234 - Eerdmans' Handbook to the History of Christianity & The Christians

Eerdmans' Handbook to the History of Christianity
Tim Dowley, Organizing Editor
John H. Y. Briggs, Robert D. Linder, and David Wright, Consulting Editors
Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 1977. 656 pp., $19.95.

The Christians
By Bamber Gascoigne
Photographs by Christina Gascoigne
New York, William Morrow and Co., 1977. 304 pp., $17.50.

The first volume is designed as a companion to the best-selling Eerdman's Handbook to the Bible, and it continues the recent expansion of the Michigan-based Eerdmans publishing company into the mass market of religious books. It is a concise historical encyclopedia, useful to pastors, church school teachers, and church members unfamiliar with the broad sweep of Christian history. Although it should not be the only historical reference work purchased for a church library, it is an appropriate addition to the average church collection. Lay people will find its format appealing and its prose understandable. Readers should be aware, however, that its content is especially sympathetic to the evangelical, or theologically conservative traditions of contemporary Protestantism.

The book is divided into seven major time blocks moving from early church beginnings, through the development of medieval society, into

235 - Eerdmans' Handbook to the History of Christianity & The Christians

the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries of reform, renewal and reasoned revivalism, and concluding with sections on industrialization, expansion, and contemporary developments. Persons with little historical knowledge will find the colorful time charts provided for each section helpful in relating major historical events to the growth of Christian movements and institutions.

Visually this book belies its character as a reference volume. From its glossy photographic dust jacket, through its multicolored pages, beautiful pictures, historical maps, and highlighted quotations, it is appealing to pick up and read. Unlike many reference tools it would be possible to read it from beginning to end without becoming totally confused. At the same time, the series of indices covering people, places, movements, events, and biblical references make it an adequate reference source. The short articles on key individuals in Christian history are especially useful.

Other aspects of this handbook which deserve commendation are its concern for worship and the practice of the faith by common people. Sizable articles are devoted to the development of hymns and church music. Also, through the sweep of the centuries there is a conscious effort to describe the story of eastern Christianity and missionary expansion, thereby avoiding the arrogance of those church histories which focus exclusively on the circumstances of western Europe.

In a more critical spirit, however, there are several things which must be said to point out the weaknesses of this resource. First, I have questions about the list of contributors. Over sixty scholars have contributed to the handbook; only about twenty of these are Americans. It is evident, however, that these American authors are not drawn from the leading centers of learning in this country, even among conservatives and evangelicals. While the international scope of the contributor list is commendable, the quality and reputation of the scholarship is not readily confirmed from the reputation of the authors.

Secondly, the strong bias towards conservative theology and church practice means that some key developments and leaders in liberal history are virtually ignored, or presented in a less than balanced manner. As an American historian I feet that the handbook is unfair in its coverage of the social gospel and liberalism. It is distressing to find that the names of liberal leaders, such as Horace Bushnell or Alfred North Whitehead, are never even mentioned.

Third, although the book attempts to convey a sense of openness about the mandate of the gospel to destroy barriers and ideologies, it is not always successful. Comments about Nazism and Marxism struggle with that age old tension between the powerful and the powerless. But in subtle ways, there is a latent classism, racism, and sexism in many of the articles. As a woman reader I was dismayed to find one of the earliest sections of the book, entitled "Man and Time" (p. 4). Of the many one and two page biographies scattered throughout the volume, there is not a single one about a woman. The treatment of black leadership in the history of the faith fairs only slightly better.

236 - Eerdmans' Handbook to the History of Christianity & The Christians

Finally, there is a tone in many of the articles which is irritating to persons of a more liberal persuasion. While I can often agree with the content of what is said, the hidden slur is bothersome. For example, when summarizing the missionary strategy that seeks numerical growth in global evangelism, an author writes, "But time will show the inadequacy of such tools (i.e., promotional techniques) to face problems created by a common religious revival often void of ethical concerns. Hope for the future lies with movements in the church that are searching for a more biblical understanding of Christian mission which involves the totality of human life in personal, social and public aspects" (p. 640). These are fine words, but some Christians might disagree as to what constitutes a "more biblical understanding."

These things aside, the book is still a most useful historical collection. Balanced with other standard reference works, it provides particularly helpful material about the development of the church, especially evangelical Protestantism in the past two centuries.

In the manner of a television documentary, The Christians seeks to tell the objective story of a people who called and continue to call themselves "Christian." It has all of the power and directness of a good documentary, and it suffers from the dispassionate stance usually maintained by successful journalism. Yet, this book is a pleasant surprise.

It is first of all a beautiful volume. Wrapped in a golden dust jacket showing the sunrise over the Dead Sea, it is filled with striking photographs by Christina Gascoigne. Many of her full color pages capture art and scenes which convey the human devotion generated by belief in Christ. It is a book to browse through and display on coffee tables.

The text by Bamber Gascoigne is, furthermore, a very readable history. Although unknown to most Americans, Gascoigne is well known in England. Since 1962 he has hosted the highly successful British television series, "University Challenge." He has written several other books on drama and the history and culture of China, The Great Moghuls (1971) and The Treasures and Dynasties of China (1973), also prepared in collaboration with his photographer wife, Christina.

Gascoigne writes at the end of the book that he began his research for the project by reading the New Testament straight through-"as if it were the scripture of an unknown religion" (p. 290). He became convinced that there was no clear picture of Christ or Christianity. At the same time he also discovered that those many "Christianities which twenty centuries have produced" (p. 291) were not unrelated to the biblical sources. "Christ the King for the imperial churches; suffering for the Middle Ages; quietness and humility for those who find that path to God; a note of radical protest for the revolutionaries; the Apocalypse for the apocalyptic" (p. 291). And so, he wrote an impressionistic history of these various "Christianities."

237 - Eerdmans' Handbook to the History of Christianity & The Christians

The book moves gracefully through the early centuries, and Gascoigne captures interesting human interest facets of the history, which make the antics of many Christians understandable, if not forgivable. His chapters on protest and reform describe Protestants and Catholics with a dispassionate stance that could only be sustained by a British journalist.

The most interesting insights of the book are contained in the last one hundred pages. Here Gascoigne lifts up some of the continuing tensions in contemporary Christianity. For example he shows the development of concern for politeness and enthusiasm which began with modern revivalism in the eighteenth century. In a chapter entitled "Lighten Their Darkness," he describes the social efforts of white Christian people to enlighten the "dark continent" of Africa. This background informs our continuing effort to deal with racism. There is a chapter on the roots of disbelief, which examines the response of Christians to science and modern learning. And in a final chapter on the godless state, Gascoigne raises some fundamental questions about the directions future Christians will take. In recent years we have emphasized personal relationships and insisted that the message of the gospel is Love. If our countries move gradually into a socialist form of society, Gascoigne conjectures, we shall probably hear more about the central theme of Christianity as sharing. He writes this with no cynicism. "To be able to adapt is strength in a religion as much as in a species. It is something which two thousand years of Christianity have amply proved" (p. 29 1).

The Christians is not a profound book. It is written for the person who knows something about the jumble of Christian history and could use some guidance. It does not burn with the passion of a believer, but it conveys scholarly respect. It is important for us all to understand these Christians, and Barnber Gascoigne has made it a bit easier.

Barbara Brown Zikmund
Chicago Theological Seminary
Chicago, Illinois