The "Atheism" of the Early Church

by Rousas John Rushdoony

Early Christians were called "heretics" and "atheists" when they denied the gods of Rome, in particular the divinity of the emperor and the statism he embodied in his personality cult. These Christians knew that Jesus Christ, not the state, was their Lord and that this faith required a different kind of relationship to the state than the state demanded. Because Jesus Christ was their acknowledged Sovereign, they consciously denied such esteem to all other claimants. Today the church must take a similar stand before the modern state.

Genres: Theology, History, Christian, Church History

64 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2003

About the author

Rousas John Rushdoony was a Calvinist philosopher, historian, and theologian and is widely credited as the father of both Christian Reconstructionism and the modern homeschool movement. His prolific writings have exerted considerable influence on the Christian right.

Reviews

[Morgana Mendonça dos Santos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Um livro espetacular. Seis palestras do Rushdoony, que texto, formidável!

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a booklet version of lectures that Rushdoony delivered in Australia. He demonstrates the Romans Imperial state understood, like today's humanistic state, that all of life is religious. Both Imperial Rome and the secular humanist governments of today view Christians as rival religions that threaten the very foundation of the social order.

The Romans labeled the early church fathers as atheists and irreligious because they rejected the religious social order of Rome. Though the modern state does not use this language about Christians today, it does see Christianity as a threat in the same way. The modern state seeks to force Christians into denying the Lordship of Christ over every realm--instead allowing Christians a privatized religion, but not allowing the Lordship claims over any public realm.

A good, short work.

[Rodrigo Varoni · Rating 5 out of 5]

A resposta de Rushdoony diante das questões sociais da época transcendem a história. Não pela sua capacidade argumentativa, mas por ser bíblico.

Não somos representantes de um sistema falido que caminha à ruína. O nosso Rei Jesus é vitorioso e dia após dia derrota seus inimigos e os coloca embaixo de seus pés. Somos soldados desse Reino, devemos lutar e ter confiança de que Deus é a causa da nossa guerra.

[Felipe Sabino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Muito bom. Publicado pela Editora Monergismo.

[Thiago Barros · Rating 5 out of 5]

Livro excelente abordando as controvérsias existentes em relação ao império Romano e os cristãos do primeiro século.
O livro nada mais é do que uma espécie de "o que podemos aprender" com as acusações de Roma sobre a santa Igreja do Senhor. Rushdoony, diferente de obras mais complexas, aqui está com uma linguagem simples e acessível. Sem dúvida desde o mais douto até o mais sábio entre os homens, apesar das ressalvas, irá aprender e se deleitar com este livreto por ser uma palestra exortando a igreja de Cristo em agir de acordo com os mandamentos do Senhor em todas as áreas da vida.
Independente se você compactua ou não de maneira integral com o pensamento - controverso para muitos - de Rushdoony, é um livreto indispensável para se ter por seu alto teor de informação em poucas páginas.

[Josiah Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the several slurs that early Christians had to endure was that they were incestuous, because of how they referred to loving their brothers and sisters in Christ. They were called cannibals because they talked about eating Christ's body and drinking of his blood. But they are also called atheists because they denied the existence of all the Greek and pagan gods, even down to the unknown god. This is where Rushdoony picks up the story and applies it to our modern day where we are going through a similar trial in our own rite. Of course, Rushdoony is pretty pithy and can get the point with only a few pit stops along the way.

[Josiah Russell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good little booklet. As someone who lives in Sydney Australia I wish I could have come to this conference (although I think it was a bit before my time), and I regret what was to eventually happen to the Logos Foundation and the fall of Howard Carter. Today the Christian school movement is still somewhat strong in some circles but homeschooling is looked down upon, public schooling is seen in a positive light, and theonomic convictions are virtually nonexistent.

[Benjamin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good. Rushdoony brings out the historical narrative behind why Christians were called atheists in the early church. He also, shows how much of the conflict the early church was having the first few centuries, mirrors the modern struggle between Christianity and the all-encompassing nanny state.

[Sakthivel Sundaresan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blown Away!!

[Peter Kiss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great analysis of why Christians were called atheists: they saw God as above the state. I hope we don't lose that heritage.

[Douglas Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good.

[Claudio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Curto, direto e relevante. Rushdoony é um monstro! Hehe...