+

V
c havc lor convcnicncc dividcd thc wholc
ol history into 400ycar pcriods rathcr
than locusing on what happcncd in cvcry
ccntury. ! am not vcry intcrcstcd in gctting pcoplc
to rcmcmbcr unrclatcd dctails. ! think thc ability to
rcmcmbcr somcthing is almost usclcss unlcss what
you rcmcmbcr is ticd into somc conccpt. So ! would
likc now to talk about conccpts that rclatc to thc rst
400ycar pcriod, 0 to 400 A.
Historiographic Diculties
First ol alland almost prcliminary to any discussion ol
what happcncd so lar back in historyis thc qucstion
that could bc callcd historiographic. !t is a qucstion ol
how you know what you know.
nc ol thc most cmincnt prolcssors in thc world in
thc cld ol history, Lynn Vhitc, Jr., madc thc statc
mcnt that il it wcrc not lor thc Carolingian Rcnais
sancc wc would know no morc about thc ancicnt
Roman mpirc than wc know about thc ancicnt Maya,
which is not vcry much. Tcrc arc only lour documcnts
availablc at this timc in history that comc dircctly to
us lrom thc cra ol thc Roman mpirc. vcrything clsc
wc know rcsults lrom thc litcrary output ol convcrtcd
savagcs in thc lorcsts ol uropc and thc 8iblc study
ccntcrs thcy cstablishcd. !n cach ccntcr thcy trcatcd thc
8iblc with grcat carc. Tcsc wcrc thc rst 8iblc schools
whcrc thcy studicd not only thc 8iblc, but sccular lit
craturc as wcll. Tcy copicd and rccopicd cspccially thc
8iblc, but also a lot ol thc ancicnt Roman litcraturc.
xccpt lor thosc lour manuscripts, thc ancicnt Grcck
or Roman litcraturc wc havc today was prcscrvcd duc
to that intcrvcning 8iblc school activity altcr thc lall
ol thc Roman mpirc. And this rcscuc ol thc litcra
turc camc just in timc bclorc thc \ikings swcpt in and
burncd most ol it to ashcs again.
!n othcr words, wc arc looking back ovcr many ccntu
ricsmany mountain rangcs, lcaving vallcys ol dark
ncss in ordcr to gct back to Latin Romc. !t is rcally
amazing that wc know anything at all about cvcnts
that lar back.
Tcrc is a sccond dimcnsion ol diculty, howcvcr,
that is not just a physical problcm. !t has to do with
blankcts ol prcjudicc. vcrything wc do has that
complication. For instancc, Te Decline and Fall of the
Roman Empire by dward Gibbon is a vcry dctailcd
and lcngthy sct ol volumcs which scroungcs its inlor
mation lrom many othcr documcnts, most ol which
arc still availablc. 8ut it is a highly sclcctivc, biascd and
colorcd account. His wholc purposc is to provc that thc
Christian laith wrcckcd thc Roman mpirc. And thc
lact that hc has a hard timc proving this is at lcast onc
positivc thing, but thc rccord hc givcs is a distortion
duc to his prcjudicc. Tcrc is not a singlc unprcjudiccd
documcnt in history (cxccpt lor thc 8iblc itscll that
attacks its own pcoplc ovcr and ovcr again).
For cxamplc, thc Roman Catholic tradition with
dctcrmination and thoroughncss has tcndcd to rcvisc
and twist thc cntirc Christian history in ordcr to makc
its own church lincagc look likc onc singlc bcautilul,
continuous phcnomcnon. Tis mcans that a Roman
Catholic documcnt talking about thc Ccltic church
should bc trcatcd with a hcalthy dosc ol distrust.
Ncithcr can an nglish documcnt bc trustcd whcn
it talks about thc Ccltic church: thc nglish church
was cvcn morc irritatcd about thc Ccltic Church than
wcrc thc Romans.
Te First Four Hundred Years
(0-400 AD)
Ralph D. Winter
Rcprintcd with pcrmission lrom Vintcr, Ralph . Te Unfolding Drama f the Christian Movement. n.d., Chaptcr 5.
+ Tnv Fivs: Foiv Hixbvvb Yv~vs (ooo A)
Vc constantly run into vast prcjudiccs. Tc art ol thc
intcrprctation ol history is to a grcat cxtcnt catching
on to thc prcjudiccs, and thcn, by allowing lor thcm,
guring out what must havc bccn truc.
Lct mc givc you onc cxamplc. Tosc ol you who havc hcard
ol Pclagius immcdiatcly think ol him as a hcrctic. ur
ing Pclagius pcriod ol timc, Augustinc ol Hippo was thc
orthodox thcologian who argucd with Pclagius, tclling him
and cvcrybody that Pclagius thcology was hcrctical. To this
day church historians usually considcr his thcology to bc a
notablc hcrcsy. Tcy basc thcir commcnts to a grcat cxtcnt
on Augustincs judgmcnt. Tc church historian Latourcttc
did his rcscarch on Pclagius and madc thc statcmcnt that
Pclagius probably didnt bclicvc cxactly what his antagonists
said hc bclicvcd. !t is almost always truc in an argumcnt il
only thc documcnts writtcn by onc sidc arc availablc. Tc
pcrsons criticizcd may not havc said all thc things thcir
opponcnts ascribc to thcm. So Latourcttc madc thc rathcr
astounding statcmcnt that Pclagius was probably not Pcla
gian! Hc was, at thc most, a ScmiPclagian.
Tc qucstion that an anthropologist might raisc ovcr this
situation is why thcsc two thcologians wcrc arguing in thc
rst placc. Sincc hardly anything writtcn by Pclagius him
scll is in cxistcncc today, wc cannot simply rcad thc tcxt ol
his argumcnt and dccidc lor oursclvcs, all wc havc is what
his accuscrs said about him. Vhy was thcrc an argumcnt:
Tat is thc most important prcliminary qucstion.
!t is not vcry hard to nd out that Pclagius camc lrom
thc wrong sidc ol thc tracks. Hc was not cvcn a citi
zcn ol Romc. Hc camc lrom thc Cornwall arcathc
lowcr south cnd ol 8ritain in thc Ccltic bclt whcrc thc
Roman lcgions wcrc still in chargc. Apparcntly, somc
ol thc pcoplc thcrc wcrc highly cducatcd but wcrc not
rstclass Romans. Vhcn Pclagius wcnt down to Romc,
hc alrcady kncw Grcck, Hcbrcw and Latin, whcrcas
Augustinc, a rstclass Roman citizcn, kncw only Latin
and could not rcad cithcr Grcck or Hcbrcw.
Picturc Pclagius walking into Romc, much about him
bctraying his background lrom thc stickshc may
cvcn havc had thc wrong color ol hair, blondc instcad
ol Mcditcrrancan blackbut, ncvcrthclcss, with such
sophisticatcd acadcmic crcdcntials (bcttcr than Augus
tincs). You can wcll imaginc that this would provokc
an argumcnt, no mattcr what Pclagius bclicvcd.
Altcr visiting Romc and (Roman) North Alrica,
Pclagius wcnt on his way to thc Middlc ast. Vc ncxt
hcar about him whcn hc got into Jcromcs sphcrc, and
Jcromc callcd him a Ccltic pignot a vcry scholarly
cvaluation. Hc not only callcd Pclagius a pig, but actu
ally said, that stupid pig likc all thc othcr Ccltsa
commcnt which givcs us insight into thc broad
rcscarch Jcromc had donc.
Tcn Pclagius disappcars lrom thc pagcs ol history
cxccpt lor othcr occasional rclcrcnccs to him in thc
documcnts lrom thc pcriod ol thc Carolingian Rcnais
sancc which wcrc laithlully and mcchanically copicd.
Tcsc arc still availablc to us, and whcn wc rcad about
Pclagius, wc tcnd to say, h, what a tcrriblc hcrctic
this guy was.
Tus, whcn you go back and try to nd out what
happcncd, you cncountcr not only mcchanical prob
lcms in just gctting thc data, but also cultural lac
torscnormous prcjudiccs, which may causc cvcn
morc misundcrstanding.
nc othcr cxamplc is thc \cncrablc 8cdc, who was onc
ol thc vcry lcw historians during thc rst millcnnium,
and onc ol thc most trustworthy. Hc wrotc a vcry dctailcd
account ol thc nglishspcaking church. vcn hc had to
dcal with political corrcctncss. 8cdc livcd in a postCcltic
cra altcr thc Synod ol Vhitby whcn thc nglish church
had supposcdly adoptcd thc Roman (Catholic) tradition.
Although an AngloSaxon, hc was cducatcd in a Ccltic
arca, but was politically unablc to writc anything that
was proCcltic. Tus, all thc way through his rathcr thick
and vcry intcrcsting book, An Ecclesiastical History of the
English-Speaking People, 8cdc is constantly taking pains
to point out that Ccltic scholars wcrc wrong about thc
astcr datc, thc tonsurc (thc haircut that monks worc),
and othcr cqually important things.
Howcvcr, lcaking into thc narrativc, cithcr subcon
sciously or vcry likcly consciously, is a stcady campaign.
!l you rcad thc wholc book and stop to think about
what is rcally bcing said, you gct a dicrcnt point ol
vicw. 8cdc is quitc proCcltic. 8clorc thc Synod ol
Vhitby, most ol thc Cclts in 8ritain wcrc lollowcrs
ol Pclagius, indccd, many continucd to rcvcrc him lor
lour hundrcd morc ycars. !n his book, 8cdc prcscnts
thcsc Ccltic Christian lcadcrs as humblc, godly pcoplc.
!n his dctailcd story ol thc cxchangc at thc Synod ol
Vhitby, thc Roman church lcadcrs comc across as
insucrablc snobs, cvcn though thcy arc thc oncs who
happcn to havc thc corrcct thcology. !n othcr words,
8cdc bows to thc political ncccssity ol lollowing
Romc, but wc can tcll whcrc his sympathics rcally lic
Ralph D. Winter +
il wc rcad thc cntirc book carclully, bcing awarc ol thc
racial tcnsions ol thc timc.
So hcrc is a piccc ol litcraturc that is supcrcially
prcjudiccd in ordcr to gct publishcd, but is morc accu
ratc and sympathctic in its bctwccnthclincs mcssagc.
Tcsc arc just cxamplcs ol how historiography must
discovcr and grapplc with prcjudicc.
nc morc point undcr historiography: what is it thcn
that wc do know: Most ol what wc know about thc
phcnomcnon ol Christianity in thc rst 400 ycars altcr
Christ comcs lrom only onc or two documcnts. !t
cithcr comcs lrom thc Ncw Tcstamcnt itscll, which is
a blazing bcacon ol truth and light in thc carly part ol
this 400ycar pcriod, or it comcs lrom onc othcr sct ol
documcnts, thc work ol uscbius, thc ocial chroni
clcr ol thc Roman mpirc.
Most historians arc cmbarrasscd to admit that thcy
havc to trust uscbius. Vhcn Christianity bccamc
ocially tolcratcd, hc was askcd by thc govcrnmcnt to
pull togcthcr a lot ol thc documcnts that had survivcd
lrom thc catacombs and thc carlicr pcriod. So, uscbius
put togcthcr a massivc multivolumc sct ol writings.
Hc quotcd lrom hundrcds ol documcnts which arc no
longcr availablc to us. Tc problcm with uscbius is
probably not that hc is misquoting thc authors ol thosc
documcnts, bccausc, comparcd to thc original docu
mcnts that wc do havc, his quotations arc lairly accuratc.
8ut, hc quotcd what hc wantcd to quotc and lclt out
what hc did not want to quotc. !ncvitably, hundrcds
and hundrcds ol documcnts arc complctcly lost sight ol
cxccpt lor quotations that comc lrom uscbius.
Tus, almost always whcn wc arc rcading thc arly
Church FathcrsClcmcnt ol Alcxandria, Tcrtullian,
and othcrswc arc rcading what uscbius pullcd
togcthcr. ircct knowlcdgc ol this pcriod is vcry scarcc.
And it is absolutcly amazing how much wc actually do
know about Romc, thc Roman mpirc, or thc arly
Church, considcring thc problcms ol historiography
and thc hcroic work ol thc monastcrics.
Between the Beginning and the End
Vc do know thc bcginning and thc cnd ol thc pcriod.
Tc bcginning is in thc Ncw Tcstamcnt, and thc cvcnts
at thc cnd wcrc writtcn down whcn Constantinc and
othcrs allowcd Christianity to ourish in thc last
hundrcd ycars ol thc 400ycar pcriodlrom A 300
to 400. Tus, wc know a lot about thc church in thc
lourth ccntury. 8ut wc do not know anything, cxccpt
indircctly, about thc pcriod bctwccn thc Ncw Tcsta
mcnt and thc lourth ccntury.
Howcvcr, il you know thc bcginning and thc cnd ol a story,
it docs not takc too much imagination to gurc out what
happcncd in bctwccn. Lct mc givc you thrcc cxamplcs.
First ol all, wc know that at thc bcginning ol this pcriod
thc gospcl was in a stablc, at thc cnd ol thc pcriod it
was cnsconccd in thc Latcran Palacc ol Romc. Tc vcry
palacc ol thc cmpcrors was takcn ovcr by thc Christian
church whcn Constantinc, duc to his wilcs dcriving
lrom thc castcrn part ol thc cmpirc, nally yicldcd to
hcr wishcs and movcd thc hcadquartcrs ol thc cmpirc
lrom Romc to what was thcrcaltcr to bc callcd Con
stantinoplc. Tat movc lclt bchind this palacc which was
thcn turncd ovcr to thc most rcliablc pcoplc in town,
who by that timc happcncd to bc Christians.
!n contrast to thc Vcst, Christianity had a sizablc slicc
ol thc population in thc castcrn part ol thc cmpirc.
Pcrhaps as much as 30 pcrccnt ol Grcccc was thcn
Christian, lor cxamplc. 8y thcn it was simply impos
siblc to ignorc this movcmcnt. !t is uttcrly ridiculous
to assumc that, just bccausc Constantinc bccamc a
Christian, that gavc thc Christians an unlair advan
tagc. Vhcthcr or not Constantinc was convcrtcd,
Romc would havc had to tolcratc Christianity anyway
bccausc by A 300 thcrc wcrc so many Christians
throughout thc cmpirc.
Tc sccond cxamplc ol bcing ablc to conjccturc bccausc
wc know about thc bcginning and thc cnding is that
wc know thc gospcl wcnt lrom Galilcc ol thc Gcntilcs
to thc Goths during this pcriod. Tc argumcnts that
took placc in thc lourth ccntury wcrc so virulcnt and
thc hcrctics drivcn out so systcmatically that thosc
hcrctics bccamc rcluctant missionarics in thc Gothic
arcas. As a rcsult, most ol thc Gothic pcoplcs bccamc
at lcast nominally Christian by thc cnd ol thc 400 ycars
(Gothic in this casc rclcrs to all thc dicrcnt tribcs ol
Middlc uropc ol that pcriod). Tat is an cnd product
that wc know about. Tc mcchanism whcrcby thcy wcrc
convcrtcd is not vcry clcar, but wc know that thcy wcrc
Christians ol a sort by thc cnd ol thc pcriod. !n somc
cascs, thc Goths acccptcd Arians cxilcd as hcrctics bc
causc thcy wclcomcd thc hcrctics as cncmics ol Romc!
Tirdly, wc know that thc gospcl wcnt lrom Galatia to
thc Ccltic pcoplcs. Vc dont know that it wcnt litcrally
+6 Tnv Fivs: Foiv Hixbvvb Yv~vs (ooo A)
lrom Galatia to Galicia (in northcast Spain), but wc
can at lcast conjccturc. Tcrc was probably a conncc
tion, likcly by lamily, by tradcrs strctching lrom Gala
tia ol Asia Minor all thc way to !rcland across thc
northcrn part ol Grcccc through lormcr Yugoslavia, up
to thc Ccltic pcoplcs in what is still callcd thc Ccltic
bclt which strctchcd across Southcrn uropc. Tcrc
was likcly somc kind ol lairly constant communication
bctwccn thc Ccltic tribcs, by ship lrom Asia Minor go
ing wcst through thc Mcditcrrancan and Gibraltar, thcn
into northcrn Spain, into what is callcd Galicia (anothcr
Ccltic namc) in thc Northwcst tip ol Spain, into 8rit
tany (anothcr Ccltic namc) in Francc, and into South
Valcs and Cornwall or Valcs and !rcland.
For Paul thc Apostlc to havc gonc to thc Galatians,
who wcrc Ccltic pcoplcs, or at lcast to havc visitcd
among thcm and to havc implantcd thc gospcl into
that Ccltic bclt givcs us thc possibility ol imagining
that it was thc mcans whcrcby thc gospcl got so carly
into !rcland. thcrwisc wc havc no cxplanation.
!m not saying that thc Galatians ol thc Ncw Tcsta
mcnt wcrc Cclts. Tcy could havc bccn. Tcy livcd in
thc Ccltic bclt, in an arca namcd altcr thc Cclts, who
landcd thcrc in 284 8C. Tc Grcck word lor Galatians,
galatoi, is phonctically parallcl to thc word celt, thc
thrcc consonantsg/k, l, tarc thc cvidcncc.
Vc also know that thc gospcl that landcd in !rcland
was not Vcstcrn but astcrn. !t was not Roman in thc
Latin tradition ol Christianity, it bcars strong cvidcncc
ol Grcck and gyptian Christian background. Tis, ol
coursc, is anothcr tclltalc cvidcncc as to why Ccltic
Christianity must havc comc lrom thc castcrn cnd ol
thc cmpirc.
Te Spread of Christianity
in the Roman Empire
As mcntioncd bclorc, Constantincs convcrsion was
not thc main rcason why thc Roman mpirc bccamc
tolcrant to Christianity. Constantinc did not proclaim
Christianity as thc ocial rcligion ol Romc until ovcr
a hall ccntury altcr his convcrsion.
!t is intcrcsting that cvcn altcr it bccamc ocial, thcrc
was a casc ol a short rcvcrsal. !n thc lourth ccntury thc
cmpcror Julian tricd to gct thc pcoplc ol thc cmpirc
to go back to thcir pagan tradition. Tat is why hc is
known as Julian thc Apostatc. Hc grcw up a Chris
tian, but apparcntly didnt likc thc politicization ol thc
Christian rcligion. Also, hc had a sort ol dccp inhcrcnt
conccrn lor thc past, and pcrhaps Christianity was still
not sucicntly indigcnizcd.
So hc tricd to rcinstatc thc pagan tradition. Hc ordcrcd
thc pricsts in thc pagan tcmplcs to try to kccp up
with thc Christian prcachcrs. Tc Christian tradition
cmphasizcd hclping thc widows and thc orphans and
bcing kind to thc slavcs, oltcn cvcn libcrating thcm.
Hc ordcrcd thc pagan pricsts to do thc samc and to
prcach to thcir lollowcrs that thcy should do similar
good works. 8ut Julians intcndcd pagan rclorm didnt
work. !t lastcd just about thrcc ycars, and thcn col
lapscd whcn Julian lost his lilc in a military battlc and
thc ncxt cmpcror was a Christian.
Tc intcrcsting thing about Christianity in this pcriod,
howcvcr, is that, as it bcgan to movc out ol its Palcstin
ian background, it did not carry a Palcstinian trait or
culturc with it. !n Pauls hands it was no longcr simply
a Jcwish tradition. To this day across thc world Chris
tianity has no homcland, thcrc is no holy placc likc
Mccca to which wc turn nor any particular Christian
culturc, il wc arc carclul not to canonizc a particular
tradition. !t is thc most ncarly noncultural rcligion in
thc world. !slam, whcrcvcr it gocs, has pcoplc lacing
toward Mccca. Tcy bclicvc that thc Koran cannot bc
adcquatcly translatcd, or at lcast thcy do not likc it to
bc translatcd. Christianity is charactcrizcd as a world
rcligion. !n somc rcspccts, it is thc only world rcli
gionthc only multicultural rcligionby thc lact that
it is not hcld down by a particular cthnic origin. Tis is
why it was ablc to conqucr thc Roman mpirc and in
doing so bccamc a potcntially unilying laith among a
widc divcrsity ol pcoplcs. !t did not rcprcscnt a par
ticular languagc or cultural background.
l coursc, thcrc wcrc many othcr rcasons why thc
Christian rcligion was ablc to racc around thc cmpirc.
\cry crucial was thc communication systcm madc pos
siblc by thc hundrcds ol thousands ol milcs ol roads
pavcd with stoncs, which cnablcd mcssagcs to go lrom
thc lar rcachcs ol thc cmpirc to Romc itscll in thc
mattcr ol a lcw days. Sccondly, thc Pax Romana pro
duccd a (lorccd) military pcacc which strctchcd across
a largc scction ol thc world. 8ccausc ol this pcacc and
thc comparativc casc ol travcl, Christianity could cvcn
cross thc nglish Channcl to 8ritain, thcrcby introduc
ing anothcr phrasc, thc Pax 8ritannica, or thc Pcacc ol
8ritain. Ccnturics latcr it was possiblc lor thc 8ritish to
Ralph D. Winter +
rulc thc scas ol thc world without lcar ol piratcs bccausc
thcy lollowcd thc cxamplc ol Julius Cacsar who had
ccctivcly dcstroycd thc ability ol piratcs to harass ships
on thc Mcditcrrancan Sca. xccpt lor storms, travcl by
sca bccamc as salc as on thc roads ol thc cmpirc, making
it possiblc lor thc laith which had no cthnic origin to
cxpand with linguistic and gcographical lrccdom.
Anothcr charactcristic ol this carly pcriod is thc lact that
thcrc was no organizcd missionary work. Vhcn Paul was
hcadcd lor Spain, hc was part ol a missionary tcam. 8ut
incvitably hc wcnt to thc synagogucs. Vhcn hc wrotc
that all Asia has hcard thc gospcl, hc did not mcan that
hc had prcachcd to all thc pcoplc in Asia Minor, as wc
now call it, much lcss what wc call Asia today. !n thosc
days Asia mcrcly mcant a small county at thc wcstcrn
cnd ol what wc now call Asia Minor. Nobody in thc Ro
man cra would havc rclcrrcd to Asia Minor, much lcss to
China, as part ol Asia. 8y saying that all Asia had hcard
thc gospcl Paul undoubtcdly mcant that hc had bccn to
cvcry synagoguc in Asia, a small castcrn scction ol Turkcy,
bccausc that was his approach. Hc locuscd on thc syna
gogucs bccausc hc was trying to nd thc Godlcarcrs,
thosc Gcntilcs who had bccn drawn to thc Jcwish laith
but had not bccomc Jcwish prosclytcs. Hc was also trying
to win godly Jcws ovcr to an cvangclical laith in Christ.
nly at Lystra and at Athcns do wc nd him prcach
ing to pagan Grccks, and hc did not do so wcll in thosc
cascs bccausc his spccialty was working with pcoplc
who had alrcady bccomc lricndly to thc Jcwish tradi
tion. l coursc, hc kncw about all thc various kinds ol
pcoplc: thc Jcws, thc Grccks, thc 8arbarians and thc
Scythians. And hc was willing to bccomc a Jcw to thc
Jcws, a Grcck to thc Grccks, and, ! supposc, a Scythian
to thc Scythians, although wc dont know ol any work
hc did among thc Scythians. Hc just namcd thcm as
part ol his anthropological list.
Although Paul, a Jcw who had grown up in a Gcntilc
sctting, was not rcally cvangclizing crossculturally, hc
was ncvcrthclcss doing missionary work bccausc hc was
planting a church whcrc thcrc was no church in thosc
particular cultural traditionsthat is, thcrc was no
indigcnous typc ol Christianity thcrc. Latcr on, Cap
padocian prisoncrs who had comc to Christ within thc
cmpirc witncsscd to thc Goths to thc north, as did thc
cxilcd Arian bishops kickcd out by thc morc orthodox
lcadcrs. To thc cast ol thc cmpirc thc socallcd Ncsto
rian bishops wcrc also lorccd to lcavc and carricd thc
gospcl lurthcr cast bcyond thc boundarics ol thc cmpirc.
8arbarians to thc north and thc wcst invadcd thc cmpirc
and capturcd Christian girls who spokc ol thcir laith
and somctimcs won thcir pagan husbands.
For ccnturics, howcvcr, thcrc had bccn colonics ol Jcws
sprcad all ovcr thc Roman world. !n a ccrtain scnsc thcy
madc up what might bc callcd a missionary com
pound. A synagoguc in northcrn ngland, lor cxamplc,
was not a missionary outpost in thc usual scnsc. 8ut
thosc who camc to that synagoguc rcvcrcd thcir 8iblc,
which was mostly thc samc as thc onc wc havc in thc
ld Tcstamcnt today. And thcy lcarncd in this 8iblc
that God wantcd all thc nations to hcar thc gospcl.
Although that synagoguc did not havc missionary pur
poscs likc wc would cxpcct lrom a mission compound,
ncvcrthclcss, it did havc a missionary lunction bccausc
thc Godlcarcrs (Gcntilc bclicvcrs) wcrc drawn into
that synagoguc, and hundrcds ol othcrs likc it scattcrcd
all ovcr thc Roman mpirc. For all wc know, in 8ritain
thc synagogucs prcccdcd thc witncss to Christ and in
that scnsc actually had a vcry valuablc lunction.
As a mattcr ol lact, it is vcry likcly that, looking back
at thcir origins, Christians havc lailcd to rcalizc thc
mighty contribution ol thcsc thousands ol Jcwish
synagogucs. Tcrc may havc bccn onc million ol thc
Godlcarcrs associatcd with thc tcn million Jcws in thc
cmpirc. And tcn million Jcws is about 10 ol thc Ro
man citizcnry. Tcsc synagogucs lor ccnturics radiatcd
thc light ol God and pavcd thc way lor a laith that
would climinatc almost cntircly thc Jcwish cultural
vchiclc which thcy unconsciously cmbodicd.
!t should bc dicult to ignorc thc missionary signi
cancc ol this lact. !n all ol subscqucnt history Jcws
havc bccn upright, industrious, lamilyloving, God
lcaring pcoplc. Tat thcy could havc consciously or un
consciously attractcd a million Gcntilcs to thcir 8iblc
(and maybc 100, 000 Gcntilcs to convcrt complctcly
ovcr to thcir culturccallcd prosclytcs) is somcthing
Christian historians havc tcndcd to ovcrlook. Vc may
havc tcndcd to writc o thc vast Jcwish diaspora as a
purcly lcgalistic and nonlunctional laith, mcanwhilc
thinking, supcrcially, that thc Gcntilc vcrsion ol that
laithlatcr to bc callcd Christianity was purc.
Vc know that thc rst 400ycar pcriod cndcd with a
blazc ol glory by thc ycar 400 (what ! havc namcd Tc
Classical Rcnaissancc) simply bccausc thc worlds most
powcrlul cmpirc up to that point in history had bccn
takcn ovcr by thc laith ol our Lord. 8ut bclorc Paul
+8 Tnv Fivs: Foiv Hixbvvb Yv~vs (ooo A)
cvcr sct to work, thc Jcwish diaspora was in placc. Pctcr
said that in cvcry city Moscs is prcachcd (Acts 15:21).
Vhat this mcans is that thc prcscncc ol bclicving Jcws
throughout thc Roman mpirc was a dc lacto mission
ary movcmcnt to which wc scc an amazing parallcl in
thc diaspora ol Vcstcrn Christian culturc today. Today,
thcn, thc 8iblical laith is also to bc lound cvcrywhcrc,
but mainly in thc garmcnts ol a particular (Vcstcrn)
cultural tradition. nly to thc cxtcnt that it can put on
othcr clothcs will it cvcr bccomc a truly univcrsal laith.
!n thc cra ol thc Roman mpirc thc 8iblical laith
in thc cnculturatcd lorm ol thc Jcwish diaspora was
lound cvcrywhcrc within that cmpirc, and to a much
lcss signicant cxtcnt bcyond its boundarics. Vc hcar
ol Jcwish synagogucs in !ndia and Korca, lor cxamplc.
Today, howcvcr, thc 8iblical laith is to bc lound
cvcrywhcrc to a grcat cxtcnt in an cnculturatcd lorm
callcd Christianity. And, likc thc Jcwish diaspora, it
is uncvcnly lcavcncd by truc laith. Tcrc arc masscs
ol purcly woodcn lollowcrs ol this laith crowding
thc ranks ol Christians just as thcrc wcrc thc cquiva
lcnt within thc Jcwish diaspora, which Paul at timcs
downgradcd harshly as a lcgalistic dcadncss. !n othcr
cascs hc insistcd that laith was still to bc lound in that
diasporathat not all !sracl is !sracl (Rom 9:6).
Vc would havc to say thc samc about thc modcrn
cxpansion ol Christianity around thc globc. !t is a mixcd
movcmcnt, not just a purc laith. Millions ol Christians
ast and Vcst arc mcrc nominal lollowcrs. Tc truc
laith is lound only partially but, ncvcrthclcss, vitally.
Tus, both Judaism or Christianity arc cnculturatcd
vchiclcs ol truc laithlairly spccic cultural vchiclcs.
Tc mission task is apparcntly thcn not to cxtcnd
cithcr ol thcsc vchiclcs but to cxtcnd thc 8iblical laith,
prcaching Christ, not Christianity, prcaching thc 8iblc,
not all thc twists and turns ol our cnormous thcologi
cal tradition. And wc rcturn to our carlicr conclusion:
only to thc cxtcnt that our laith can put on othcr
clothcs can it cvcr bccomc a truly univcrsal laith.
|8ut this is happcning bclorc our cycs. Alricans havc
takcn thc ball and run with itin thc cnormous A!C
movcmcnt. Tc samc thing has happcncd in thc phc
nomcnal Chincsc housc church movcmcnt, and in thc
Churchlcss Christianity movcmcnt to laith in Jcsus
Christ in millions ol Hindu homcs 20 ycars latcr.|