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Empire Baptized: How the Church Embraced What Jesus Rejected
Through a study of the writers of the post-New Testament period, this book shows how "Christianity" was forged as "the religion of empire," undermining the New Testament's proclamation of Jesus as upholder of the "religion of creation," two categories laid out in Howard-Brook's earlier volume, "Come Out, My People": God's Call Out of Empire in the Bible and Beyond ( Orbis 2010). Using writers from Alexandria (Clement, Origen, and Athanasius) and North Africa (Tertullian, Cyprian and Augustine) as test cases, Howard-Brook traces how Platonic and Stoic philosophy on the one hand, and Roman imperial culture, on the other, were taken for granted by these writers in creating"Christianity." Using a wide range of recent scholarship, Howard-Brook seeks in this book to separate the anti-imperial, earthly and earthy "Good News" of Jesus from the imperial, anti-creation, misogynist and anti-Jewish "Christianity" that has largely replaced the Gospel.
368 pages, Paperback
Published August 25, 2016
11 people are currently reading
77 people want to read
About the author
Wes Howard-Brook
14 books12 followersEducation
AB, Crim. University of California at Berkeley (1976)
JD, Hastings College of the Law (1979)
Member, law review, Thurston Society (top 5% of class), Moot Court Board
M.Div., Institute for Theological Studies, Seattle University (1988)
Pastoral Leadership Program, Seattle University
Books and booklets
“Come Out My People”: God’s Call Out of Empire In the Bible and Beyond (Maryknoll: Orbis,
2010)
Pentecost 1 and 2 “Seasons of the Spirit” Adult Lectionary Study and Reflection Resources
(Kelona, BC: Wood Lake Publishing, 2005)
With Sue Ferguson Johnson. "Transforming Encounter, Radical Discipleship": A Lenten Journey
(Erie: Pax Christi USA, 2003)
With Sharon Ringe, co-editor. The New Testament—Introducing the Way of Discipleship
(Maryknoll: Orbis, 2002)
The Church Before Christianity (Maryknoll: Orbis, 2001):
Best Scripture Book, Honorable Mention (Catholic Press Association)
With Anthony Gwyther. Unveiling Empire: Reading Revelation Then and Now (Maryknoll:
Orbis, 1999)
John’s Gospel and the Renewal of the Church (Maryknoll: Orbis, 1997)
Becoming Children of God: John’s Gospel and Radical Discipleship (Maryknoll: Orbis, 1994;
reprinted, Eugene: Wipf and Stock, 2004)
https://www.seattleu.edu/artsci/facul...
AB, Crim. University of California at Berkeley (1976)
JD, Hastings College of the Law (1979)
Member, law review, Thurston Society (top 5% of class), Moot Court Board
M.Div., Institute for Theological Studies, Seattle University (1988)
Pastoral Leadership Program, Seattle University
Books and booklets
“Come Out My People”: God’s Call Out of Empire In the Bible and Beyond (Maryknoll: Orbis,
2010)
Pentecost 1 and 2 “Seasons of the Spirit” Adult Lectionary Study and Reflection Resources
(Kelona, BC: Wood Lake Publishing, 2005)
With Sue Ferguson Johnson. "Transforming Encounter, Radical Discipleship": A Lenten Journey
(Erie: Pax Christi USA, 2003)
With Sharon Ringe, co-editor. The New Testament—Introducing the Way of Discipleship
(Maryknoll: Orbis, 2002)
The Church Before Christianity (Maryknoll: Orbis, 2001):
Best Scripture Book, Honorable Mention (Catholic Press Association)
With Anthony Gwyther. Unveiling Empire: Reading Revelation Then and Now (Maryknoll:
Orbis, 1999)
John’s Gospel and the Renewal of the Church (Maryknoll: Orbis, 1997)
Becoming Children of God: John’s Gospel and Radical Discipleship (Maryknoll: Orbis, 1994;
reprinted, Eugene: Wipf and Stock, 2004)
https://www.seattleu.edu/artsci/facul...
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 24, 2017
Before you pick up Empire Baptized it is important to know that it is really a sequel to Wes Howard-Brook's Come out My People!: God's Call out of Empire in the Bible and Beyond. This does not mean that you will have to read Come out My People in order to understand or appreciate Empire Baptized—Howard-Brook provides a helpful summary of his necessary arguments in the introduction—but it does mean that you will most likely want to read Come out My People! by the time you finish Empire Baptized.
Most important for the purpose of reviewing the book, however, is Howard-Brook's big thesis: that the history of Jesus, Jesus' precursors, and Jesus' followers up through the present day can be modeled as a tension between what the author calls religion of empire and the religion of creation. This book is, effectively, a strong attempt to trace the development of that tension out of the first century and the writing of the Bible, up through the "Constantinian moment" wherein the Church largely found a way to make peace with the religion of empire and learned to serve more often than call out the Empires of the day. And taking that as the core project of the book, I want to say that Howard-Brook succeeds powerfully.
In the text, after meticulously setting up the theological, cultural, and political landscape of the church in the 2nd century the author (his analysis of Philo of Alexandria is particularly good) works though the "whose who" of the early church fathers (Irenaeus, Justin Martyr, Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Cyprian, Eusebius, Athanasius, Jerome, Ambrose, and finally Augustine) centering on North Africa and Alexandria, situates them effectively within their own differing historical, cultural, and geographical contexts, and then applies his model to much of their work, identifying the ways in which they (most often) capitulate to the religion of empire or insist on the religion of creation. He does not go at all easily on his subjects so the book rigorously roots out evidences of capitulation to convenience, security, and apparent desire for acclaim in the authors. This is not a book to strengthen your love of the patristics.
If I have a critique of the book it has to do with structure and language. Howard-Brook takes a solidly scholarly approach to his language and argument and does so effectively. At the same time, there are ways in which his treatment of the subject is a little more on the popular than the scholarly level. He has clearly done the relevant research and acknowledges contemporary debates and contentious issues, however he does not usually explain why he finds a particular position compelling which leaves the book open to the charge (I think it would be a false charge) that he has chosen those conclusions which are most conducive to his thesis rather than those which recommend themselves on their merits. Of course the only alternative would have been to produce a scholarly tome which would have had trouble getting any popular readership. I find his project compelling enough that I would very much like to see him follow the model of Greg Boyd or NT Wright, or James K.A. Smith on this, producing a large, scholarly work and a companion popular work.
The book is at its strongest when the author is providing overview (Howard-Brook provides a number of synthetic insights which emerge naturally enough from his religions dialectic but which are far to easily missed without it) and in his analyses of Origen and Augustine. Possibly because those two theologians have been enjoying something of a renaissance in and reexamination respectively in Evangelical and Progressive Christians circles recently, Howard-Brook is able to bring significant nuance to nearly any readers reflex opinion of those writers. Here is a representative sample from his analysis of Augustine:
The consequences of Augustine's erudite eloquence in expressing what was already a widely held view cemented this perspective into longstanding Christian orthodoxy. To this day, even undergraduate students who identify as "atheist" or "agnostic" still largely respond to the question "what is the Christian purpose of life?" with some form of "to go to heaven when you die." It plainly isn't what the Jesus of the Gospels proclaimed, not what Christians in Augustine's time proclaimed when reciting the Lord's Prayer. But "Christianity" had long since stopped looking to the Jesus of the Gospels to determine "the Way"
My suspicion is that the way in which you react to that quote is likely representative of the way in which you will react to the book as a whole. For those who are really committed to an American Evangelical history of the Church and reading of the Bible, Empire Baptized will likely seem saturated with heretical premises and challenging, troubling evidence (like I said Howard-Brook has done his homework). Those who are intrigued or excited by the quote will find the book equally intriguing/exciting. If the quote bores you, you will not likely get much out of the book either.
For myself, while I don't agree with every premise or element of the book, I find Howard-Brook's religion dialectic really helpful and eagerly await future treatments of the great schism and the protestant reformation. I would love to read his thoughts on how much of the religion of empire made it into the Radical (Anabaptist) Reformation, into the Protestant Reformation, and through the Council of Trent. Before that though, I want to read a little more about where he finds the undying persistence of the religion of creation in the early church. This is a book which both satisfies and demands a further exploration of its own thesis.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author and/or publisher through the Speakeasy blogging book review network. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR,Part 255.
Most important for the purpose of reviewing the book, however, is Howard-Brook's big thesis: that the history of Jesus, Jesus' precursors, and Jesus' followers up through the present day can be modeled as a tension between what the author calls religion of empire and the religion of creation. This book is, effectively, a strong attempt to trace the development of that tension out of the first century and the writing of the Bible, up through the "Constantinian moment" wherein the Church largely found a way to make peace with the religion of empire and learned to serve more often than call out the Empires of the day. And taking that as the core project of the book, I want to say that Howard-Brook succeeds powerfully.
In the text, after meticulously setting up the theological, cultural, and political landscape of the church in the 2nd century the author (his analysis of Philo of Alexandria is particularly good) works though the "whose who" of the early church fathers (Irenaeus, Justin Martyr, Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Cyprian, Eusebius, Athanasius, Jerome, Ambrose, and finally Augustine) centering on North Africa and Alexandria, situates them effectively within their own differing historical, cultural, and geographical contexts, and then applies his model to much of their work, identifying the ways in which they (most often) capitulate to the religion of empire or insist on the religion of creation. He does not go at all easily on his subjects so the book rigorously roots out evidences of capitulation to convenience, security, and apparent desire for acclaim in the authors. This is not a book to strengthen your love of the patristics.
If I have a critique of the book it has to do with structure and language. Howard-Brook takes a solidly scholarly approach to his language and argument and does so effectively. At the same time, there are ways in which his treatment of the subject is a little more on the popular than the scholarly level. He has clearly done the relevant research and acknowledges contemporary debates and contentious issues, however he does not usually explain why he finds a particular position compelling which leaves the book open to the charge (I think it would be a false charge) that he has chosen those conclusions which are most conducive to his thesis rather than those which recommend themselves on their merits. Of course the only alternative would have been to produce a scholarly tome which would have had trouble getting any popular readership. I find his project compelling enough that I would very much like to see him follow the model of Greg Boyd or NT Wright, or James K.A. Smith on this, producing a large, scholarly work and a companion popular work.
The book is at its strongest when the author is providing overview (Howard-Brook provides a number of synthetic insights which emerge naturally enough from his religions dialectic but which are far to easily missed without it) and in his analyses of Origen and Augustine. Possibly because those two theologians have been enjoying something of a renaissance in and reexamination respectively in Evangelical and Progressive Christians circles recently, Howard-Brook is able to bring significant nuance to nearly any readers reflex opinion of those writers. Here is a representative sample from his analysis of Augustine:
The consequences of Augustine's erudite eloquence in expressing what was already a widely held view cemented this perspective into longstanding Christian orthodoxy. To this day, even undergraduate students who identify as "atheist" or "agnostic" still largely respond to the question "what is the Christian purpose of life?" with some form of "to go to heaven when you die." It plainly isn't what the Jesus of the Gospels proclaimed, not what Christians in Augustine's time proclaimed when reciting the Lord's Prayer. But "Christianity" had long since stopped looking to the Jesus of the Gospels to determine "the Way"
My suspicion is that the way in which you react to that quote is likely representative of the way in which you will react to the book as a whole. For those who are really committed to an American Evangelical history of the Church and reading of the Bible, Empire Baptized will likely seem saturated with heretical premises and challenging, troubling evidence (like I said Howard-Brook has done his homework). Those who are intrigued or excited by the quote will find the book equally intriguing/exciting. If the quote bores you, you will not likely get much out of the book either.
For myself, while I don't agree with every premise or element of the book, I find Howard-Brook's religion dialectic really helpful and eagerly await future treatments of the great schism and the protestant reformation. I would love to read his thoughts on how much of the religion of empire made it into the Radical (Anabaptist) Reformation, into the Protestant Reformation, and through the Council of Trent. Before that though, I want to read a little more about where he finds the undying persistence of the religion of creation in the early church. This is a book which both satisfies and demands a further exploration of its own thesis.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author and/or publisher through the Speakeasy blogging book review network. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR,Part 255.
July 14, 2017
It is fashionable, in some theological circles, to speak of the Constantinian compromise. Constantine’s victory (and conversion?) in 312 CE issued in an era of religious freedom for Christians which they previously had not enjoyed. But it also started the ball rolling in terms of the centralizing of the power of the bishops, and eventually Rome in the West, and led to doctrinal compromises as the One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic church sought to accommodate itself to the demands of Empire.
Wes Howard-Brook does not doubt that this trajectory toward Empire replaced the spirituality and prophetic critique of Jesus in the life of the Church. His previous book, Come Out My People! ( Orbis, 2010), was a reading of the biblical narrative which contrasted Jesus’ liberationist movement—the ‘religion of Creation’ called the Kingdom of God—with the religion of Empire—imperial readings of the Bible which wink at (state supported) violence and shave off Jesus’ radical, prophetic edge. However, Howard-Brook doesn’t envision this shift happening within Constantine’s lifetime or afterward but sees the genesis much earlier. In Empire Baptized (Orbis, 2016), he traces the shift toward Empire (and creation abstracting & denying spirituality) developed in the writings of Christian thinkers in the 2nd to 5th centuries and the ways their thought still hold sway today.
In his first chapter, Howard-Brook provides an overview of the Roman imperial context, its social and economic structures and religious life. In the next six chapters, he examines how the Christian movement developed along imperial lines, focusing his study on the cities of Alexandria and Carthage, Greek and Latin centers of Christian thought. Chapter two looks at these cities’ histories and their key Christians in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Centuries.
In chapter three, Howard-Brook describes how the developing biblical hermeneutic of the Fathers, while rejecting Marcion and Gnostic readings, embraced a Neo-Platonism which abstracted physical life. This had the effect of weakening Jesus’ political and social critiques. Speaking of Origen, who held sway over the developing Biblical hermeneutic both East and West, Howard-Brook writes, “Origen (and the church around him) proclaims a “gospel” about a “soul” whose fate was separate from the body. Could a Jewish man like Jesus even understand what it meant? With this claim, any Christian concern for the human body, for the physical creation, and for the whole social-economic structure of society is put aside in favor of the question of the “soul’s fate in the afterlife” (88).
The rest of the book traces how Christian writers like Tertullian, Clement, Origen, Cyprian, Athanasius, Jerome, Ambrose, and Augustine continued to abstract the Christian life from creation and physical life, while at the same time imbibing the cultural values of Empire (evidenced by a misogyny which paralleled Roman cultural values and unwillingness to challenge the status-quo). Constantine does have a significant impact on the church, as bishops began to adopt ceremonies and raiments of the imperial court and revise their image of Christ along royal lines (i.e. icons of Christ as Lawgiver and Judge sitting on a jeweled throne) (198).
Howard-Brook does his homework and his book is thoroughly researched. Yet he does not offer here, a sympathetic reading of the Church Fathers (their voices most often mediated through secondary sources). He frequently faults the Fathers for the way they catered toward elites and the how they adapted their theology to fit their own circumstance (such as Jerome’s preaching against riches while assigning a higher place in the afterlife to ‘the Christian scholar’, 247). Surprisingly, he does end up saying nice things about Augustine, the frequent whipping boy of all that is wrong in Western Theology. He describes him as a theologian who ‘took a path of moderation between the extremes promoted by others in his context’ (265), though of course, he goes on to fault him for his handling of the Donatists, his promotion of ‘state-sponsored violence,’ and Pelagius.
I enjoyed this book and I think Howard-Brook offers an important perspective on the development of Christian doctrine. Jesus did challenge the kingdoms of this Age in the way that later generations of Christians did not. There is a trajectory toward Empire, Neo-Platonism, and the status-quo in Church history. However, by profiling particular thinkers, through particular lenses, he is able to construct his narrative and parse the evidence in a certain way. He doesn’t highlight prophetic and counter voices to Empire throughout this period or pastoral aspects of his chief interlocutors. I wished at times he applied a more of a generous reading of the patristic period, though I appreciate the critique he levels and think it is substantive. I give this five stars. ★★★★
Notice of Material Connection: I received this book from SpeakEasy in exchange for my honest review.
Wes Howard-Brook does not doubt that this trajectory toward Empire replaced the spirituality and prophetic critique of Jesus in the life of the Church. His previous book, Come Out My People! ( Orbis, 2010), was a reading of the biblical narrative which contrasted Jesus’ liberationist movement—the ‘religion of Creation’ called the Kingdom of God—with the religion of Empire—imperial readings of the Bible which wink at (state supported) violence and shave off Jesus’ radical, prophetic edge. However, Howard-Brook doesn’t envision this shift happening within Constantine’s lifetime or afterward but sees the genesis much earlier. In Empire Baptized (Orbis, 2016), he traces the shift toward Empire (and creation abstracting & denying spirituality) developed in the writings of Christian thinkers in the 2nd to 5th centuries and the ways their thought still hold sway today.
In his first chapter, Howard-Brook provides an overview of the Roman imperial context, its social and economic structures and religious life. In the next six chapters, he examines how the Christian movement developed along imperial lines, focusing his study on the cities of Alexandria and Carthage, Greek and Latin centers of Christian thought. Chapter two looks at these cities’ histories and their key Christians in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Centuries.
In chapter three, Howard-Brook describes how the developing biblical hermeneutic of the Fathers, while rejecting Marcion and Gnostic readings, embraced a Neo-Platonism which abstracted physical life. This had the effect of weakening Jesus’ political and social critiques. Speaking of Origen, who held sway over the developing Biblical hermeneutic both East and West, Howard-Brook writes, “Origen (and the church around him) proclaims a “gospel” about a “soul” whose fate was separate from the body. Could a Jewish man like Jesus even understand what it meant? With this claim, any Christian concern for the human body, for the physical creation, and for the whole social-economic structure of society is put aside in favor of the question of the “soul’s fate in the afterlife” (88).
The rest of the book traces how Christian writers like Tertullian, Clement, Origen, Cyprian, Athanasius, Jerome, Ambrose, and Augustine continued to abstract the Christian life from creation and physical life, while at the same time imbibing the cultural values of Empire (evidenced by a misogyny which paralleled Roman cultural values and unwillingness to challenge the status-quo). Constantine does have a significant impact on the church, as bishops began to adopt ceremonies and raiments of the imperial court and revise their image of Christ along royal lines (i.e. icons of Christ as Lawgiver and Judge sitting on a jeweled throne) (198).
Howard-Brook does his homework and his book is thoroughly researched. Yet he does not offer here, a sympathetic reading of the Church Fathers (their voices most often mediated through secondary sources). He frequently faults the Fathers for the way they catered toward elites and the how they adapted their theology to fit their own circumstance (such as Jerome’s preaching against riches while assigning a higher place in the afterlife to ‘the Christian scholar’, 247). Surprisingly, he does end up saying nice things about Augustine, the frequent whipping boy of all that is wrong in Western Theology. He describes him as a theologian who ‘took a path of moderation between the extremes promoted by others in his context’ (265), though of course, he goes on to fault him for his handling of the Donatists, his promotion of ‘state-sponsored violence,’ and Pelagius.
I enjoyed this book and I think Howard-Brook offers an important perspective on the development of Christian doctrine. Jesus did challenge the kingdoms of this Age in the way that later generations of Christians did not. There is a trajectory toward Empire, Neo-Platonism, and the status-quo in Church history. However, by profiling particular thinkers, through particular lenses, he is able to construct his narrative and parse the evidence in a certain way. He doesn’t highlight prophetic and counter voices to Empire throughout this period or pastoral aspects of his chief interlocutors. I wished at times he applied a more of a generous reading of the patristic period, though I appreciate the critique he levels and think it is substantive. I give this five stars. ★★★★
Notice of Material Connection: I received this book from SpeakEasy in exchange for my honest review.
August 12, 2017
How we got to where we've been for a very long time
August 11, 2017
Empire Baptized: How the Church Embraced What Jesus Rejected 2nd-5th Centuries by Wes Howard-Brook
Memories
Matthew 16:24-28
Memories flood our minds like a rainbow of colors.
People are always curious about why I do the ministry I do, why I live a life that seems so "different"( in reality I am no different than anyone else.) Those questions often put me on the defensive, but the past few days memories I have forgotten about have come to press in on me, to enfold me in a dark depression, they overwhelm me, and I know it is the Spirit pressing them forward.
Through out my life there has been this Presence, that overwhelms me, that presses on me in dark times, as well as the times of light, but always a Presence, whom I call Jesus. And that is why I embrace the pain that often comes with the memories. That is why I walk into the pain, walk into the dark places where others fear to go. I am not alone. I run away, but always turn around and run into the Light that one finds in the darkness. There is no fear on the streets, there is no fear in the face of pain and death because that is where Jesus is most visible.
I remember back to when I was 13, and my mom caught me and another boy fooling around. She grounded me, gave me books on the evils of homosexuality, and at the same time a sixteen year old friend of mine was murdered because of being with a boy. Those events shut me down, I enclosed myself into a closet of lies and deceit for 12 years, and I am still growing out of that closet of a 13 year old. I am still wrestling with those years of lies and deceit, those years of darkness and pain, and still struggle with my own goodness, my own acceptance. And the events that I stumble into, always push me. This ministry grows out of that struggle. I see that in certain events.
I remember my second year in seminary there was a a hugh party held out in the country every Saturday night, where I served a church. I was close to the kids and went to the party. And eventually what I observed were both the girls and boys being used for prostitutes, and other activities that were simply evil, beyond the normal use of alcohol and drugs. I talked to a few of the local pastors about going with me to the police and they clammed up saying "it is outside of our town." So I went to the police and set up a sting operation. The result was the busting of a child trafficking and prostitution ring, and the anger of many, and the turning away of my ministerial colleagues out of fear; I shut down, with the rejection, tried to become the "perfect preacher boy." But that never works for me--I never stay in any closet--I bust out--
My first full time church out of seminary was in a small town in northern Missouri. The second week I was on the job there was a murder of a man known as the "town bully", a drug dealer and who knows what else. The funeral home called and asked me to do the funeral--because no other minister in the area would even see the family, let along do the funeral, and so I performed the funeral and ministered to the young wife and four kids. And for the next two years I was hated, threatened, until I moved. Again I became the perfect "preacher boy", and as always it did not work.
Staying in the closet never works it destroys us. People label me "gay, bi, and every other name", but I have had sex with both men and women, love both, so am I "bi" or "straight" or now that I am celibate am I a "eunuch". Labels are destructive--so I label myself "queer" which one can look at in many ways. Labeling destroys relationships.
The church often goes in the closet behind the Bible. And you can never hide from Jesus--we have to face our memories--
Only in facing our memories can we find our true selves. Wes Howard Brook in his book Empire Baptized: How the Church Embraced What Jesus Rejected 2nd-5th Centuries sums up that the tradition Jesus taught was opposite of the tradition formed through the Empire and political ambitions of its leaders, that the tradition of Jesus are not concerned with "the right words" but with the "right practice" which is the love of God and neighbor. Jesus never was concerned with "saving souls", but loving people in all walks of life, but in particular the poor and the oppressed.
Henri Nouwen tells us that
"Often we are preoccupied with the question, "How can we be witnesses in the Name of Jesus? What are we supposed to say or do to make people accept the love that God offers them?" These questions are expressions more of our fear than of our love. Jesus shows us the way of being witnesses. He was so full of God's love, so connected with God's will, so burning with the zeal for God's Kingdom, that he couldn't do other than witness. Wherever he went and whomever he met, a power went out from him that healed everyone who touched him. (See Luke 6:19.)
If we want to be witnesses like Jesus, our only concern should be to be as alive with the love of God as Jesus was."
My memories are like a rainbow of colors that are bright, dark, painful, and full of resurrection. My memories shine into the presence and bring me to see simply Jesus in his love of people, and his care for others.
Our lectionary reading from Matthew tells us: "Then Jesus said to his disciples, "All who want to come after me must say no to themselves, take up their cross, and follow me. All who want to save their lives will lose them. But all who lose their lives will find them."
For me the words of St. Mary Mackallop describes the purpose of our creation: 'Find happiness in making others happy."
I do not do a very good job, but I try with all of my mind, soul and strength to love God and my neighbor, and I hope others will try as well.
+Fr. River Damien Sims sfw, D.Min.
P.O. Box 642656
San Francisco, CA 94164
415-305-2124
www.temenos.org
Memories
Matthew 16:24-28
Memories flood our minds like a rainbow of colors.
People are always curious about why I do the ministry I do, why I live a life that seems so "different"( in reality I am no different than anyone else.) Those questions often put me on the defensive, but the past few days memories I have forgotten about have come to press in on me, to enfold me in a dark depression, they overwhelm me, and I know it is the Spirit pressing them forward.
Through out my life there has been this Presence, that overwhelms me, that presses on me in dark times, as well as the times of light, but always a Presence, whom I call Jesus. And that is why I embrace the pain that often comes with the memories. That is why I walk into the pain, walk into the dark places where others fear to go. I am not alone. I run away, but always turn around and run into the Light that one finds in the darkness. There is no fear on the streets, there is no fear in the face of pain and death because that is where Jesus is most visible.
I remember back to when I was 13, and my mom caught me and another boy fooling around. She grounded me, gave me books on the evils of homosexuality, and at the same time a sixteen year old friend of mine was murdered because of being with a boy. Those events shut me down, I enclosed myself into a closet of lies and deceit for 12 years, and I am still growing out of that closet of a 13 year old. I am still wrestling with those years of lies and deceit, those years of darkness and pain, and still struggle with my own goodness, my own acceptance. And the events that I stumble into, always push me. This ministry grows out of that struggle. I see that in certain events.
I remember my second year in seminary there was a a hugh party held out in the country every Saturday night, where I served a church. I was close to the kids and went to the party. And eventually what I observed were both the girls and boys being used for prostitutes, and other activities that were simply evil, beyond the normal use of alcohol and drugs. I talked to a few of the local pastors about going with me to the police and they clammed up saying "it is outside of our town." So I went to the police and set up a sting operation. The result was the busting of a child trafficking and prostitution ring, and the anger of many, and the turning away of my ministerial colleagues out of fear; I shut down, with the rejection, tried to become the "perfect preacher boy." But that never works for me--I never stay in any closet--I bust out--
My first full time church out of seminary was in a small town in northern Missouri. The second week I was on the job there was a murder of a man known as the "town bully", a drug dealer and who knows what else. The funeral home called and asked me to do the funeral--because no other minister in the area would even see the family, let along do the funeral, and so I performed the funeral and ministered to the young wife and four kids. And for the next two years I was hated, threatened, until I moved. Again I became the perfect "preacher boy", and as always it did not work.
Staying in the closet never works it destroys us. People label me "gay, bi, and every other name", but I have had sex with both men and women, love both, so am I "bi" or "straight" or now that I am celibate am I a "eunuch". Labels are destructive--so I label myself "queer" which one can look at in many ways. Labeling destroys relationships.
The church often goes in the closet behind the Bible. And you can never hide from Jesus--we have to face our memories--
Only in facing our memories can we find our true selves. Wes Howard Brook in his book Empire Baptized: How the Church Embraced What Jesus Rejected 2nd-5th Centuries sums up that the tradition Jesus taught was opposite of the tradition formed through the Empire and political ambitions of its leaders, that the tradition of Jesus are not concerned with "the right words" but with the "right practice" which is the love of God and neighbor. Jesus never was concerned with "saving souls", but loving people in all walks of life, but in particular the poor and the oppressed.
Henri Nouwen tells us that
"Often we are preoccupied with the question, "How can we be witnesses in the Name of Jesus? What are we supposed to say or do to make people accept the love that God offers them?" These questions are expressions more of our fear than of our love. Jesus shows us the way of being witnesses. He was so full of God's love, so connected with God's will, so burning with the zeal for God's Kingdom, that he couldn't do other than witness. Wherever he went and whomever he met, a power went out from him that healed everyone who touched him. (See Luke 6:19.)
If we want to be witnesses like Jesus, our only concern should be to be as alive with the love of God as Jesus was."
My memories are like a rainbow of colors that are bright, dark, painful, and full of resurrection. My memories shine into the presence and bring me to see simply Jesus in his love of people, and his care for others.
Our lectionary reading from Matthew tells us: "Then Jesus said to his disciples, "All who want to come after me must say no to themselves, take up their cross, and follow me. All who want to save their lives will lose them. But all who lose their lives will find them."
For me the words of St. Mary Mackallop describes the purpose of our creation: 'Find happiness in making others happy."
I do not do a very good job, but I try with all of my mind, soul and strength to love God and my neighbor, and I hope others will try as well.
+Fr. River Damien Sims sfw, D.Min.
P.O. Box 642656
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January 6, 2018
I consider this book to be an important contribution to the topics of early Christian history and the evolution of Christianity. The early Christian writers have been important voices to both the Orthodox/Catholic traditions and the many streams of Protestantism. Yet, Howard-Brook challenges their views from Origen to Augustine. While giving a critical analysis of several of these writers, he asks his readers to consider the idea that it was actually the internal workings of the Roman Empire’s religious, philosophical, social and economic structures that came to undergird their Christian formation, as oppose to the Jewish rootedness and culture of its origin. He argues very well that this is most evident through their (and now our) narration and interpretation of scripture and the subsequent development of our theologies and doctrines over the millennia.
As a side note, for those who are up on the “New Perspective on Paul” and where it is going (by Sanders, Dunn, Wright and Co.), I felt this absolutely complimented that work as well. It too confronts faulty soteriologies and anthropologies that have been based on misunderstanding of the ancient Jewish culture.
Nevertheless, within this contextual setting Howard-Brook enters into a much needed exploration on the important themes of ecology/creation care, anti-Semitism, war and nonviolence, sex, hierarchy, social justice and other things that we Christians have notoriously mishandled. So, while I definitely tout this book as well researched history book and critical analysis, Howard-Brook also points directly toward the contentious issues that we divide over now and no doubt will continue to do in the future thus offering many points of relevancy.
It is also worth mentioning that Empire Baptized is a continuation of another book Howard-Brook had written titled Come Out, My People. In this book he seems to outline God’s leading Israel away from the “religion of empire” in exchange for the “religion of creation” throughout the Biblical narrative. I say “seems” because I have not read Come Out, My People, but he offers a brief recap in the forward. With that, I had little trouble keeping up with Empire Baptized, so I felt this was a good standalone book. With that said Howard-Brook does rest on interpretive assumptions about the Bible that I presume he worked out more fully in the first book which would be helpful for many beforehand, or at least something to keep in mind while reading this book.
My only “con” for the book is not so much a flaw as much as a friendly caution. This book is geared toward an academic audience which I personally do not have problem with, but I know some will. Being of that genre and vocabulary it can at times feel daunting. This, however, is not to dissuade anyone from trying. In fact if I can get more people in my own sphere to take the time to work through it, I will. It is definitely a book worth having on the shelf for any who are interested in these topics and dilemmas.
As a side note, for those who are up on the “New Perspective on Paul” and where it is going (by Sanders, Dunn, Wright and Co.), I felt this absolutely complimented that work as well. It too confronts faulty soteriologies and anthropologies that have been based on misunderstanding of the ancient Jewish culture.
Nevertheless, within this contextual setting Howard-Brook enters into a much needed exploration on the important themes of ecology/creation care, anti-Semitism, war and nonviolence, sex, hierarchy, social justice and other things that we Christians have notoriously mishandled. So, while I definitely tout this book as well researched history book and critical analysis, Howard-Brook also points directly toward the contentious issues that we divide over now and no doubt will continue to do in the future thus offering many points of relevancy.
It is also worth mentioning that Empire Baptized is a continuation of another book Howard-Brook had written titled Come Out, My People. In this book he seems to outline God’s leading Israel away from the “religion of empire” in exchange for the “religion of creation” throughout the Biblical narrative. I say “seems” because I have not read Come Out, My People, but he offers a brief recap in the forward. With that, I had little trouble keeping up with Empire Baptized, so I felt this was a good standalone book. With that said Howard-Brook does rest on interpretive assumptions about the Bible that I presume he worked out more fully in the first book which would be helpful for many beforehand, or at least something to keep in mind while reading this book.
My only “con” for the book is not so much a flaw as much as a friendly caution. This book is geared toward an academic audience which I personally do not have problem with, but I know some will. Being of that genre and vocabulary it can at times feel daunting. This, however, is not to dissuade anyone from trying. In fact if I can get more people in my own sphere to take the time to work through it, I will. It is definitely a book worth having on the shelf for any who are interested in these topics and dilemmas.
May 12, 2018
"The exciting, radical, dangerous life of discipleship had been replaced by the safe, routine business of 'saving one's soul.' In a world moving through the first, human-caused, massive species extinction in history, where racist police brutality, inequality of wealth, and the everyday oppression of the constant, anxiety-ridden race to 'get ahead' (or these days, just 'stay even') are the 'norm,' it is far past time to liberate those who seek to know and follow Jesus from the stultifying, life-denying doctrines of 'Christianity.'" (297-298)
Moving from Jesus and the Hebrew Scriptures through Augustine, Howard-Smith does a fabulous job of tracing how the church made peace with empire, becoming so often a tool of imperial justification rather than the beautiful good news call into a different way of human flourishing.
Moving from Jesus and the Hebrew Scriptures through Augustine, Howard-Smith does a fabulous job of tracing how the church made peace with empire, becoming so often a tool of imperial justification rather than the beautiful good news call into a different way of human flourishing.
November 9, 2021
Super chaotic - he doesn’t engage with much of the point he claims the book is aiming at but mostly just rehashes basic early church and Roman history in a less effective manner than most other books I’ve read on those topics. Not sure why it’s so highly rated honestly.
January 7, 2025
This is an important and excellent book, a history that is copmpletely pertinent to who we are today. I highly recommend.
November 7, 2016
FIRST!!! I never took any classes on early Christianity while in college. I did not like the little that I did know about those who stripped Jesus' radical message of inclusive reconciliation, solidarity, and resistance to the values of empire and replaced it with a disembodied hope for heaven while propping up culturally relevant co-opting of ethical codes inimical to the Gospel. Now, I feel no need to take a class on such figures, for the brief work of Wes Howard-Brook on those powerful men in the first few centuries of Christianity has shown me the trajectory of how we got here from there. I loved this book; the way it is formatted and presented is easy to understand and impassioned. I hope that people in both conservative and progressive communities can use the erudite arguments of this book to bring them closer to the Way of Jesus and into the work of embodying G*D's work on earth as it is in heaven.
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