Early Christian Traditions (New Church's Teaching Series) [Paperback]

Rebecca Lyman (Author)

Book Description

Series: New Church's Teaching Series | Publication Date: January 25, 1999

In this sixth volume of The New Church’s Teaching Series, Rebecca Lyman introduces us to the world of the early church. Beginning with the Jewish, Greek, and Roman cultures in which the first followers of Jesus lived and worshiped, she traces the growth of the Christian church’s theology, worship, leadership, and ethics through its first six centuries, ending with Augustine of Hippo. Early Christian Traditions offers perceptive insights into the early church’s intense conflicts that reveal the often thin line between orthodoxy and heresy, between true and false teachers, and among the many competing versions of Christianity. Lyman describes the early church’s “family quarrels”—Gnosticism, Donatism, Arianism—as well as the theological, political, and linguistic issues that went into the making of the great creeds and established the apostolic tradition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

As I was into the third (of eight) chapters [of Rebecca Lyman’s book] I had this strange (Holy Spirit type) feeling that this would be a wonderful book for anyone who has previously completed year three of EFM and would like to revisit the material from a different perspective. (Dick Vanderlippe Province One Educational Ministry Network )

Like other books in the series, this is a highly accessible volume, clearly and gracefully presented. It’s accompanied by useful questions for discussion and pertinent suggestions for further reading. Lyman wears her considerable scholarship comfortably, even invitingly. For the general reader, hers is an engaging introduction to the inescapable paradoxes of faith lived out in action, as experienced by our foremothers and fathers. (Episcopal Life )

This volume provides not only an excellent introduction to the early church but also an answer to the question of why Anglicans at the dawn of the twenty-first century should be interested in the first five Christian centuries. The author avoids the name, date, battle (or, in this case, dogma) approach to history. She sets Christianity in its context in the ancient world and gives us insights to it both as a persecuted sect and an imperial religion. (Open )

Lyman quite aptly describes her book as an ‘historical appetizer.’ As such, it works best as a jumping off point for further discussion and reading in the early history of the Church. Lyman writes, ‘Understanding our past is essential to dreaming our future.’ In this book she has invited her readers to take a first step in such an understanding that will lead to vital, Spirit-filled dreams. (Virginia Theological Seminary Journal )

The era of the early Christians is one that perhaps we don’t think of often. . . . Early Christian Traditions presents a readable and valuable introduction to this period of history. (—Christian Library Journal )

The era of the early Christians is one that perhaps we don’t think of often. . . . Early Christian Traditions presents a readable and valuable introduction to this period of history. (—Christian Library Journal )

Lyman aims to give her readers an introduction to the people, places and traditions which are common to all Christian denominations. A useful, all-round evaluation of Christian history, this book would be a useful resource for anyone beginning to study the establishment of the church in the first centuries after Christ. (Theological Book Review )

Rebecca Lyman’s Early Christian Traditions should be especially useful to those . . . who know that the early Church is important to Anglicanism but not quite why or how. Lyman’s book is a thoughtful, accurate and highly readable introduction. It reflects the best recent scholarship by giving attention to matters such as diversity in early Christian thought and practice, the roles of women, and the ongoing interdependence of Christianity and Judaism, as well as to familiar issues of creed, liturgy and order. (Anglican Theological Review )

Rebecca Lyman’s Early Christian Traditions should be especially useful to those . . . who know that the early Church is important to Anglicanism but not quite why or how. Lyman’s book is a thoughtful, accurate and highly readable introduction. It reflects the best recent scholarship by giving attention to matters such as diversity in early Christian thought and practice, the roles of women, and the ongoing interdependence of Christianity and Judaism, as well as to familiar issues of creed, liturgy and order. (Anglican Theological Review )

This book offers a useful and concise history of the dynamics, issues and activities of the early church. (Resources Hotline )

About the Author

Rebecca Lyman is an Episcopal priest and the Samuel Garrett Professor of Church History at The Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley, California. A popular teacher and lecturer on church history, she has also been a translator for The New American Bible. Her research and writing focus on the early history and definition of orthodoxy and heresy.

Rebecca Lyman is an Episcopal priest and the Samuel Garrett Professor of Church History at The Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley, California. A popular teacher and lecturer on church history, she has also been a translator for The New American Bible. Her research and writing focus on the early history and definition of orthodoxy and heresy.

Product Details

• Paperback: 178 pages
• Publisher: Cowley Publications (January 25, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1561011614
• ISBN-13: 978-1561011612
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #479,536 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From the Master, May 1, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Early Christian Traditions (New Church's Teaching Series) (Paperback)

This is the subject treated by the master of Early Christian History. There's no better place to learn about this confusing era than in her lectures--this is about as good as it will ever get without paying expensive tuition!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Becoming Christian among the Roman gods., March 30, 2004

By 

Stephen Milton (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Early Christian Traditions (New Church's Teaching Series) (Paperback)

As the 21st century dawns, few new Christians are content to just take the Church's word for much of anything. Surrounded by multiple faiths, there is nothing inevitable about becoming a Christian anymore. So, one of the obvious questions that needs answering is how Christ's life ended up becoming the basis of a church which would become one of the most powerful and wealthy entities in the world. How did the simple yet inspiring wisdom of the Sermon on the Mount get transformed into such an enormous institution, whose theology and rules are now so complex and often intimidating?

There was nothing inevitable about the growth of the early Christian church. After Jesus' death, there weren't that many people alive who knew Him well, or had written down much about his life. To make matters worse, the Roman empire was filled with millions of people who honestly believed there was no way to get through the day without asking for the help of one of the many gods in their pantheon. The Romans relied on their gods to help get races won, and to curse business competitors. The idea that there was just one God, who had been here just recently and had the bad taste to suffer and die, well that seemed just crazy. Gods were for helping with practical matters, and they were eternal, so they couldn't suffer, by definition.
So it was little surprise that the Romans gave the first Christians a hard time, making their religion illegal, and disreputable. So how did this radical religious become the ruling religion of the empire just three hundred years later? That's the story that Rebecca Lyman outlines in her highly readable and brief book, Early Christian Traditions. The book's title is a bit misleading. The book isn't really about how Christians ate or lived on a day to day basis. Instead, it gives a good chronological overview of how the early Christians slowly grew into churches and then a religious movement.

The story is fascinating on a number of levels. Lyman does a very good job of putting Christianity into context by explaining what normal life was like for Romans. They saw no compelling reason to take some new form of religion in the first or second centuries - the empire was doing well, and this in itself seemed to confirm that the gods existed, and were well pleased with their subjects. Christians were bizarre outcasts, secretly having dinners in private homes, and baptizing each other in the nude. The best modern equivalent would be a cult.

One of the pleasures of the book is to see how wide open and accepting the church was in the first hundred years after Christ's death. Women were welcomed at all levels of the church initially. People who had little to do with each other in normal Roman society sat beside each other as equals in Christian homes. Slaves and masters, women and men found a refuge from the stratified society of the Roman Empire. It was only when the church had grown enough to become attractive to mainstream Roman society that church officials discouraged women from positions of authority, since this would be offensive to regular Romans who held women in low esteem generally.

Lyman also provides a mercifully brief overview of how the early Church struggled as it tried to decide some major theological issues, such as whether Christ was God, or created by God. As the Roman Empire ran into trouble in the 3rd and 4th centuries, these issues became enormously important for Christians. The Romans felt that their misfortunes on the battlefields were a sign of the gods' displeasure, so it was imperative that all subjects make appropriate sacrifices to the pagan gods. Christians who refused were risking their lives. So it really mattered whether they were worshipping Christ as simply a wise man sent by God, or whether their worship and martyrdom would result in their eternal salvation. These controversies were highly divisive, and could lead to fighting in their streets, as well as major splits among bishops.

Lyman has written this book to help Anglicans understand the roots of their creeds and many of the prayers still used in their services. Most of the references to Anglican worship occur in the introduction and in questions for discussion at the end. Any Christian who is interested in understanding how the early church evolved to become the Catholic Church will find this small volume a quick and valuable read.

This review was first published in The Turning Magazine, online.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In the beginning..., June 14, 2004

By 

FrKurt Messick "FrKurt Messick" (Bloomington, IN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Early Christian Traditions (New Church's Teaching Series) (Paperback)

The Episcopal church in the twentieth century took advantage of the general availability of publishing to good advantage, compiling through several auspices different collections and teaching series, the latest of which was only completed a few years ago. There have been 'unofficial' collections of teaching texts, such as the Anglican Studies Series by Morehouse press, put out in the 1980s, as well as an earlier teaching series. However, each generation approaches things anew; the New Church Teaching Series, published by Cowley Publications (a company operated as part of the ministry of the Society of St. John the Evangelist - SSJE - one of the religious/monastic communities in the Episcopal church, based in the Boston area) is the most recent series, and in its thirteen volumes, explores in depth and breadth the theology, history, liturgy, ethics, mission and more of the modern Anglican vision in America.

This sixth volume, 'Early Christian Traditions' by Rebecca Lyman, continues a look at history from the fifth volume by Thompsett by focussing more closely upon the church and world in the earliest Christian times, through to the fall of the Roman Empire.

After a brief introduction to set the stage for why studying the early church is important for Anglican identity, Lyman looks at the overall culture of the early church - a world dominated by the Romans, in the midst of a unique culture of Judaism concentrated in the eastern empire, but spread throughout the whole Roman Empire, and somewhat beyond. How the church exists today is an interesting synthesis and reaction to various influences of all these aspects.

Lyman looks at some key issues of contention in the development of the early church - the Gnostic beliefs, issues of leadership in the church, defining heresy and orthodoxy in various manners, finally settling upon the construction of creeds to reinforce dogmatic consistency. Through these trends, the key questions of 'who is Jesus?' and 'who is God?' were always present, and the tensions between individual faith and the community character of Christianity was also of concern. How the church came to be a regular and powerful part of the world, rather than a fringe and oppressed sect on the edges of society is also seen here.

Lyman looks at key issues, events, and personalities involved in the development of her early church history. The origins of much of present-day church practice and belief are from this period even as people in the pews do not realise it.

Rebecca Lyman is a priest and professor of church history at CDSP, the California Divinity School of the Pacific, one of the major Episcopal seminaries. She has worked as part of the team of scholars who translated the New American Bible, one of the major Bible translations of recent times, and concentrates scholarship on issues of orthodoxy and heresy (which is a natural tie-in to the study of the early church).

Each of the texts is relatively short (only two of the volumes exceed 200 pages), the print and text of each easy to read, designed not for scholars but for the regular church-goer, but not condescending either - the authors operate on the assumption that the readers are genuinely interested in deepening their faith and practice. Each volume concludes with questions for use in discussion group settings, and with annotated lists of further readings recommended.