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The Dawn of Christianity: How God Used Simple Fishermen, Soldiers, and Prostitutes to Transform the World
Drawing upon the most recent discoveries and scholarship in archaeology and the first-century Near East, The Dawn of Christianity reveals how a beleaguered group of followers of a crucified rabbi became the founders of a world-changing faith. How did Christianity truly come to be? Where did this worldwide faith come from? The Dawn of Christianity tells the story of how the first followers of Jesus survived the terror and despair of witnessing the one they knew to be the messiah—God’s agent for the salvation of the world—suddenly arrested, tried, and executed. Soon after Jesus’ death, his relatives and closest followers began hearing reports that Jesus was alive again—reports that even his most loyal disciples at first refused to believe. Using the most recent studies by top Christian and secular scholars, Robert Hutchinson, known for his popular books on Christianity and Biblical Studies, reconstructs all of the known accounts of these early resurrection appearances and follows the witnesses to the resurrection as they experience brutal persecution at the hands of zealots such as Saul of Tarsus and then become committed evangelists to the major population centers in Antioch, Damascus, Rome, and Athens—and ultimately across the world. A riveting thriller of the most improbable history-changing movement imaginable, The Dawn of Christianity brings to life the compelling story of the birth of Christianity.
352 pages, Hardcover
Published March 14, 2017
41 people are currently reading
256 people want to read
About the author
Robert J. Hutchinson
12 books48 followersRobert J. Hutchinson is the author of
What Really Happened: The Death of Hitler
(Regnery History, August 2020), which settles the question once and for all about whether Hitler escaped to live in Argentina, and
What Really Happened: The Lincoln Assassination
(Regnery History, April 2020), a step-by-step recreation of the final week of Abraham Lincoln's life. Hutchinson is also the author of
The Dawn of Christianity,
(Thomas Nelson, 2017), a journalistic retelling of the last week of Jesus’ life and the twenty years that followed;
Searching for Jesus: New Discoveries in the Quest for Jesus of Nazareth
(Thomas Nelson, 2015), a pioneering work that challenges older scholarly ideas about who Jesus was and what he was trying to achieve;
The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Bible
(Regnery, 2008) which argues that the ideas embedded in the ancient Biblical texts gave rise to such developments as modern science, the recognition of universal human rights and constitutional government;
When in Rome: A Journal of Life In Vatican City
(Doubleday, 1998) which recounts the adventures of his family when they lived in Rome and Hutchinson researched the inner workings of the Vatican; and
The Book of Vices: A Collection of Classic Immoral Tales
(Putnam, 1996) which is a light-hearted attempt to poke fun at William Bennett's The Book of Virtues and is full of excerpts from ribald classics.
Hutchinson has been a professional writer and author his entire adult life, working both for Christian publications, such as Christianity Today and U.S. Catholic, and for secular magazines and newspapers. He was once the managing editor of Hawaii Magazine and the Hawaii Bureau Chief for The Hollywood Reporter. Hutchinson attended Catholic schools, studied philosophy and French as an undergraduate, moved to Israel to learn Hebrew, and earned a graduate degree in New Testament studies in 2004. He is currently pursuing graduate studies in philosophy at the University of Innsbruck, Austria.
Hutchinson has been a professional writer and author his entire adult life, working both for Christian publications, such as Christianity Today and U.S. Catholic, and for secular magazines and newspapers. He was once the managing editor of Hawaii Magazine and the Hawaii Bureau Chief for The Hollywood Reporter. Hutchinson attended Catholic schools, studied philosophy and French as an undergraduate, moved to Israel to learn Hebrew, and earned a graduate degree in New Testament studies in 2004. He is currently pursuing graduate studies in philosophy at the University of Innsbruck, Austria.
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March 19, 2021The author uses historical writings and scripture to set forth his views on Jesus, his followers, and the very early years of Christianity. He explores the social status of the followers of Jesus. Well written for the highly educated.
February 27, 2019
I can't say I liked this as much as his book "the Search for Jesus". It largely is a narrative of Jesus' life and very briefly touches on what we find in the book of Acts. It did include some interesting archaeological, cultural and historical information which that enriched the story. He seems fairly acquainted with scholarship and definitely leans strongly on the more conservative side.
One thing that caught my attention and excited me, especially after reading Borg's book on Jesus which talked about the economic and political situation of the time, is Hutchinson provided additional details Increasing my understanding of the desperate state of poverty for most of the population in first century Israel. It truly was just horrendous. At this time, the wealthy didn't create wealth, they simply exploited it from the poor. A single priestly family at that time had 10,000 square foot house with marble walls, mosaic floors, baths and underground heating. How did he get his wealth? Temple taxes, fees for vows, fees for sacrifices, priest tithes and so on. When Rome looted the treasury after Herod the Great died, they took what today would be $545,000,000 from the Temple coffers! The Herod's claimed 25-30% of all the grain grown, 50% of all fruit, all fishing was tightly regulated. The wealthy were given large pieces of land, on which they charged high rents and gave extremely low wages to those who worked the land. The people were subject to soil tax, head tax, market tax, road toll tax, port tax, and on and on. The chief priest and Herod sunk their entire country into desperate poverty, and of course the Roman overlords made it all the harder for the poor.
All of this helps me understand a little better the loathing and desire for vengeance and reversals found in both the gospel of Luke, epistle of James and Revelation. There is the hope for the wealthy to suffer, to be impoverished, to be made hungry and miserable confident the returning Son Of Man would soon arrive on the clouds to do this very thing. The desire for revenge is understandable. But I still must say Charles Dickens portrait in Christmas carol much more resonates with my heart. How much more beautiful is it for a Scrooge to have a change of heart; a new perspective; to finally value everyone and to use his wealth to help others and to no longer obtain wealth in an unjust and unloving manner? Imagine if instead, the end of the story in the Christmas carol was simply the impoverishment, homelessness and the miserable death of Ebeneezer. This would have fallen flat with me. Justice? I guess you could say that...
There are glimpses of a more beautiful vision in the New Testament among the longing for the condemnation of the rich. But yeah, I guess I realize the corrupt and those who somehow justify trampling the poor and robbing widow houses, if they came to their senses, if they could see and emphasize, if their heart could be changed, they could bring light and good into the world. Hatred of them, and hopes of seeing them impoverished and ruined, is only a hope for an increases of suffering and misery in the world. I just cannot resonate with retributive justice, I want restorative justice, for people to acknowledge the error of their ways and to be captivated and brought into the new way of love. relationships to be restored, restitution made, peace established.
One thing it seems important to add, is of course, it isn't right to just wait and hope for the ghost of Christmas past to come and convict the wealthy who have obtained and maintain their wealth by corruption in situations of widespread oppress. Likely, Dickens himself, in his writings was attempting to act like this ghost of Christmas past, to bring conviction and soften hearts among the early capitalist in the industrial revolution. What is beautiful to me is he sought a way that didn't include violence and revenge likewise. When we look at Jesus who taught non-violent resistance, and other Jews at Jesus' time who practiced it--who used non-violent resistance, and in modern times, folks like Gandhi and MLK jr. We see sometimes action needs to be taken, but when it is violent revenge like in Haiti's revolution, or the French Revolution, a lot of tragedy often results from it. More often then not, revolts are violently put down by the elite in power, and if the revolution wins the victors now on top becoming more oppressive than those they replaced.
One thing that caught my attention and excited me, especially after reading Borg's book on Jesus which talked about the economic and political situation of the time, is Hutchinson provided additional details Increasing my understanding of the desperate state of poverty for most of the population in first century Israel. It truly was just horrendous. At this time, the wealthy didn't create wealth, they simply exploited it from the poor. A single priestly family at that time had 10,000 square foot house with marble walls, mosaic floors, baths and underground heating. How did he get his wealth? Temple taxes, fees for vows, fees for sacrifices, priest tithes and so on. When Rome looted the treasury after Herod the Great died, they took what today would be $545,000,000 from the Temple coffers! The Herod's claimed 25-30% of all the grain grown, 50% of all fruit, all fishing was tightly regulated. The wealthy were given large pieces of land, on which they charged high rents and gave extremely low wages to those who worked the land. The people were subject to soil tax, head tax, market tax, road toll tax, port tax, and on and on. The chief priest and Herod sunk their entire country into desperate poverty, and of course the Roman overlords made it all the harder for the poor.
All of this helps me understand a little better the loathing and desire for vengeance and reversals found in both the gospel of Luke, epistle of James and Revelation. There is the hope for the wealthy to suffer, to be impoverished, to be made hungry and miserable confident the returning Son Of Man would soon arrive on the clouds to do this very thing. The desire for revenge is understandable. But I still must say Charles Dickens portrait in Christmas carol much more resonates with my heart. How much more beautiful is it for a Scrooge to have a change of heart; a new perspective; to finally value everyone and to use his wealth to help others and to no longer obtain wealth in an unjust and unloving manner? Imagine if instead, the end of the story in the Christmas carol was simply the impoverishment, homelessness and the miserable death of Ebeneezer. This would have fallen flat with me. Justice? I guess you could say that...
There are glimpses of a more beautiful vision in the New Testament among the longing for the condemnation of the rich. But yeah, I guess I realize the corrupt and those who somehow justify trampling the poor and robbing widow houses, if they came to their senses, if they could see and emphasize, if their heart could be changed, they could bring light and good into the world. Hatred of them, and hopes of seeing them impoverished and ruined, is only a hope for an increases of suffering and misery in the world. I just cannot resonate with retributive justice, I want restorative justice, for people to acknowledge the error of their ways and to be captivated and brought into the new way of love. relationships to be restored, restitution made, peace established.
One thing it seems important to add, is of course, it isn't right to just wait and hope for the ghost of Christmas past to come and convict the wealthy who have obtained and maintain their wealth by corruption in situations of widespread oppress. Likely, Dickens himself, in his writings was attempting to act like this ghost of Christmas past, to bring conviction and soften hearts among the early capitalist in the industrial revolution. What is beautiful to me is he sought a way that didn't include violence and revenge likewise. When we look at Jesus who taught non-violent resistance, and other Jews at Jesus' time who practiced it--who used non-violent resistance, and in modern times, folks like Gandhi and MLK jr. We see sometimes action needs to be taken, but when it is violent revenge like in Haiti's revolution, or the French Revolution, a lot of tragedy often results from it. More often then not, revolts are violently put down by the elite in power, and if the revolution wins the victors now on top becoming more oppressive than those they replaced.
June 10, 2017
I received this book for free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers program to review.
I sit with the Jesus of my faith during my centering prayer practice. I love to learn more about the historical Jesus: the human Jesus. What can we know about his human actions? What was it like for Jesus to grow up in his small corner of his world?
Let me share some new things that I learned in this wonderful book.
Book Overview
What will we learn in this book?
“What did Jesus do and say, in is little as one year and a maximum of three years, that could possibly have had such an impact? How did the community he somehow gather together so quickly – made up of semi-literate fisherman, prostitutes, tax collectors, wealthy widow's, day laborers, and even Roman soldiers – give birth to the spiritual revolution that became Christianity? This book is an attempt to answer that question.”
This book is nicely divided into four parts:
The Road To Jerusalem
Alive
The Beginning of Persecution
The Expansion of the Jesus Movement
Rival Armies and Bandit Militias
“As a child, Jesus likely hid with his friends and family as rival armies and bandit militias marched by on the main roads just a few hundred yards from Nazareth.”
“This indicated that the Jews at this time prepared for the upcoming war by fashioning underground places to hide. This is the political and military background to the gospels that is lost on most people today.”
Jesus grew up in a very volatile corner of the world. The Roman Expire was in charge. Over the last six centuries the Jews lived under brutal domination: Babylonians, Persians, the Greeks and now the Romans. (In fact, the Jews were self-ruled for only a brief period: 164 – 63 BC.)
The Jewish people were under a tremendous tax burden. They were taxed by both the Romans and the temple administration in Jerusalem. These taxes left the majority of the country to live in severe poverty. Civil wars would often break out against the Romans. The Roman response was harsh: execution, woman and children sold into slavery and those who led the rebellions were crucified.
I agree with Robert. I think what it was like growing up during this volatile period is lost on most people today.
Kingdom of God
“What Jesus actually meant by “the kingdom of God” has been a source of debate among scholars across the academic and religious spectrum.
“But in recent years, even many secular new testament scholars have rejected the idea that Jesus was an end–times prophet proclaiming the imminent apocalypse.
“So what was Jesus’ vision of the kingdom of God? According to the records we have, when Jesus spoke about the kingdom, he said it was “good news” (Luke 4:43), “like treasure hidden in a field” (Matt. 13:44), not bad news. He compared it to a wedding feast, not a cosmic Artillery barrage (Matt. 22:2-14).”
This changes how we think about Jesus. This changes how we live. We are not to live waiting for the end times. Jesus wants us to enjoy and celebrate life right now. Jesus proclaimed that the kingdom of God was not only in the midst of us but it was within us.
Jesus was the temple of God. When Jesus was crucified, died and resurrected, he left us a helper, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit lives within each one of us. The Kingdom of God continues to survive and expand within each one of us. Unfortunately, many of us fail to recognize this. This hidden treasure is closer to us than we imagine. It is within us.
The Eucharist
“But no one drank this blood! Drinking blood was condemned in no uncertain terms by the Torah, and was considered one of the abominations of the pagans.
“Yet here Jesus was saying this wine was his blood and his followers were too....drink it? Why?”
This was shocking news. The lamb’s blood was passed from priest to priest in the temple and poured on the alter. It was not drunk. To drink blood was condemned by the Torah. It was considered an abomination of the pagans (Gen 9:4).
I think this is also lost upon us too. Something new has happened. A new era has begun. I think many of us take this for granted as we partake in communion with the breaking of the bread and the drinking of the wine. We eat the body of Christ. We drink the blood of Christ. This is powerful! Christ is within us. We are each the temple of God.
Psalm Sunday
“Christians are so accustomed to the story of Palm Sunday – of Jesus' joyous entry into Jerusalem – that many forget what a profoundly dangerous and subversive act his arrival in Jerusalem actually was.”
Yes, this was indeed a dangerous and subversive act. Jesus was a threat to the Jewish council leaders and Romans. They needed to ensure their control and power over the masses to maintain their interests.
Jesus knew that his journey into Jerusalem was risky. It could get him killed. Jesus decided to bring the kingdom of God to the heart and center of Judaism. The heart and center did not want to hear it. It threatened their control, interests and power.
What does this dangerous and subversive act tell us about Jesus?
Jesus was a man on a Spirit filled mission. Jesus must have been extremely brave, calm, compassionate, confident and wise. As Marcus Borg would say, Jesus was a Spirit filled man. He let the Inner Spirit lead and guide his actions. He was in God and God was in him. He and the Creator were one.
Next Steps
“Through his followers, he created self – perpetuating "cells" of his kingdom movement throughout Israel, each with the mission of establishing new communities.”
“As a result of Jesus' wise planning, demographers is estimate the kingdom movement grew at a rate of about 40% per decade. Within two years, the few dozen men and women had grown to more than 500, then to 3000. Within a decade, the community could have numbered many tens of thousands. Within 300 years, it was 35 million. Today, it's about 2 billion.”
Our job is to continue this Kingdom movement. The kingdom movement is an inclusive movement filled with empathy and compassion. We are the future “cells” of this kingdom movement.
I encourage you to check out The Dawn of Christianity.
Rich Lewis
www.SilenceTeaches.com
I sit with the Jesus of my faith during my centering prayer practice. I love to learn more about the historical Jesus: the human Jesus. What can we know about his human actions? What was it like for Jesus to grow up in his small corner of his world?
Let me share some new things that I learned in this wonderful book.
Book Overview
What will we learn in this book?
“What did Jesus do and say, in is little as one year and a maximum of three years, that could possibly have had such an impact? How did the community he somehow gather together so quickly – made up of semi-literate fisherman, prostitutes, tax collectors, wealthy widow's, day laborers, and even Roman soldiers – give birth to the spiritual revolution that became Christianity? This book is an attempt to answer that question.”
This book is nicely divided into four parts:
The Road To Jerusalem
Alive
The Beginning of Persecution
The Expansion of the Jesus Movement
Rival Armies and Bandit Militias
“As a child, Jesus likely hid with his friends and family as rival armies and bandit militias marched by on the main roads just a few hundred yards from Nazareth.”
“This indicated that the Jews at this time prepared for the upcoming war by fashioning underground places to hide. This is the political and military background to the gospels that is lost on most people today.”
Jesus grew up in a very volatile corner of the world. The Roman Expire was in charge. Over the last six centuries the Jews lived under brutal domination: Babylonians, Persians, the Greeks and now the Romans. (In fact, the Jews were self-ruled for only a brief period: 164 – 63 BC.)
The Jewish people were under a tremendous tax burden. They were taxed by both the Romans and the temple administration in Jerusalem. These taxes left the majority of the country to live in severe poverty. Civil wars would often break out against the Romans. The Roman response was harsh: execution, woman and children sold into slavery and those who led the rebellions were crucified.
I agree with Robert. I think what it was like growing up during this volatile period is lost on most people today.
Kingdom of God
“What Jesus actually meant by “the kingdom of God” has been a source of debate among scholars across the academic and religious spectrum.
“But in recent years, even many secular new testament scholars have rejected the idea that Jesus was an end–times prophet proclaiming the imminent apocalypse.
“So what was Jesus’ vision of the kingdom of God? According to the records we have, when Jesus spoke about the kingdom, he said it was “good news” (Luke 4:43), “like treasure hidden in a field” (Matt. 13:44), not bad news. He compared it to a wedding feast, not a cosmic Artillery barrage (Matt. 22:2-14).”
This changes how we think about Jesus. This changes how we live. We are not to live waiting for the end times. Jesus wants us to enjoy and celebrate life right now. Jesus proclaimed that the kingdom of God was not only in the midst of us but it was within us.
Jesus was the temple of God. When Jesus was crucified, died and resurrected, he left us a helper, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit lives within each one of us. The Kingdom of God continues to survive and expand within each one of us. Unfortunately, many of us fail to recognize this. This hidden treasure is closer to us than we imagine. It is within us.
The Eucharist
“But no one drank this blood! Drinking blood was condemned in no uncertain terms by the Torah, and was considered one of the abominations of the pagans.
“Yet here Jesus was saying this wine was his blood and his followers were too....drink it? Why?”
This was shocking news. The lamb’s blood was passed from priest to priest in the temple and poured on the alter. It was not drunk. To drink blood was condemned by the Torah. It was considered an abomination of the pagans (Gen 9:4).
I think this is also lost upon us too. Something new has happened. A new era has begun. I think many of us take this for granted as we partake in communion with the breaking of the bread and the drinking of the wine. We eat the body of Christ. We drink the blood of Christ. This is powerful! Christ is within us. We are each the temple of God.
Psalm Sunday
“Christians are so accustomed to the story of Palm Sunday – of Jesus' joyous entry into Jerusalem – that many forget what a profoundly dangerous and subversive act his arrival in Jerusalem actually was.”
Yes, this was indeed a dangerous and subversive act. Jesus was a threat to the Jewish council leaders and Romans. They needed to ensure their control and power over the masses to maintain their interests.
Jesus knew that his journey into Jerusalem was risky. It could get him killed. Jesus decided to bring the kingdom of God to the heart and center of Judaism. The heart and center did not want to hear it. It threatened their control, interests and power.
What does this dangerous and subversive act tell us about Jesus?
Jesus was a man on a Spirit filled mission. Jesus must have been extremely brave, calm, compassionate, confident and wise. As Marcus Borg would say, Jesus was a Spirit filled man. He let the Inner Spirit lead and guide his actions. He was in God and God was in him. He and the Creator were one.
Next Steps
“Through his followers, he created self – perpetuating "cells" of his kingdom movement throughout Israel, each with the mission of establishing new communities.”
“As a result of Jesus' wise planning, demographers is estimate the kingdom movement grew at a rate of about 40% per decade. Within two years, the few dozen men and women had grown to more than 500, then to 3000. Within a decade, the community could have numbered many tens of thousands. Within 300 years, it was 35 million. Today, it's about 2 billion.”
Our job is to continue this Kingdom movement. The kingdom movement is an inclusive movement filled with empathy and compassion. We are the future “cells” of this kingdom movement.
I encourage you to check out The Dawn of Christianity.
Rich Lewis
www.SilenceTeaches.com
November 11, 2017
Robert J. Hutchinson's The Dawn of Christianity has a great deal of historical and archeological background information, but the book seems to run out of steam as it only goes up to the Council of Jerusalem and leaves the events of the second half of the Book of Acts unmentioned or glossed over in the Appendices with the timeline and glossary of figures. Still, Hutchinson does his research and Dawn is a capable introduction.
March 20, 2017
As someone who reads a lot of histories of the early Church [1], this book happens to sit within an interesting middle position. The author portrays himself, and the book bears him out on this, as someone who neither believes in the full inspiration of the Bible nor is he someone who is intensely critical of the Bible. Neither a minimalist nor someone who believes in full inspiration, this book is aimed at those who are fair-minded about considering the Bible to be a worthwhile historical source but who are not people of faith. This is a book for people of reason--at least moderately sound reason--and not necessarily people of faith. It's a savvy choice from the point of view of marketing, as the author assumes that other writers will have the perspective of faith covered, and comparatively few people will write books for a nonbelieving audience that is as pro-biblical as this one. Beyond being a savvy choice, this book is actually an excellent one for those of us who are scholarly even if believers. And that is somewhat of a surprise, albeit a good one.
The book as a whole consists of a few unequal parts that largely mirror the scriptural account of the ministry, death, and resurrection of Christ and and the history of the early Church of God. The book begins with a large introduction including maps as well as a section on apologetics and archaeology that is around twenty pages long. After that the book is divided into four sections that take up about 240 pages or so material. The first section, which takes up about half the book, consists of the road to Jerusalem and crucifixion, divided into twelve short chapters. The next section of about thirty pages in length gives a strong case for the veracity of the resurrection account. After that comes a fairly lengthy section of about eight chapters looking at the beginnings of prosecution, and the main part of the book closes with three chapters about the evangelistic efforts before the Council of Jerusalem spearheaded by Paul and Barnabas. After that the book contains some useful appendices and a lengthy set of endnotes and an index.
There are a few aspects of the book that are worthy of comment. Not all readers will be as pleased by this book as I was, based on what context they bring to it. For example, the author conflates the two episodes of cleansing the temple and both of the anointings of Jesus, similar to the way that many readers of the Penteteuch conflate the two incidents at Massah and Meribah because they fail to see the point of the various duplicate incidents in scripture. Likewise, the author uses some language that many readers will find to be somewhat odd, like the "Jesus movement." That said, neither of these matters will be surprising to those who are used to reading critical accounts of scripture like this one is, and compared to which this is a very mildly critical account. Much depends on context. To this reader at least, given the genre the book falls into, this book comes off as witty and deeply sympathetic, and certainly reasonable, if lacking in the sort of faith that would make someone a believer. For a generally friendly biblical history, given the other books that written about biblical subjects, this is certainly a book that I can read with some enjoyment, and that is not something I say lightly. To be sure, it is not inspired history, but it presents a thoughtful view of early Christian history from someone who is at least a mildly friendly outsider, and most books of its kind are far, far worse.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2013...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2012...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2011...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
The book as a whole consists of a few unequal parts that largely mirror the scriptural account of the ministry, death, and resurrection of Christ and and the history of the early Church of God. The book begins with a large introduction including maps as well as a section on apologetics and archaeology that is around twenty pages long. After that the book is divided into four sections that take up about 240 pages or so material. The first section, which takes up about half the book, consists of the road to Jerusalem and crucifixion, divided into twelve short chapters. The next section of about thirty pages in length gives a strong case for the veracity of the resurrection account. After that comes a fairly lengthy section of about eight chapters looking at the beginnings of prosecution, and the main part of the book closes with three chapters about the evangelistic efforts before the Council of Jerusalem spearheaded by Paul and Barnabas. After that the book contains some useful appendices and a lengthy set of endnotes and an index.
There are a few aspects of the book that are worthy of comment. Not all readers will be as pleased by this book as I was, based on what context they bring to it. For example, the author conflates the two episodes of cleansing the temple and both of the anointings of Jesus, similar to the way that many readers of the Penteteuch conflate the two incidents at Massah and Meribah because they fail to see the point of the various duplicate incidents in scripture. Likewise, the author uses some language that many readers will find to be somewhat odd, like the "Jesus movement." That said, neither of these matters will be surprising to those who are used to reading critical accounts of scripture like this one is, and compared to which this is a very mildly critical account. Much depends on context. To this reader at least, given the genre the book falls into, this book comes off as witty and deeply sympathetic, and certainly reasonable, if lacking in the sort of faith that would make someone a believer. For a generally friendly biblical history, given the other books that written about biblical subjects, this is certainly a book that I can read with some enjoyment, and that is not something I say lightly. To be sure, it is not inspired history, but it presents a thoughtful view of early Christian history from someone who is at least a mildly friendly outsider, and most books of its kind are far, far worse.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2013...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2012...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2011...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
June 5, 2017
A Narrative Account of Jesus’ Ministry Incorporating New Research
The Dawn of Christianity presents the story of the ministry of Jesus and the founding of the early church. The first chapters are devoted to the story of Jesus and his followers. After the death of Christ, the author focuses on the early church through the travels of the apostles and Paul.
The book reads like a good story. The author stays close to the Bible narrative, but includes recent finding from archaeology and science, particularly when the gospels were written. I found the discussions of the political situation most interesting. It’s amazing how much Jesus accomplished in such a short time, but the discussion of the politics shows that Israel was ripe for the ideas Jesus preached.
It was also very interesting to learn about the archaeological discoveries in the area that show what the temple was like. They also verify places mentioned in the Bible that many people believed were fabrications, or at least not as developed as they appear to be now that the ruins have been studied.
I found the early chapters the most interesting, particularly those about the last days of Jesus life. The author tells the story in a way that makes you see the events. He also reconciles the accounts from the gospels showing that they are more accurate than previously thought by some scholars. The later chapters about the early church are also informative, but mostly follow the Acts of the Apostles with some added political and historical perspective.
I highly recommend this book if you want a readable account of the New Testament incorporating the latest findings from science and archaeology.
I received this book from BookLook Bloggers for this review.
The Dawn of Christianity presents the story of the ministry of Jesus and the founding of the early church. The first chapters are devoted to the story of Jesus and his followers. After the death of Christ, the author focuses on the early church through the travels of the apostles and Paul.
The book reads like a good story. The author stays close to the Bible narrative, but includes recent finding from archaeology and science, particularly when the gospels were written. I found the discussions of the political situation most interesting. It’s amazing how much Jesus accomplished in such a short time, but the discussion of the politics shows that Israel was ripe for the ideas Jesus preached.
It was also very interesting to learn about the archaeological discoveries in the area that show what the temple was like. They also verify places mentioned in the Bible that many people believed were fabrications, or at least not as developed as they appear to be now that the ruins have been studied.
I found the early chapters the most interesting, particularly those about the last days of Jesus life. The author tells the story in a way that makes you see the events. He also reconciles the accounts from the gospels showing that they are more accurate than previously thought by some scholars. The later chapters about the early church are also informative, but mostly follow the Acts of the Apostles with some added political and historical perspective.
I highly recommend this book if you want a readable account of the New Testament incorporating the latest findings from science and archaeology.
I received this book from BookLook Bloggers for this review.
March 21, 2017
"The Dawn of Christianity" is a "narrative retelling" of the last week of Jesus' life and of the first few years after his death and resurrection. The author used direct quotes from the Bible, summarized what happened, or created a fictional narrative of what might have happened. However, this is a commentary rather than pure narrative.
While talking about events, the author provided information about the political situation of the time and archeological discoveries. For example, he described what the temple looked like and the likely location of the crucifixion along with details about crucifixion. The author also talked about what skeptics of the Bible have thought and now think about various passages.
While he usually said "some skeptics doubted" or similar phrases, a few times he said "scholars doubted"--like anyone who believed the accuracy of the Bible couldn't be counted as a scholar. He also tried to explain away the supernatural elements. If Jesus raised someone from the dead, that person wasn't really dead but asleep and Jesus just revived them. (Happily, Jesus' resurrection was not explained away using this argument.) According to the author, Jesus just assumed that anyone criticizing the system would end up dead--yet he held out hope he'd avoid death and considered running away to a foreign country. He also had Jesus secretly arranging things like the use of the donkey and the Upper Room and keeping this information from his closest followers for security reasons.
The part about the first few years of the early church was mostly a summary of events described in Acts along with some political background information. The commentary effort was mostly spent on the events right before and after the crucifixion. There are plenty of books that cover that material and do so in a way that's easier to read (as this had a more academic tone).
I received a review copy of this book from the publisher through BookLook.
While talking about events, the author provided information about the political situation of the time and archeological discoveries. For example, he described what the temple looked like and the likely location of the crucifixion along with details about crucifixion. The author also talked about what skeptics of the Bible have thought and now think about various passages.
While he usually said "some skeptics doubted" or similar phrases, a few times he said "scholars doubted"--like anyone who believed the accuracy of the Bible couldn't be counted as a scholar. He also tried to explain away the supernatural elements. If Jesus raised someone from the dead, that person wasn't really dead but asleep and Jesus just revived them. (Happily, Jesus' resurrection was not explained away using this argument.) According to the author, Jesus just assumed that anyone criticizing the system would end up dead--yet he held out hope he'd avoid death and considered running away to a foreign country. He also had Jesus secretly arranging things like the use of the donkey and the Upper Room and keeping this information from his closest followers for security reasons.
The part about the first few years of the early church was mostly a summary of events described in Acts along with some political background information. The commentary effort was mostly spent on the events right before and after the crucifixion. There are plenty of books that cover that material and do so in a way that's easier to read (as this had a more academic tone).
I received a review copy of this book from the publisher through BookLook.
February 25, 2020
This is an outstanding book that does a great service of detailing the early years of The Way which would ultimately become Christianity. Hutchinson does a huge favor for the reader in threading together context, archeology and scripture to flesh out the gospel story and the early years of Christianity and those that followed it. The attention to detail is strong, and I wish the book could have gone a little longer. The book ends rather abruptly for my taste and it left me wanting more. More discussion, more detail, more personification of the early believers. And if that was the point then well done but the abruptness is the only reason I have to short this book a star. If you're a Christian or like to study the Bible, this is well worth the read!
October 7, 2017
A detailed review of what is known of the life of Jesus Christ and the early church, incorporating the latest discoveries. The story is very familiar but most every Christian will find new information. For me it was the origin of the Samaritans, the historical setting for the cleansing of the temple and a better understanding of the how The Way, a Jewish sect grew to welcome Gentiles and become an international phenomenon.
June 30, 2025
Wow. I loved this. A book about Christ not trying to discount Him is rare, and this is it. This is gold.
April 16, 2017
If you’re looking for an overview on how the early Christian church got its start, Robert J. Hutchinson’s The Dawn of Christianity may fill in a few gaps. The book has the monumental task of charting the course of Christianity through Jesus’ ministry, His death and resurrection, onward to the Council of Jerusalem. The book’s subtitle is a bit of a misnomer. You don’t learn too much about the prostitutes for instance, and the book focuses on the Gospels and Acts interspersed with some Roman history and recent archeological findings in an attempt to prove that the Bible is true.
It’s as though Hutchinson was writing this book to the skeptics, but, in the book’s introduction, he admits that he cast a pretty wide swath as to not offend anyone from no matter what church or denomination they belong to — from Anglican right over to evangelicals. I’m on the fence about this approach. While it’s great that Hutchinson kind of plays impartially, and concedes at times that we really don’t know what’s historically true or not, he clearly believes in certain things, such as the resurrection. Now, I’m of the view that the resurrection of Jesus is more metaphorical than anything, a view that the late Marcus Borg seemingly took, so it’s odd that in bibliography section, Hutchinson admits to using two of Borg’s books for reference!
Read more here: https://medium.com/@zachary_houle/a-r...
It’s as though Hutchinson was writing this book to the skeptics, but, in the book’s introduction, he admits that he cast a pretty wide swath as to not offend anyone from no matter what church or denomination they belong to — from Anglican right over to evangelicals. I’m on the fence about this approach. While it’s great that Hutchinson kind of plays impartially, and concedes at times that we really don’t know what’s historically true or not, he clearly believes in certain things, such as the resurrection. Now, I’m of the view that the resurrection of Jesus is more metaphorical than anything, a view that the late Marcus Borg seemingly took, so it’s odd that in bibliography section, Hutchinson admits to using two of Borg’s books for reference!
Read more here: https://medium.com/@zachary_houle/a-r...
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