neighbor as yourself” seriously. The writer makes this statement, “While contemporary Christians tend to equate morality with sexual ethics, our ancestors defined morality as welcoming the stranger.” I wonder what would happen in our churches that instead of expecting and telling a new convert that he must now quit smoking, drinking, cussing and begin attending church and tell them that they must now open their houses to the homeless, take care of the sick and feed the hungry.
The writer makes the point that people did not convert to Christianity because of the churches doctrine but because it worked- it was seen and experienced in real life.
Another part of the book that I found interesting was the emphasis upon prayer during the reformation. Prayers, not necessarily those of the reformers, but of the Catholic lay people. Many catholics who did not leave their faith began a renewing process and part of that was a revival of prayer. The prayer beads were brought in and the laity began to pray and to organize communities around the rosary. One of the results of this was the slowing down of the Protestant advance in France.
The writer characterizes the modern period (1650-1945) as a quest for truth. With summaries of people such as Albert Schweitzer, Jonathon Edwards, George Fox, Elizabeth Hooton, Juana Ines de la Cruz, John Wesley and others in their pursuit of divine truth
In Contemporary Christianity (1945 to the present) she sums up all the periods including the contemporary period as saying,
“In each period of Christian history particular images or orientations seem to capture the spirit of the faith. Through time Christianity could be described as the way, a cathedral, the word, or a quest. Some scholars want to depict contemporary Christian faith as a quarrel . But I prefer to think of it as a river, water rising and overflowing its banks. A fluid faith.” p.292
This is a 5 star book. I highly recommend it. Easy reading, interesting stories without getting all bogged down with dates etc., informational and good for both laymen and pastors.
http://www.intercessioncity.blogspot.com
Aug 3rd, 2009
TgotK
“A People’s History of Christianity,” is a concise retelling of Christian history, what the cover calls “the other side of the story.” Instead of focusing on stories we all know from Christianity’s 2,000 year story, Dr. Diana Butler Bass hopes to focus on stories that–frankly–coincide with a more emergent or progressive view of Christianity.
Dr. Bass manages to write clearly and accurately. The book highlights encouraging stories about our faith, but she is also honest about Christanity’s shortcomings.
This book is not for graduate-level reading, however. It is very much a beginning-level history, so if you are very familiar with Christian history, don’t expect a lot of surprises.
Although Dr. Bass admits that she has an agenda in the prologue, I did wish for a slightly more objective take on Christian history. It was obvious throughout that she had a point to get across. Sometimes history read as more anecdotal than historical.
Overall, this book should be recommended for those new to Christianity or Christian history. Like I said, the book has few surprises, but it accomplishes the goal it sets out to accomplish, and for that it can be commended.
Aug 12th, 2009
derek
As others have written on this page, A Peoples History is a Christian history for the underdog. Like Howard Zinns’ A Peoples History series, this is history for the underdog.
History is written by the winners of wars, the rich, the powerful and the amazingly successful, so any attempt to highlight a minority report through the ages can seem a bit like revisionist history and in Diana Bass’ case, she seems to be re-writing the undercurrent of history to appeal to a modern, emergent reader.
I find it troubling that this book doesn’t much talk about ‘both sides’ of the relegated Christian movements.
Bass’ discusses at length any and all ideas developed in history that can be appealing to a modern, progressive Christian, but where are the many other fringe movements and ideas of history? the ‘heresies’ and books that don’t fit so nicely into an emergent reevaluation of the past?
definitely worth the read, but only if you have already read a great overview of the ‘Big C’ Christian histories so you have a background on which ‘A people’s history’ can build. without it you get a very one sided view that over represents its importance to history.
I recommend Brian Shelley’s “Church History in Plain Language” first, then pick up a copy of ‘A People’s History of Christianity”.
Aug 15th, 2009
youtharerevolting
A People’s History of Christianity (PHC) is a good book, with flaws, but still worthy of being bought and read if one were to see it on sell somewhere.
Bass writes PHC trying to incorporate some of the lesser heard voices of history, she does so to an adequate level, but as others have noted, she tends to hear only from one “side” of the unheard: those voices that seem to mirror her progressive and Christianity. Voices of those from the past of history that are slightly more conservative? They seem to go unheard.
In my estimation Bass accurately represents the voices of the past she decided to include, but did a lousy job of hearing the vast span of voices from the past, ones she may not perhaps agree with.
In the end, this history is more of Bass’ interpretation and reflection on the past, which is wonderful because she is a cheerful and lovely writer, but if readers are looking for an accurate picture of Christianities past, look elsewhere.
Aug 15th, 2009
ian.eastman
The older I get, the more interested I am in my family history. I remember snippets of stories that I heard as a young person about the immigration of my great-grandparents and what life was like for my aunts and uncles in the 1920s and 30s, but regret not paying better attention (or writing anything down). I guess that my day-to-day life in the 1980s seemed much more interesting and relevant than those old-time stories.
Similarly, I think my faith may be lacking because of neglecting history. As a young Pentecostal, church history started with the New Testament and then jumped to the Azuza Street Revival. When I attended a Calvary Chapel, we substituted the Jesus Movement for Azuza. When I later got involved with The Salvation Army, it was about William Booth. There is a lot more to the family history than any one story.
Diana Butler Bass has written a wonderful book called A People’s History of Christianity: The Other Side of the Story. It is not a guide to institutions, but an eminently readable collection of stories about ordinary people who loved God and others down through the ages. My faith was enriched to learn more about these people who are often minor footnotes in other books, if mentioned at all. I put down the book encouraged (in the words of the author) to “go make church history” myself.
Aug 25th, 2009
smh00a
I somehow avoided taking a Christian history class during my graduate studies, instead opting for the much narrower (though still fascinating) Restoration History option. Looking back, I’m sure I missed out. One must first look back before moving forward, because it is in looking back that we identify the great human capacity for good — and for evil.
I was fortunate enough to take a history of mission course, however, which surveyed quite comprehensively the high points of the propagation of our faith since Adam. It occurred to me then, and even more so after having read A People’s History of Christianity, that the history I received was one marked by conquest – many times of ideas and too often of the sword. Sadly, this has been the prevailing history of our faith passed down through the ages: one that favors the powerful, reinforces institutional religion in all cases, and plays down (or ignores altogether) our more embarrassing moments.
Diana Butler Bass (former New York Times columnist and author of Christianity for the Rest of Us) writes A People’s History in direct challenge to this more popular version of Christian history, which she calls “Big-C Christianity.” According to Bass, a survey of popular understanding of church history reveals that the high points for most Christians are as follows: Christ, Constantine, Christendom, Calvin, and Christian America. This version of Christianity is militant, Bass asserts, a characteristic that runs tragically counter to the values of peace, justice and hospitality that have been the centerpieces of the faith since Jesus. As her subtitle suggests, Bass is setting out to tell “the other side of the story,” one that refuses to serve “as a nostalgia trip to some halcyon faith-filled days of old when the church got it right,” but rather as
… a history of hope – that regular people often “get it” better than the rich, the famous, and the powerful. (310)
Bass’s work will immediately draw comparisons to that of historian Howard Zinn, whose 1980 book A People’s History of the United States made waves with its review and (in many cases) revision of popular American history to offer a less power-centric perspective. Bass’s and Zinn’s common overarching goal about their respective subjects is where the similarities end, however. For one, Bass has about four times the number of years to work with than Zinn, who stretches 500 years of U.S. history into nearly 700 pages of exhaustive content. Bass covers her subject in just over 300 pages, a marvelous feat considering its vastness. Second (and this is a credit to Bass), A People’s History of Christianity is more of a celebration of the streams of our faith that have “worked” than a deconstruction of that which hasn’t. As important as Zinn’s work is for this nation’s public discourse, one cannot say the same about A People’s History of the United States. What’s more, lest the reader think Bass’s book is another installment in the “A People’s History…” franchise, it isn’t. As far as I can tell, there is no connection, and Bass is merely borrowing the title with the hope that her telling of Christian history will do for Christians what Zinn’s version of American history has done for discerning Americans.
In this reviewer’s opinion, it just may. Bass’s work is highly accessible, refusing to labor through murky theological topics and opting instead for the kinds of universally appreciated stories of Christians actually living like Christ. The layout of her book is not linear, but more topical, breaking down Christian history into five parts: The Way (Early Christianity); The Cathedral (Medieval Christianity); The Word (Reformation Christianity); The Quest (Modern Christianity); and The River (Contemporary Christianity). Furthermore, she breaks each section (except the last) out into three sections: an introduction to the issues of the time, a section describing the nature of Christians’ personal faith (Devotion), and a section describing the nature of Christians’ outwardly practiced faith (Ethics). In each section, Bass takes her narrative beyond the hot-button issues of the day to the movements and conversations bubbling right under the surface. She skips over St. Patrick, for instance, opting instead for Celtic pilgrim Brendan. Her section on medieval philosopher Peter Abelard and his lover Heloise (a nun who was also Abelard’s niece) is also not a story one reads in most popular church history texts, but Bass uses their stories to illustrate how “doubt and love merged into spiritual passion.” Provocative indeed.
Lest the reader miss the proverbial forest because of a tree or two, Bass comes back time and again to a few resounding themes consistent throughout Christian history, around which we can surely unite: love, charity, hospitality, and justice.
On charity:
Charity, a word that comprises love and justice, may well be the most sublime of all Christian virtues. Of all of Jesus’s teachings and works, his compassion toward the poor, suffering, and outcast claims the admiration of those even vaguely acquainted with the Christian religion. Oddly enough, however, ministry among the meek often provokes the ire of the established church. And those who serve the poor are often misunderstood and persecuted. (141)
This passage follows Bass’s telling of a story about a minister friend of hers in Memphis who attempted to serve the poor inside the church building, only to face fierce opposition from congregants. We all know of contemporary “radicals” who are met with similar ire because of their unconventional or “messy” methods, so one then reads of the controversial Medieval sect, the Beguines, differently in light of present-day experience. In her interweaving of more recent national or personal examples into her historical narrative, Bass really is at her best. Though not in the least preachy, Bass does not shy away from offering her perspective on the way certain pieces of history ought to be applied, a practice that is very much needed in the conversation but will undoubtedly get her in trouble in certain circles.
For one, Bass is unabashedly high-church (Episcopalian), and her liturgical leanings show themselves throughout A People’s History. She is quite affirming, for instance, of the medieval church’s emphasis on architecture as a primary way of experiencing the Divine. She cannot and should not apologize for her religious heritage, but she could lose a reader or two from the more Evangelical camp as a result.
Another small question I have about Bass’s work is regarding her use of so many virtually unknown figures in Christian history. In her attempt to find those people and movements that we haven’t heard of, might Bass be taking liberties with various parts of history? Might she be undeservedly elevating a few characters to an unrealistic position in order to make her points? I am not familiar enough with Christian history to know for sure, though several of her vignettes did cause me to question. One thing’s for sure: Bass did her homework, consulting the very best previous scholarship had to offer. The proof is in her nearly 25 pages of references at the end of the book. Furthermore, the endorsements of noted Christian historian Philip Jenkins and theologian Walter Brueggemann have to count for something.
For those who wonder how reading Christian history applies to our world today, Bass has an answer in her final section on the contemporary church (1945-present). She passes over a clear opportunity to preach to us her predictions of how the postmodern church will shake out, instead choosing to “interview” a few ordinary Christians for their thoughts. This method is consistent with her aim throughout: to tell inspiring stories rather than resort to the world of dusty facts and propositions.
As one who attempts to live out my faith with a few friends outside the formal religious institution, I was moved to greater devotion and action by the stories of Christian history’s micro-movements of love, many of which flew under the radar screen until now. Bass’s telling of them has a campfire feel, and I found myself leaning into every word. A People’s History of Christianity is not simply one of the most readable and relevant works of Christian history in the last 20 years, it ought to be required reading for all Western Christians. My guess is that even a non-religious person would come away from Bass’s work with a significantly different perspective on the diverse and passionate people that follow a loving and undomesticated Messiah.
- Steve Holt
Sep 11th, 2009
Ewright523
I wish I had received this book earlier in the year…I could have referenced it during a church history class I was teaching. Though for introductory, academic study of Church history I still recommend Justo Gonzalez’s two-part series on Church History. This book would be a great supplemental text.
Diana begins the book by telling the story of her having dinner with a friend who expressed some consternation at Diana’s ability to hold on to her faith. Her friend says, “I don’t have any trouble with Jesus. It’s all the stuff that happened after Jesus that makes me mad.” This same question rattles around the minds of many both within and without the church.
The answer for me (and for Diana) is that the true history of the Christian faith does not lay in the official history of its structures and theology. “Big C” Christianity as Diana calls it. The true history of the faith lays in the people who have faithfully lived out the message of Jesus in their everyday life. It is like a current flowing through the center of a large river. One only needs to look at the lives of various individuals throughout history to see genuine faith in practice…more often than not they are not the ones leading the Church…Big “C.”
For many, the inability to answer the tough questions of Church history (i.e. how can the church do the things it has done and still call itself Christian?) has caused many to neglect and reject history. This too has led to many problems because it creates an amnesia in the church that causes it to repeat many of the mistakes, heresies, and sinful actions of its past. Diana states, “Thus we inhabit a posttraditional world-a world of broken memory-in which some tell history badly, others do not know it at all, and still others use history to manipulate society to their own ends.”
Diana does a great job of finding some of Church history’s least noticed people (and some its most noticed people) and looking beyond the “official” history. She helps us see them as real people with real struggles, but also a real faith. She also reminds us of the importance of knowing our history…knowing OUR story.
Check out the video of Diana Butler Bass’s interview here.
By Eric Wright
I blog at themergeblog.
Sep 11th, 2009
Warren Wade
The original reason that I requested this book was its obvious allusion to Zinn; however, much to my initial dismay, I found the book was nothing like that.
My expectation was that this book would be a detailed narrative of the history of “Christianity” as it has unfolded throughout the millennia told from the perspective of those that were victimized by “Christian” history, much like Zinn’s “A People’s History of the United States” documented the lives and experiences of those who suffered through America’s “manifest destiny.” I often feel like sometimes that component of the church’s collective history is down-played or ignored or considered part of the “manifest destiny” of the church by those within the church or it is the only thing associated with Christian history by those who see (sometimes justifiably) not a lot of good in “Christian” history when they look at the past two millennia. To that extent, I was initially disappointed.
However, what I found was that this book is written about groups of people similarly overlooked, ignored or castigated. They faced similar persecutions by members of their own creed, were discriminated against due to ethnic differences or were martyred annihilated for their spiritual differences. They have been left out by those both who have strong-armed Christianity today and by those outside of the faith in their hold. Their stories must be told in order to gain a more perfect understanding of the History of Christianity.
(I am not suggesting that some of the atrocities perpetuated by “Christian” leaders throughout the ages against their own kind carry nearly the same gravitas nor am I suggesting that those atrocities that were executed internal to the faith have the same global and trans-era ramifications. It is clear that those external expressions of religious contempt and persecution by those under the moniker of Christianity to those outside have negatively altered the state of the world and the world’s perception of Christians and, thus, Christ.)
If, at any point in your life, you have found some irregularities in the branding of Christianity today and what you have observed of the life of Christ and have known on some intrinsic spiritual level, this book is for you. This book is a reflection of and on communities that have enacted the spiritual life of Christ to the world by way of charity, love, hospitality, goodness and care for the poor. They have lived in small and large towns, monasteries and cathedrals. And, while the wounds inflicted by Christians throughout the ages have left scars on this planet and its people, the works and lives of the subjects in this book provide the healing and comfort necessary to introduce a sick world to the goodness, grace, mercy, peace and reconciliation of God.
Sep 22nd, 2009
PadreWarren
This weekend I finished reading Diana Butler Bass’ latest book A People’s History or Christianity: The Other Side of the Story. The long and the short of it is, I really liked this book. I found the writing style to be just as accessible as her other offerings.
Butler Bass is a church historian with a knack of communicating text and context of the events that have helped to shape Christianity over the centuries. In addition to an friendly and comfortable writing style the format of the book was also appealing.
She breaks down different historical eras of Church history in to broad categories located within history (The Way, The Cathedral, The Word, The Quest and The River). She then talks about the nature of Christianity as it was understood in the historical context and then for each of these areas and then talks about the devotional and ethical practices that characterize the various eras she discusses.
I would recommend this book as a terrific study book for congregations and people who are interested in knowing more about where the Church has been and done while also suggesting where God might be calling it go and do.
I found the theological basis of the book solid (and not just because she’s an Episcopalian like me) and her understanding of the various streams of the church to be grounded in solid scholarship, faithful observance and broad experience.
Take the time to read this, you won’t be disappointed. I suspect this will be one I’ll refer to again and again.
Sep 24th, 2009
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