Christianity at the Crossroads: How the Second Century Shaped the Future of the Church

by Michael J. Kruger

It is the second century. Everyone who knew Jesus is now dead. Christianity has begun to spread, but there are serious threats to its survival. Christianity at the Crossroads examines the crucial issues that faced the second-century Church - a period often neglected or overlooked in other studies. It was during this period that the fledgling Church struggled to work out its identity and stay true to the vision of Christ and the apostles. Threatened by divisive controversies from within and fierce persecution from without, the Church's response to these and other issues not only determined its survival; it was to shape the beliefs, values and lives of millions of Christians throughout the world over the next two millennia.

Genres: Church History, History, Christian, Theology, Christianity, Faith, New Testament

276 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2017

About the author

Michael J. Kruger (PhD, University of Edinburgh) is president and professor of New Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary, Charlotte, and the author of a number of articles and books on early Christianity.

Reviews

[Thaddeus · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know it's the sign of a great book when you come to the end of it and you're sad that it's ending. This is certainly how I felt with Michael Kruger's book Christianity at the Crossroads. This book is an exploration of the second century, where Kruger makes the argument that this is the most pivotal and important century for Christendom. Having read his book, I would have to concur.

He starts off by showing how Christianity in the first century still had a largely Jewish flavor to it, with many outsiders not able to perceive the difference between them. However, by the early and mid 2nd century, because of many factors and the influx Gentile believers into the church, Christianity became a decidedly distinct religion.This distinction was even being recognized by the pagan culture and Roman government. Kruger points out how these distinctives of Christianity made it able to transcend boundaries of socioeconomic classes and gender, becoming a far more inclusive religion then its Jewish or even Pagan counterparts, especially to the poor and marginalized (but also even to the educated and well-to-do).

Next Kruger explorers the persecution which hit the Christian church in the second century, forcing it to learn how to survive in a hostile culture. It lacked any meaningful influence or power by worldly standards to aid it in its survival. Christians refusal to worship the Roman gods were considered reckless and hostile to the Empire, as it could incite the wrath of the gods. Their private gatherings were speculated by outsiders to be hiding cannibalism and sexual deviancy. Also, Pagan thinkers and philosophers ridiculed and mocked them. So, Christians needed to hone their apologetics skills to give answers to these attacks and misunderstandings. This is not unlike the situation that much of Christianity finds itself in today, and so we can learn a lot from the second century Church.

Kruger then goes on to describe the way churches were lead and governed and how those structures developed in this time period. He also points out the diversity within the early Christian movement, noting many of the other "Christian" off-shoot groups such as the ebionites, the marcionites, gnosticism, and montanism - many of whom were heretical groups. However, even in the midst of so much diversity and seeming confusion, there was a strong unifying theological core for the early Christians in the second century. Kruger explores the rule of faith and how this unifying theological core served to preserve Orthodox belief in a time where the church was struggling to survive its rough infancy. This just goes to show that the church, even from the beginning, has always had to struggle to watch its life and doctrine carefully - always being prepared to give an answer for the reason for the hope in them.

Lastly, Kruger focuses on the literary tradition and production of early Christians. He shows that the 2nd century Church was a very bookish movement, producing many writings including copies of scripture and apocryphal literature. He also points out the evidence for a relatively sophisticated scribal culture in this critical time of formation for the New Testament Canon. By this time, there was already a strong core Canon of books, about 22 out of the 27 in the New Testament. This goes to show that Christianity has always been centered on scripture from even the earliest times and it is critical that we do not lose the intellectual dimension of our faith when faced with cultural hostility in the world.

This book is a worthy read and has much to offer in terms of both knowledge and wisdom for our time. It is insightful, informative, well written and researched, and the compelling read. Their many application points after this book for us today to learn from the second century Church. I highly recommend this as a good book to add to your reading list this year! I have really enjoyed the books from Michael Kruger I've read so far and this one is definitely another great one! Looking forward to reading more of his works.

[Brandi Breezee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kruger penned a phenomenal overview of the church in the second century. The book is informative and well researched. Kruger defends the faith and the strength of the second century church well by confronting the issues, struggles, heresies, and skeptics while building on the solidity of those who passed on the apostolic teachings.

[Andy Tse · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great intro to second century Christianity. Not too technical, but it's also not a "very easy read". Kruger brought up the challenges Christians faced in the second century and gave a coherent defence for an early canon and an early defined "orthodox" Christian belief. If you've read The Question of Canon and The Heresy of Orthodoxy there will be some overlap. Overall, this was a worthwhile and informative read for history and apologetics.

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a layperson writing a review of an academic text. My goal is not a scholarly review but to describe the possible insights laypeople can gather from reading this book about Christianity in the second century.

We may think Christianity in the world has always been as it is now. Kruger reminds us that is not the case. Christianity was frail in the second century. It had little cultural influence in a hostile environment. There was no clearly defined theology and heresies were running rampant. There was no New Testament and there were no longer apostles to lead the church.

Kruger notes this was a time of transition and important decisions for the church. It was the era in which Christianity was clearly recognized as separate from Judaism. Gentiles were being brought into the faith with their intellectual and cultural challenges. Apologetics developed in the midst of a pluralistic environment.

I found that some of the conditions of that century are similar to our contemporary situation. Even though the church had not developed a precise theology and there were heresies popping up, there was a core set of beliefs developing. There was also an interesting exploration by Kruger as to what it meant to be “Christian” at that time. Some designated themselves as such, as today. Their claims were considered with respect to the Apostolic teaching and the rule of faith. That's a wise practice for today too.

Kruger notes, “...it is clear that women played a substantive role in early Christianity...” (36) That's encouraging for this woman to hear. Kruger also notes a distinguishing characteristic of Christianity among religions is that it used books and written texts. We see that today with scores of new books on Christian faith and practice each year.

Kruger notes that his book is an introduction to and not an exhaustive study of Christianity in the second century. (9) It is a scholarly work and laypeople may have difficulty easily reading the text. There are some sections where Kruger concentrates on evaluating the works of other scholars, for example. Nonetheless, I appreciated learning about how Christianity developed in that era and how we can apply principles from it to Christianity today.

[Christian Barry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kruger’s overview of the second century is a great introduction to the forming of the Christian Church as we know it today. This time really did serve as sort of a crucible for the forging of church structure and doctrine; educating the reader that much was up against the exploding growth of Christianity. In this read, I learned of the Didache, prominent leaders like Polycarp, the Apostolic Fathers texts, the presence of deaconesses, and much more. Christianity was not rejected by a secular Roman Empire but by a religious one. Due to not worshipping their gods, Christianity was often accused of atheism, cannibalism, and incest despite offering a more favorable / positive environment for women as compared to the position of women in the broader Greco-Roman world. This rejection opened up a platform for huge debates among secular and Christian thinkers battling for their local governments’ tolerance. Hoping they don’t cave to the mob. Despite being an introductory work, I thought Kruger really got into the weeds of Gnosticism v Jewish Christianity (the early writings that is), which was interesting. I particularly enjoyed the section discussing the popularity of the apocryphal texts and the creations of the Rule of Faith. He also affirms that this is the period we owe a lot to the birthing of the core canonical New Testament - helping Christian leaders solidify / unite in doctrine against heresy at the time. I won’t lie, this is a dense and sometimes boring read if church history isn’t your cuppa tea, but the good news is there’s no fluff! Every Christian should at least get a wholesome and concise overview of what the second century did for the Church. Most importantly, it at least got me thinking about competing ideologies that supposedly stemmed from the same followers of the Apostles. This is a great quality work to be appreciated. If you’re a scholar wondering what part of the second century to study, look here! There’s so much.

[Patrick S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know if Kruger could even write a bad book. Kruger once again shows himself to be a well balanced scholar and one of the greatest living New Testament scholars out there. This book does cover the essence of what Christians in the 2nd century were dealing with and/or thought. He looks at who made up the church at the time and how radical the make up was. During that discussion he breaks apart some charges leveled at early Christianity like that they were all illiterate, poor slaves. He looks at the start of the heretical groups that were foretold by the Apostles and showed that the core of Christianity had cemented the fact that there was only one path in faith through Jesus Christ. He builds from his work of "Heresy of Orthodoxy" with a discussion on 2nd century unity in Christianity. Finally he takes a look at the books and canon of the church during that time.

I can't say much more than Kruger knocks it out of the park and covers what needs to be covered with this subject. He is fair to present alternative views but does also critique them for the views he espouses. This is a really great book for those who may doubt the rich and unified history of Christianity in its infancy and where it begins to walk - in the 2nd century. Final Grade - A+

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a basic introduction to Christianity in the second century. As such, it's a good summary of the various issues that the second century presents for scholars to explore, written for lay people. I found the early parts a bit basic, retreading much that I've read elsewhere, covering the second-century society and culture, the basic practices and possible government forms, the manner of worship and meeting, and so on.

In chapter 4--about halfway through the book--is where Kruger really starts to get down to an argument that he explores more fully in another book: namely, he discusses how diverse the second century was in terms of belief and practice (as per much modern scholarship, based around Walter Bauer's thesis that there wasn't really any such thing as a unitary Christianity early on). Kruger doesn't believe that, so after exploring the differing non-mainstream Christian groups, he proceeds in chapter 5 to show how there actually was an orthodox Christian faith all the way back in the second century, one that stemmed from the first century. He argues this primarily by discussing "the rule of faith"--that is, the basic tenets that made Christians, in fact, Christians, into which the non-mainstream did not fit: the idea that Jesus Christ came in the flesh, died, and rose the third day; that he was God in the flesh; and so on.

Chapters 6 and 7 are where this book really shine, which is not surprising, given that the chapters cover topics that Kruger specializes in and has written several other works on: namely, the canonization of the scripture and the literary culture of the early church. Kruger goes into more detail on these subjects elsewhere, but these two chapters seem a very good and detailed summary of the issues and are what make this book worth the time spent reading it, even beyond just the basic introduction.

[Timothy Bertolet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michael Kruger offers a reliable introduction to the second century and the issues concerning the rise of the church in that era. The second century is often overlooked in church history but Kruger demonstrates it was a formative age. He discusses relevant topics including how Christian identity was formed, the hostile culture Christianity faced, the emergence of church leadership and governing structure, issues of orthodoxy and heresy, and literature and the rise of the canon.

Some of Kruger's work here builds off of his previous work regarding orthodoxy and heresy (where he demonstrates Walter Bauer's thesis is unsustainable), and regarding the formation of the canon tends to point towards an early rise of a canon or at least works that were regarded as Scripture. He argues that early Christianity was a literary culture and not primarily an oral culture.

Kruger's work is a solid introduction. He is not exhaustive in his citation of secondary literature (nor should this work be) but he clearly introduces the issue and sets for his case. This is a worthwhile read for those familiar with NT scholarship and second century church history scholarship. This is also a good introduction to those interested in the rise of Christianity or for students of the early church. This would be a good place for a student or layperson with such interests to start their reading.

[Rusty del Norte · Rating 3 out of 5]

A needed book for those trying to understand early Christianity. This book helps gives some context to Christianity's 2nd century and its struggle for both growth and well as survival. The author mentions all the important figures for sure: Tertullian, Ireneaus, Justin Martyr, as well as groups outside the norm like Gnostics, Marcionites, Montanists, and so on. And for the first timer, this is important as you might not hear much about it on a Sunday morning at your local congregation.

What this book doesn't do is delve into the writings of those who were Christian and those who were not. We get highlights of their works and good overviews. But it doesn't discuss in large detail as it needs to move on. Nor do we see any effort to discuss Christianity beyond the Roman Empire - i.e. the Parthian (and later Sassanid) Empire that had a presence there.

Overall, this should be read by the beginner. For those who are not, it might jog some memories and have some good things here and there. But further study is needed in order to get a more rounded view.

[Cale Fauver · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly was one of the most fascinating, encouraging, and informative books I’ve read, especially all at once. A bit technical at times (if you aren’t familiar with NT manuscript information, names of church fathers, etc.) but don’t let it be daunting.

Kruger has been so helpful over the past few years for me with the topic of NT criticism, manuscripts, and textual variants. Read this book, and grow in your appreciation for the second century church.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very welcome addition to the study of early Christianity. Kruger summarized several on the main points of his research in the 2nd century, especially work on canon and the textual culture of the early church. Some very nice insights and overall a good introduction to a very formative period in church history.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really good overall (short) study of the history of Christianity in the second century. The author argues—correctly in my view—that this was a vital century for Christianity as it transitioned from those who had known and in some cases been with Christ, to those who had come to faith after Christ’s ascension. What did the fledgling church think about Christian writings? How would it live in the midst of a hostile culture? What did it believe about Christ? All of these topics and more awaited the second century church as it navigated the shifting seas of culture, politics, theology, and the scripture texts.

Good short introduction to vital issues in second century Christianity.

[Jon Vos · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Rounded up since there really is nothing quite like this in its accessibility and enjoyability. The author would benefit from reading Strunk and White’s Elements of Style, though.

[Jim Teggelaar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid survey of second century Christianity. Lots of information, but really dry- reads like a textbook.

[Andrzej Stelmasiak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable read. I appreciated his different approach to studying this period of the church's history - through the lenses of a question (i.e. transmission of the text) not through particular person (i.e. Justin Martyr), which is otherwise commonly done. Honest (even when that would mean that he is talking about things that would go against his own theological persuasion - commendable!!!), helpful, objective. His area of expertise is canon, this comes through in this book.
Scarce application on how learning about the 2nd century might help us today, but that would be a bonus, not what he was aiming for in this work. But thinking through things he wrote is helpful nevertheless.
Kruger is great speaker, and it reads well, one can imagine him lecturing in the same style.

[Clem · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would bet 95% or more of practicing Christians know every little about the history of the faith. Sure, every authentic believer is familiar with the books of the Bible, but all of those were written no later than 60 or 70 years after Christ. Most Christians could tell you nothing about figures such as Clement, Iraneus, Ignatius, Justin Martyr, Augustine, or Tertullian. Nor or they familiar with the history of the Gnostics, the Marcionists, Lucian of Samasota, Heracleon,or Celsus.

This is a shame because the history of Christianity is incredibly rich and rewarding. It wasn’t always pretty in the early days, but author Michael J. Kruger does an outstanding job showing us the many facets, and leaves his reader with a solid understanding and knowledge of how this new faith survived in spite of its animosities and controversies. We can see just how it prevailed and became what it is today. Kruger carefully limits his narrative to the second century. My feeling is that he probably didn’t want to go further in the timeline since that might violate what he deems as “Early” Christianity. It’s funny when his narrative does slip into, say, the third century as you can almost hear him slapping his own hand for sailing in waters that he considers forbidden. Let’s just say that I wish he would have kept going into the third or fourth centuries. I would love it if he pens another volume that only focuses on the third century, then a book on the fourth, and so on.

One of the main highlights of this book is that the author never allows his narrative to go too deep into the weeds. He is tackling everything here, not just one or two aspects of second century Christianity. Every chapter is devoted to a different aspect. We read about the leaders, the more visible heresies of the time, the relationship between the Jews and the Romans, the aspects of a typical worship service, and a lot on the writings that were penned in the first two centuries. To be brutally honest, he focuses a bit too much the formulation of the Canon, which is one of the last chapters of the book.

History tells us that the new testament of our Bible wasn’t actually compiled until around 382 A.D. (which if you think about it, really is a LONG time after the second century), yet Krueger spends an awful lot of time convincing his reader that even though Christianity didn’t actually have “The Bible” as early as the second century, the gospels and epistles were widely available (in the context of the second century, that is) and there really wasn’t that much controversy over what writings were “authentic” and what were not as widely accepted. So he leads us to believe that when the Bible was finally compiled, it was really more of a formality if anything.

Of course this is only the author’s opinion, and he’s very vocal that there are plenty of scholars out there who disagree with him. He comes across as quite modest and doesn’t try to steamroll his readers into believing that he’s the ultimate authority of events that happened 2000 years ago. He acknowledges that there are relatively few writings to guide us and to give insight into what was really going on at the time.

Overall this was a very easy book to read. From the bibliography, the author obviously did a lot of homework, yet his style is such that any reader with a high school education can easily read, digest, and assimilate the material. This was a very rich book that covered a lot of different aspects of the Christian faith without overwhelming the reader. This book probably could have been about ten times longer than it was. In fact, there were many times when I did want more, but as I’ve stated, it’s probably best that Kruger keeps his chapters, and the overall book, somewhat brief. A great primer to early Christianity, and very easy for most to understand.

[George P. · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The past is never dead,” wrote famed American author William Faulkner. “It’s not even past.”

Faulkner’s quip came to mind repeatedly while reading Michael J. Kruger’s new book, Christianity at the Crossroads: How the Second Century Shaped the Future of the Church. The authors and controversies of that century are unfamiliar to most Christians, but they fundamentally determined what Christianity became and continues to be today. In the words of Gerd Lüdemann, quoted approvingly by Kruger:

"To put it pointedly, in the period from the first Christian generations to the end of the second century, more important decisions were made for the whole of Christianity than were made from the end of the second century to the present day [emphasis in original].

What kind of decisions are we talking about? Over the course of seven chapters, Kruger surveys the sociological makeup of second-century Christianity (chapter 1), its political and intellectual acceptability (chapter 2), and its ecclesiological structure (chapter 3).

The next two chapters interact with Walter Bauer’s seminal book, Orthodoxy and Heresy in Earliest Christianity, and describe both the diversity (chapter 4) and unity (chapter 5) of the Church during this time.

Finally, Kruger examines the “bookish” nature of Christianity during this period (chapter 6), concluding by making a case that the canon of the New Testament was functionally established by the end of the second century (chapter 7).

These issues might strike some readers as “academic” in nature, of no concern to the average Christian today. And yet, academic debates tend to spring up in popular culture in unexpected places. So, for example, a version of Bauer’s thesis — a mangled version, I hasten to add — underlies the plot of Dan Silva’s (awful) 2003 mystery, The Da Vinci Code.

Leading characters in that novel argued that Christian “orthodoxy” was merely the side that won the era’s theological debates with a considerable assist from imperial Rome, that true faith in Jesus was better expressed by doctrines that came to be known as “heresy,” and that the canon of Christian Scripture originally included many Gnostic “Gospels” that Emperor Constantine suppressed.

I was a teaching pastor when Brown’s book came out, and I remember answering numerous congregants’ questions about it. “Is this true?” they asked. “Is Christian orthodoxy just one option among many? Were Gospels excluded from the New Testament canon?” Any answer I gave required getting second-century Christian history right. Like Faulkner said, the past isn’t even past.

Let me briefly summarize chapters 4 and 5 Christianity at the Crossroads to show the relevance of Christian history to such concerns.

These two chapters interact with Walter Bauer’s Orthodoxy and Heresy in Earliest Christianity, mentioned above. First published in German in 1934, then translated to English in 1971, Bauer’s book argued that, in Kruger’s words, “the earliest (or predominant) version of Christianity in these locales [Asia Minor, Antioch, Egypt, and Edessa] was what eventually became regarded as ‘heresy.’”

Kruger’s summary goes on, “It was only in the later centuries — largely due to the influence of the church at Rome — that the doctrinal debates were settled and the ‘heretical’ nature of these beliefs was to become evident.”

Consequently, as Kruger explains the implications of Bauer’s thesis, “the distinctions between orthodoxy and heresy in these earliest centuries are nonsensical. Instead, what you have in these early centuries are just various competing versions of Christianity all claiming to be original.”

Kruger concedes in chapter 4 that self-described Christians in the second century disagreed with one another. “Just a short time after the time of the apostles [i.e., the first century], it appears that the early Church was mired in controversy over a number of different theological issues.” These included the doctrines of creation, Scripture, salvation and Christ — core doctrines all of them.

And yet, Kruger goes on to argue that these controversies don’t establish Bauer’s thesis. “Diversity by itself does not mean there is no way to distinguish between heresy and orthodoxy,” he writes. “Nor does it mean that heretical views were as popular as orthodox ones.” In fact, he argues in chapter 5, “even in the midst of diversity, there was a core set of beliefs that unified most Christians together,” and “these beliefs appear to have an ancient pedigree — one that goes back even to the days of the apostles.”

Kruger employs three arguments to reach this conclusion. First, he argues that “there was widespread unity centred [sic] upon the ‘rule of faith’, one of the earliest expressions of apostolic teaching.” The rule was “not just an abstract collection of doctrinal affirmations, but [was], in essence, a history of redemption.” It began with God’s creative work, included God’s self-revelation through Old Testament prophets, and focused on Jesus’ acts of salvation. The “widespread, early and uniform nature of the rule of faith” rebuts the notion that “no meaningful theological unity” can be found in second-century Christianity.

Second, Kruger argues that “there are a number of lines of evidence that suggest [the] ‘orthodox’ crowd…constituted the majority of Christians” in this period. These include the number of leaders, the geographical spread of churches, the preponderance of ‘orthodox’ literature, and the fact that critics of early Christianity, such as Celsus, aimed their heaviest fire at the ‘orthodox’ camp, presuming it to be the majority.

Finally, Kruger argues that “the teaching found in the rule of faith matches most closely with the earliest accessible apostolic teaching, namely the seven undisputed letters of Paul” (i.e., Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians and Philemon). “If the earliest apostolic teaching is a reasonable standard for what counts as ‘orthodoxy’,” he concludes, “then it seems that title is best applied to the mainstream Church that embraced the rule of faith.”

From this brief review of Christianity at the Crossroads, I hope you can see, as Lüdemann saw, the crucial importance of second-century Christian history. Nineteen centuries later, contemporary Christians of various denominational stripes can recognize continuity between their faith and that of what both Celsus (the critic) and Irenaeus (the apologist) called the “great church,” a church that can credibly claim to represent the faith of the apostles.

 Christianity at the Crossroads is an illuminating study. It introduces the people and controversies of second-century Christianity in a clear, accessible manner. And it guides readers through scholarly debates about that century, fairly summarizing all sides of the debate, even as it argues for a traditional reading of the historical evidence. I highly recommend this excellent book about that “most important” century.

 

Book Reviewed:
Michael J. Kruger, Christianity at the Crossroads: How the Second Century Shaped the Future of the Church (London: SPCK, 2017).

 

P.S. This review was written for InfluenceMagazine.com and appears here by permission.

P.P.S. If you found this review helpful, please vote “Yes” on my Amazon.com review.

[Brance Gillihan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a helpful and enjoyable overview of Christianity in the second century. He discusses the social, economic, political, intellectual, and religious climate that surrounded the church in the 2nd century Roman Empire.

With a particular focus on the “bookish” and intellectual nature of early Christianity, he offers some valuable lessons that 21st century Christians could learn from our spiritual forefathers on how to interact with secular and pagan forces in the surrounding culture. As well, there are important lessons regarding the spread of the faith based on written scriptures, to a largely illiterate populace.

This is an interesting and highly recommended read.

[Steve Stanley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interviews and reviews: https://www.michaeljkruger.com/some-r... http://calvinstbatman.hipcast.com/del... https://www.themarginpodcast.com/epis... https://cbs.mbts.edu/podcast/christia....

[Bob Ayres · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books of its type I've read. Academic yet highly readable, Kruger does an amazing job of communicating copious information in a clear and orderly fashion. I agree with his conclusion that 21st Century Western Christianity exists in a world remarkably similar to the Second Century and we have much to learn by studying that era.

[Sue Plant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great use of 2nd century sources

A good book to grasp the 2nd century church and context. Kruger gracefully debunks many popular myths about scripture and doctrine while recognizing the tensions of the time.

[Lori Neff · Rating 4 out of 5]

A helpful overview.

[Matthew Lynch · Rating 5 out of 5]

So helpful and very readable! I appreciated Kruger's attention to social, doctrinal, ecclesial, and cultural formation of Christianity during an oft-neglected period of history.

[Jeremy Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal Introduction

Michael Krueger introduces second century Christianity to 21st century Christians in this book. He deals with the church's sociological make up pointing out "...charges of sexual immorality may have been largely due to the fact that Christians allowed women to participate in their feasts – something more rare in the Greco-Roman world where such feasts were usually composed of men only. If so, then these accusations against Christianity, ironically, were possibly due to the fact that it had a higher and more dignified view of women and valued their participation in religious life." Next, he discusses the political and intellectual challenges Christians faced introducing the second century apologists, which he calls "the golden age of apologetics". In chapter 3, Krueger discusses second century ecclesiology, specifically, government and worship. Interestingly, a diversity of modes of baptism were practiced, elements of worship are consistent with contemporary elements, and single bishops presiding over a region evolved for practical reasons.

Chapters four and five are the reason I wanted to read this book. Here he deals with Bauer's thesis, namely, that in early Christianity there isn't one orthodox Christianity but many versions of Christianity and that the "orthodox" became orthodox because of later influence. Krueger argues that Bauer is correct that second century Christianity is more diverse than often acknowledged; however, the unity is greater than Bauer admits. Krueger summarizes: "In sum, all of these considerations – early church leadership, geography, literature and rhetoric – appear to be pointing in the same overall direction. And that direction is not in favour of Bauer’s reconstruction of early Christianity."

In the final two chapters, Krueger discusses matters concerning Scripture such as oral versus textual culture, stability of the text, and cannon. He concludes that early Christianity was "bookish", had a stable text, and an early core of books, which basically matches the New Testament canon.

I was pleasantly surprised how good this book was. It piqued my interest in second century apologists and was very informative theologically and apologetically. In addition, even though this is an academic book, it wasn't a difficult read.

[E · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michael Kruger, who, as far as I'm concerned, is at the top of the heap as far as historians of early Christianity go (and who happens to hold the presidency once held by the Indianapolis Colts' head football coach, oddly enough), zeroes in on the second century AD and the church of that time. This was a key time of Christian formation, as the faith gradually separated from Judaism. It was soon considered a new religion by the authorities, dangerous and mysterious. It was monotheistic and yet not monoethnic, a very odd combination in that era.

In this century the faith had to learn to survive in a hostile culture (something to learn there). To refuse to worship the cultural gods was subversive, treasonous. So the faith honed its apologetic chops. The century also saw transition in the way churches was governed, as many moved away from Biblical eldership to a monoepiscopate. There was also great diversity in the visible church, as many heresies sprung up, such as marcionism, montanism, and gnosticism. Thankfully, writers such as Irenaeus, Justin, and Tertullian defended the faith strongly, especially in light of the "rule of faith," the body of doctrine taught by the apostles, handed down by the elders, and contained in the Scriptures.

Speaking of Scripture, this century was a time of heavy literary production. It really was a bookish religion. Yes, a lot of apocryphal junk was penned, but so were great texts, including those by the orthodox defenders listed above. Further, the canon was coming into shape, as there was near-unanimous agreement on at least 22 of the 27 books of the new Testament.

Kruger covers all of this in 240 dense pages. Somehow I ended up with a British edition, which comes with its own infelicities, but in content this book is magnificent. Anyone dealing with this era of the church will have to reckon with Kruger's work. He defends the primacy of orthodoxy (many modern scholars insist that such a term should be used only with so-called scare quotes!). He shows how a canon was mostly in place. He demonstrates that the faith was strongly literary, not merely oral. He proves that it was proudly intellectual, and honestly so, not merely as a power play. This is an important work to read and remember.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recently there has been a tremendous amount of attention drawn to the second century church. Most of the writing on this subject has been done from a highly critical viewpoint. As such it is refreshing to have scholarly yet conservative voice in the throng. Christianity at the Crossroads: How the Second Century Shaped the Future of the Church written by esteemed scholar Michael J. Kruger is that strong anthem. Kruger is the beloved president of Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte, NC and is known for his work on the cannonicity of the Word.

The second century was a critical time in the history of the church for the first time in the history of the church, there were no Apostles, no one who had experienced directly the teachings of Jesus, this therefore was a time of transition. The church was taking its first breath and there dangers all around her, and heretics who sought to manipulate the church to their own end, yet the church grew. It is in this growth and controversy that Kruger writes, he takes a look at seven different areas of the Church, looking at how they looked sociologically, how the world saw the church, how they worshiped Jesus, the diversity in the church itself, the growth, literature used by the church, and how the church saw the New Testament as cannon.

This work is truly a thorough piece of writing, scholarly yet understandable by an educated laymen. It is not surprising due to Kruger’s expertise as a communicator, yet the passion he writes with, it what shines through the most, which is something that usually only comes out when hearing him speak. Christianity at the Crossroads is truly a book that you do not want to miss.

This book was provided to me free of charge from IVP Academic in exchange for an unbiased, honest review.

[Fred · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kruger wrote this book because he noticed that people studying the early church tend to focus on the 1st century and the 3rd or 4th century, but ignore the 2nd. His book is meant to start a discussion about this time of great change and development. In the second century the church was still largely misunderstood or persecuted, yet Christians grew both theologically and ecclesiastically. They were forced to distance themselves from both Judaism and paganism and established themselves as a monotheistic religion that was not limited to a single ethnic or national group. Kruger argues that what became known as orthodox Christianity was not just one voice of many that won out in the end, but the single dominant stream of Christianity because it most closely reflected the teaching of Jesus and the apostles. He also shows that most of the New Testament Canon was established and agreed upon by most of the church already in the second century. The books were copied and bound, read in worship and considered authoritative. They were, in essence, the Christian scriptures. And almost all agree that the four gospels the letters of Paul, Peter and John and the Apocalypse were authoritative. Kruger's short chapter on the Churches habit of creating books, folios instead of scrolls, and why they were so important was particularly fascinating.

[Matthew Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I have read relative to early Christianity in the post-Apostolic age.
I found it easy to read. Kruger formulates a great thesis and backs it up with actual primary source information extant in the 2nd century A.D. The fact that he also shapes his thesis within the framework of other scholars with differing views, and sticks to the projectory of his viewpoint, classifies this as a trusted source worth reading in not only layperson's circles, but within academic circles as well.
I enjoyed the summation of the critics of Christianity in the 2nd century, the apologists, and the rise of canon that was well underway per Ireneaus, The Muratorian fragment, Justin Martyr, and Ignatius of Antioch (just to name a few). I think the rule of faith, the Christian production of literature (scripture) via the medium of the codex, and the development of canon are Kruger's strongest points made.
I'm a believer, but this work makes me want to become an avid Christian apologist against those who think and postulate that the canon only became canon in the late third century. This is an excellent read for anyone who claims to be a Christian, and for any critic of Christianity. Well done Michael J. Kruger. This has become one of my favorite books in a long while.

[Roger · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent, short piece of scholarship. The overall purpose is to explore the church's "forgotten century," from 100-200 A.D. as of primary significance in the development of Christianity. But what is perhaps even more important than this is something the author notes in the book's preface: "there is much more in common between the second-century Church and the twenty-first-century Church" than one might at first think. He goes on to point out that this is found largely in the fact that "the modern Church is being seen more and more as a threat to the social stability of modern society -- similar to the way the second-century Church was viewed by the Roman elites."

It was with this undercurrent in mind that I read Christianity at the Crossroads. And it was one the author reexamined in his conclusion by noting that "modern Christians need to learn again how to be a prophetic voice in the midst of a hostile world where the Church lacks substantial influence or power." In the 200-plus pages that separate these two observations, there is important history. Certainly read this book for that, but read it also for what can be learned from it.

[Eric Yap · Rating 5 out of 5]

A succinct and relatively short read on second-century Christianity. Admittedly, most of the material here can actually be found in almost all other church history textbooks in greater depth and detail. However, Kruger's speciality is actually New Testament canonicity, and therefore this book aims to demonstrate the sociological, ecclesiological and intellectual climate of second-century Christianity which Kruger argues, is (an often overlooked comparatively) foundational in shaping historic Christianity and provides the context for the development of the canon. The latter part of the book contains a lot of great apologetic material for NT canonicity and against the Bauer-Ehrman thesis or Gnosticism-pluralism conspiracies (think Dan Brown's Da Vinci's code), but it does read like simplified material from Kruger's other book, The Heresy of Orthodoxy (coauthored with Kostenberger) that is intentionally set aginst the Bauer-Ehrman thesis. In short, succinct primer to second-century Christianity and NT canonicity.