In Jesus Wars, he takes one of the most complex, abstruse questions in the history of the Western World and make it clear enough for the average joe in the fifth pew to understand. The Christian patriarchate in Egypt acted almost as a theocracy, asserting its authority over the civil sphere when the latter was seen as contradicting the divine will. While it is good to learn about the post-First Council of Nicea history of the Catholic Church (back when “Catholic” meant basically everybody who was Christian), with all its colorful clerics, Emperors, Princesses and barbarians who affected the development of same, as well as the various Christian Heresies which read like hair-splitting on the sub-atomic level, I guess I was looking for more of a philosophical exploration of the ramifications of the Heresies themselves. Although the Council had reached a consensus, the Church was far from attainting unity. Eventually, the Muslim population outgrew the Christian communities, who were gradually subjected to discriminatory laws. Focusing on the seven critical ecumenical councils of the Church, the events leading up to & surrounding each of them, and the key persons involved in forging this history (and its evolving theologies). Volume 48, Issue 2. As the title suggests, most of the book is dedicated to the so-called Christological debates – the church conflicts related to the nature of Christ. Dr. Jenkins includes maps at the beginning and several appendices that list the dramatis personae, briefly explain the outcomes of the several councils, and defin. I am absolutely fascinated with the Roman Empire. Distinctions that boggle the mind. The believers began to attribute divine qualities to the man Jesus, and then had to sort out how the various traditions and sayings they inherited from the early movements could possibly make sense if Jesus is to be god in some way - it took over 300 years just to get to a starting point - which imagines a "trinity" by way of compromise with the various ideas running around. Theodosius I declared Christianity the official religion of the empire, and enforced religious conformity. For as long as the Christian church functioned in Egypt, Syria, and Constantinople, unity was never achieved. Philip Jenkins is a reputed church historian whose books are a pleasure to read. What ever the reader's interpretation, it is informative. Recent polls show younger evangelicals leaning to the left of their parents and grandparents, politically at least. In the plethora of current works on non-orthodox early movements from the likes of excellent scholars such Bart Ehrman and Elaine Pagel (plus the absurd novels of Dan Brown and his imitators, which I shutter to mention in the same sentence), there has been precious little recent consideration of the establishment of Christian orthodoxy from a historical perspective. Earlier suggestions of this sort were generally regarded with suspicion, given the deeply-rooted and long-held belief that God is impassible (cannot suffer). Refresh and try again. After establishing the Trinity as a core belief of Christianity in the 4th century, the next all-consuming argument concerned the identity of Jesus, the main contours being: was he both human and divine, as proclaimed at the councils of Nicaea and Chalcedon, or did he only have one divine nature? … [a]fter the union of human and divine, Christ contained no ousia [being] except the divine. Were my ancestors Christian or pagan? This post is inspired by a book I read about early Christian history. In vain insisted Nestorius, that the Monophysites reduced the humanity of Christ to the point of heresy. In 450, Theodosius II’s horse stumbled and the emperor died shortly from the injury. The debate, however, continued, and by 600 AD the Church had still not achieved unity on the nature of Christ. Jenkins discusses the Christological debates leading up to the Chalcedon Creed and beyond; the book centers around the fifth century. What struck me was just how violently Christians attacked one another over the smallest variation in whatever was the "orthodox" view of the moment. 4.0 out of 5 starsHighly recommended. Jesus and Gin is a rollicking tour of the roaring twenties and the barn- burning preachers who led the temperance movement—the anti-abortion crusade of the Jazz Age. However, when I saw that the Philip Jenkins is indeed an academic historian with serious credentials, I decided to give the book a read. However, when I saw that the Philip Jenkins is indeed an academic historian with serious credentials, I decided to give the book a read. Who was Jesus? Jesus was born into a time where the Roman Empire was the most … What an accomplishment! I skimmed forward and found that vari. Choice. September 1, 2010. Director: J.J. Abrams Starring: Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Carrie Fisher, Keri Russell, Mark Hamill, Naomi Ackie, Lupita Nyong'o, Billy Dee Williams, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Joonas Suotamo, Billie Lourd, Kelly Marie Tran, Ian McDiarmid Running Time: 2 hours, 22 minutes There were numerous nuances of each position that had their supporters, but this was the main general issue. by Philip Jenkins. John Philip Jenkins was born in Wales in 1952. Touching down in four hotbeds of religious fundamentalism - Pakistan, Lebanon, UK, and heartland … Jesus Wars is a well-written book. Two of the most important church councils were held at Ephesus in 431 AD and Chalcedon in 451 AD, and had clear winners and losers? It is exciting. The title is self explanatory: Jenkin's is looking to show how 9 people (Patriarchs, Queens and Emperors) decided what sort of Christian doctrine would win out in the end as the world moved towards our current age. The Problem The real history is fascinating. In 1978, he obtained his doctorate in history, also from Cambridge. Eastern and Western churches excommunicated each other and forbid shared communion. If the victorious Emperor or Queen happened to like your Christology, then you got more support and votes at the council. P. Linwood Urban. In contrast, many modern believers struggle with contemplating a Jesus who is more than human.” (p. 275). If you're truly interested in the antecedents of Christianity, and you're willing to put up with numerous pages arguing about whether Jesus had a mom, then this is the book for you. It is ecclesiastical history written in the way that a modern journalist would report the inside workings of a hard-fought political campaign. This book is an eye-opener for Christians who are engaged in church conflict over theological issues. Each side was represented by popes and patriarchs, emperors and empresses, theologians and the masses. Jenkins covers a huge amount of information that I cannot keep straight without referencing the material. Gives an "insider look" at the issues and personalities involved, at the forces that shaped and determined the outcome, that gave us the Chalcedonian Statement of Faith, that created the orthodox understanding of orthodox Christianity. In Jesus Wars, he takes one of the most complex, abstruse questions in the history of the Western World and make it clear enough for the average joe in the fifth pew to understand. I can't praise Philip Jenkins enough! It is clearly not introductory level, but for anyone who has at least a small understanding of the councils of Ephesus and Chalcedon, this is an excellent source to read a fairly thorough history all in one volume. Early Christian history makes the news every now and then, often when a book (like The Da Vinci Code) tells of conspiracy theories and a real Jesus much different then the biblical one. Of course a quick glance at the appendix reveals a larger list of characters who are inevitably enveloped in this historical narrative (and one should reserve the need to access this appendix often if they are to make their way through to the end of this somewhat disorganized material). In late antiquity, the tongues of opponents, even if they were bishops, were cut off, as were right arms. Directed by Stephen Marshall. It didn’t help that Nestorius denounced her for sexual immorality and removed her image from above the altar. Jonathan Merritt’s A Faith of Our Own: Following Jesus Beyond the Culture Wars (FaithWords, 2012) gives voice to many in the millennial generation. I can't praise Philip Jenkins enough! Note: This book is reviewed by my husband Jim. Paul exhorted the church in Ephesus, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. There is a wealth fo information, and the lists of figures and councils at the end of chapters was appreciated. In Jesus Wars, he explains the origins of some little-known (to Westerners) branches of Christianity, including the churches of Ethiopia, Egypt, Syria, Armenia, and … How did Christians go about constructing what is today regarded as orthodoxy? A vastly influential imperial figure was Pulcheria, the empress of Constantinople (sister of the young emperor Theodosius II). Jenkins discusses the Christological debates leading up to the Chalcedon Creed and beyond; the book centers around the fifth century. "Review Of "Jesus Wars: How Four Patriarchs, Three Queens, And Two Emperors Decided What Christians Would Believe For The Next 1,500 Years" By P. Jenkins". “In any theological struggle, the first thousand years are always the bitterest.”, “Ironically, the same church gathering that had denounced Paul of Samosata back in 268 had explicitly condemned the term homoousios, which that earlier council had regarded as one of Paul’s heretical innovations. As it turned out, the One Nature backers, which now included the Antiochans, were able to more easily follow their beliefs under Islam than they were under the Roman Empire, at least for a few centuries. Wow! The rebels make a desperate attempt to escape. For several hundred years, especially in the 400s and following centuries, the whole world revolved around literal and figurative wars over who Jesus was. We shall be killed. Another good read on the history of Western culture through the lens of Christianity. While Jenkins is most comfortable with the theology, he is clearer in the socio-political context of the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Centuries. Any study of the history of Christianity will lead one to realize just what a human-constructed faith it is, and how detrimental it has been to the development. It is ecclesiastical history written in the way that a modern journalist would report the inside workings of a hard-fought political campaign. I read a lot about Christian history and what most strikes me how hard it was to go from the Jewish cult of Jesus - which sort of made sense in its apocalyptic message, to the post-Jewish cult religion that took shape among the non-Jews. Unfortunately, this did not settle matters, and it took another couple hundred years where the two views see-sawed in dominance and bishops met at several more councils before the Two Nature belief triumphed. The Egyptians manifested a strong tendency to dismiss anything that Two Natures theologians preached, and if a stereotype was attached to a name, nothing that person preached was perceived as good or theologically correct. Have pity on us!’ They weren’t exaggerating.” (p. 208). Honestly, I struggled a bit to get through this. Bloggers and authors have discussed and debated the meaning of the shift and its possible causes. I love reading history. “He makes wars cease throughout the earth. It is both over-simplified and under-simplified. With Khalid Kelly, Aaron D. Taylor, Sheikh Omar Bakri Muhammad Fostok, Sam Harris. Not unlike other eras of development within the life of Christianity, the fifth century proved to be a time of political and religious uncertainty—an instability with profound effects on Christian theology. He. Ultimately, the book calls for a hard look at what unity can mean, at what cost it may be achieved, and for which purposes it is fought for. This is a vigorously objective account of the fifth century ecumenical church councils, with the primary emphasis on Chalcedon. The title is self explanatory: Jenkin's is looking to show how 9 people (Patriarchs, Queens and Emperors) decided what sort of Christian doctrine would win out in the end as the world moved towards our current age. He also has a sense of humor that peeps out on occasion "In any theological struggle, the first thousand years are always the bitterest.". Given his Christian faith (according to Wikipedia he converted to Episcopalianism from Catholicism), it isn’t surprising that he dismisses doubts that Jesus is God, that such a view is the harbor for cynics. The religious debates of the fifth century were literally wars that involved not only frequent expulsion from the church, but also violently-enforced sacramental rituals, massacres, persecutions, and even coups d’etat? By mid-sixth century, the Justinian dynasty reinforced the Chalcedon formulations, and regularly persecuted and discriminated against the Monophysites, who eventually reorganized and seceded from the Church. But Eutyches, Cyril’s successor in Alexandria, saw this reconciliatory formula as too compromising, and insisted again on the divinity of Christ to the exclusion of his humanity: “God is born, God suffered; God was crucified. These concepts may seem trivial or overly academic. ... It’s been ten years since the last Star Wars movie ... Jesus was born in Bethlehem, a … But he is very clear-eyed and honest about the darker side of church history. (p. 174) The attack on Nestorianism resurrected in a war against Antiochism. At least according to Philip Jenkins. In order to affect a much sought-for authority, the church in Alexandria relied on their ancestry, allegedly going back to St. Mark. She loves God and enjoys nature, arts, and meaningful conversation. Pulcheria had a mystical fascination with the Virgin Mary. Your new book is called Jesus Wars. Alas, this book delves deep into convoluted details of theology, which I could not possibly care less about, and so I gave it up on page 23. Ephesus and Chalcedon were the result of a decades-long war between these two major centers of Christianity. He does so by acknowledging the Christian struggles of the first threee centuries (when the question was whether Jesus was divine), and some of the consequences of those centuries (too briefly mentioning the relation between non-orthodox Christians and Islam in my opinion), yet staying focused on the time and politics in question. His talent in story-telling makes this book easy to read, yet still provokes us to place our world in a world full of disputations. The ‘second round’ of this protracted Christological struggle is the focus of a new book by Philip Jenkins titled Jesus Wars: How Four Patriarchs, Three Queens, and Two Emperors Decided What Christians Would Believe for the Next 1,500 Years (HarperOne, 2010). For the gold that was spread upon the wood, remained what it was, and the wood was rich in the glory of the gold; yet it ceased not from being wood.’” (p. 145). He tells us about the personalities involved and how their interactions advanced this idea or that faction. This book details how the political maneuverings in the 5th century affected what is officially thought and taught about Jesus. I wish there was some way I could know. This is like a 200 level history course on the history of the Church councils during the 5th century. What does it really mean if Christ was only divine and not human? It reads like a story, but not like a novel. Jesus is a made for TV movie from 1999 that retells the greatest and most famous of all stories-the life of Jesus as told in The Gospels. Am I related to any gladiators? What an accomplishment! This rivalry between Antioch and Alexandria ultimately benefitted Rome, which at the time had more local authority. It was Reimarus, writing in the 18th century, who basically invented the modern Jesus wars, by postulating a gulf between the Jesus of history and the Christ of faith. It is a bit typical of modern (Western) Christians to narrow in on the Council of Nicea while missing the grander picture. While it is good to learn about the post-First Council of Nicea history of the Catholic Church (back when “Catholic” meant basically everybody who was Christian), with all its colorful clerics, Emperors, Princesses and barbarians who affected the development of same, as well as the various Christian Heresies which read like hair-splitting on the sub-atomic level, I guess I was looking for more of a philosophical exploration of the ramifications of the Heresies themselves. A kind of prequel to his outstanding The Lost History of Christianity: The Thousand-Year Golden Age of the Church in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia — and How It Died, an historical account of Christian churches in Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Iran, and points east, Philip Jenkins, professor of history at Baylor University and Co-Director for Baylor's Program on Historical Studies of Religion in the Institute for Studies of Religion, has produced an equally outstanding and well-written account of the l. A kind of prequel to his outstanding The Lost History of Christianity: The Thousand-Year Golden Age of the Church in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia — and How It Died, an historical account of Christian churches in Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Iran, and points east, Philip Jenkins, professor of history at Baylor University and Co-Director for Baylor's Program on Historical Studies of Religion in the Institute for Studies of Religion, has produced an equally outstanding and well-written account of the little-known Christology controversy of the 5th and later centuries that ripped Christianity into violent factions and established what mainstream Christians (Catholics, Orthodox, and most Protestants) believe to this day. It rejected Dioscuros of Alexandria and the One Nature teaching, declared that Jesus had two natures (the hypostatic union of the divine and human), and attributed Mary the title of Mother of Christ (both of the human and divine incarnate Christ, but not of the eternal God). Meanwhile, Rey, the heroic female fighter from Part VII, tries to convince Luke Skywalker to train her in the ways of the Force. He imposed the death penalty for Christians who married Jews, and not only favored Christians, but showed particular religious preference for those adhering to the Nicene creed (as opposed to the heretical teachings of Arianism). Star Wars: The Last Jedi may be the most polarizing episode in the saga yet. Ironically, only one pope was able to exert much influence on the debate, Leo the Great, and even he was kept on the sideline at the infamous Council of Gangsters of 449 in Ephesus. The complex issues of Christology are addressed comprehensively by mashing up the various theological councils from the fourth though seventh centuries and their resulting creeds. They routinely attacked pagan temples, fought against any beliefs and practices suggesting loyalty to multiple gods, and were aggressive towards Christians whom they perceived as compromising the oneness of God (hence their hatred of the Two Natures Christians). Into that breach steps Philip Jenkins with his interesting and readable //Jesus Wars: How Four Patriarchs, Three Queens, and Two Emperors Decided What Christians would Believe for 1,500 Years//. Jenkins is not the best at keeping a reader engaged and helping the reader to keep the players straight, though he tries very hard to do so. In the first centuries, the Christian church was organized in four great patriarchates (Rome, Alexandria, Antioch, and Constantinople)? Along the way, we meet a host of colorful characters: a Baptist minister who commits adultery in the White House; media star preachers caught in massive scandals; a presidential election hinging on a religious The history of these church debates shows us that theology is determined by a number of factors, such as culture (which influences not only the hermeneutical approach to biblical interpretation, but also the approach to solving conflict and differences), key influential figures, the interplay of church and state, and historical accident. I will conclude this review with Jenkins’s last sentence in the book – a statement at once provocative and inspiring: “A religion that is not constantly spawning alternatives and heresies has ceased to think and has achieved only the peace of the grave.” (p. 278), Jesus Wars: How Four Patriarchs, Three Queens, and Two Emperors Decided What Christians Would Believe for the Next 1,500 Years, by Philip Jenkins (New York, NY: Harper One, 2010). Luther “leaned toward an Alexandrian interpretation of Christ’s role [and] taught that Christ’s divine and human natures experienced an interchange of divine and human qualities …which mingled the two natures in a way that Chalcedonians forbade. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. If one thinks about how the Church decided what was normative in belief at all, one imagines conferences with debate teams, with everyone working out their differences amicably. Profound! A chronicle of the main influences and events leading up to the major church conflicts during the fifth century, and a narration of the aftermath of these councils and divisive theological formulations, Jesus Wars walks the reader through these times as if she or he was a contemporary eyewitness. She identified herself with the Theotokos (God-Bearer) mother of Christ, calling herself the Bride of Christ, and acting “almost as matriarch of the church, as well as Augusta. He makes the case for tolerating religious diversity. Their violent tendencies are chronicled at the Second Council of Nicaea: “May those who divide Christ be divided with the sword, may they be hewn in pieces may they be burned alive!” (p. 1) Church historian Socrates writes: “The Alexandrian public is more delighted with tumult than any other people: and if at any time it should find a pretext, breaks forth into the most intolerable excesses; for it never ceases from its turbulence without bloodshed.” (p. 93). hummm our current trend towa. Cyril of Alexandria and John of Antioch agreed on the “Formula of Reunion, which … marked a major step toward the formula that would eventually win Chalcedon, ‘the unconfused union of two natures.’ Jesus Christ was acknowledged as perfect God and perfect man, composed of a rational soul and body, begotten before the ages from the Father in respect of His divinity, but likewise in these last days for us and our salvation from the Virgin Mary in respect of His manhood, consubstantial with the Father in respect of His divinity and at the same time consubstantial with us in respect of His manhood. Was he a man? Jesus Wars. Who knew that the process looked more like a poorly run political convention? Jesus Wars is a well-written book. Primarily focused on the Christologies that divided the church multiple times (and yet still today), the author takes you on a convoluted, but well-articulated series of events that are defined as fortunate or unfortunate, depending on which side you fall (or, you could chalk it up to "providence", if that's your preference). Calvin, in contrast, was much more Antiochene in insisting on the reality of both natures, human as well as divine.” (p. 272), Since the sixteenth century, the idea of kenosis (God deliberately relinquishing divine attributes in incarnation), which implied that one of the Persons of the Trinity suffered, has been at the forefront of theology. Jenkins demonstrates complete command of his material, which is always presented in a balanced, concise manner. Be the first to ask a question about Jesus Wars. The Monophysites regained power in the sixth century, with One Nature bishops ruling in Constantinople and even Antioch, where this view had been long opposed! I admit that I was extremely skeptical when I first saw it, assuming it to be some sort of modern nonsense on how Constantine created Christianity or something like that. Jesus Wars: How Four Patriarchs, Three Queens, and Two Emperors Decided What Christians Would Believe for the Next 1,500 Years By Philip Jenkins Hardcover, 352 pages HarperOne With no heir to the throne, and a woman being ineligible to rule, Pulcheria married Marcion in order to give the empire a ruler. In the plethora of current works on non-orthodox early movements from the likes of excellent scholars such Bart Ehrman and Elaine Pagel (plus the absurd novels of Dan Brown and his imitators, which I shutter to mention in the same sentence), there has been precious little recent consideration of the establishment of Christian orthodoxy from a historical perspective. As someone looking for more history than philosophy, this didn't work for me. So do it! The times had turned, and “Leo’s representatives made it clear that they would not take their seats if Dioscuros was allowed his.” (p. 204) The Egyptians “literally threw themselves on the ground to plead not to be forced to sign Leo’s Tome [saying:] ‘We shall no longer be able to live in the province…. Sadly, the book only touches lightly on these more interesting issues. I admit that I was extremely skeptical when I first saw it, assuming it to be some sort of modern nonsense on how Constantine created Christianity or something like that. We’d love your help. The two main goals of Chalcedon were to repeal Second Ephesus, and repudiate the false teachings of Nestorius (emphasis on two natures but not wholly united) and Eutyches (insistence on Christ’s divinity alone). It is boring. Some formal unity was achieved in 433, after two years of reconciliatory negotiations. Imperial forces were present to forestall violence. Probably because that's where my ancestors lived – my family comes from all over Italy, some were Italian Jews, most were Italian natives, and I always wonder who we were. This is a good book. 143 reviews. Jenkins has a very folksy way of going about describing the machinations of the 4-6th centuries, honing in of the religious controversy between mono- and dyophysitism within Christianity, and the political climate during those centuries. Aside from their distinguished Christian roots, they boasted of the Egyptian culture—in their view the oldest and most prominent in the world. The formative years of Christianity, when malicious political maneuvering, murder, mob incitement, mayhem, martyrdom, and armies of militant monks split the church, and emperors and empresses helped determine the beliefs we take for granted today. I like thinking about it. The rivalry between Pulcheria and Nestorius benefitted Cyril of Alexandria, who fiercely defended the Monophysite view that Christ had only one nature—divine.