River of God, The: A New History of Christian Origins |
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River of God, The: A New History of Christian Origins
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by Gregory J. Riley
Sales Rank: 546070
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$5.20
At Amazon
on 6-22-2008.
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Features
Cover Type: Paperback with 256 pages
Published by: HarperOne; 1 Reprint edition March 4, 2003
Written in: English
ISBN 10 Number: 0060669802
ISBN 13 Number: 978-0060669805
Book Dimensions:
8.3 x 6.3 x 0.7 inches
Weighs: 3.6 pounds
Product Review
Believing in Jesus means so many different things to so many people that it's difficult, if not impossible, to define the true essence of Christianity. The differences between a charismatic Baptist hymnal, for instance, and a high-church Anglican communion merely scratch the surface of the many varieties of Christian belief. The River of God reminds readers that Christian belief has always been wildly diverse, and that Christianity was preceded and informed by many ancient cultural traditions. This is the point made by author Gregory J. Riley, professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at the Claremont School of Theology in California and the author of One Jesus, Many Christs. Riley's prose is mostly uncomplicated, and his metaphorical argument is fairly clear: many cultural streams converged to form the river of God, and material from those streams built up the delta of Christianity. But this book is not, as its subtitle claims, "A New History of Christian Origins." It is primarily a reworking of a familiar and amply documented fact, made popular by the work of Elaine Pagels and Jack Miles, among others: Christianity did not spring into being independent from its cultural context. Like life, it evolved, and continues to evolve. Though not original, Riley's point does bear repeating. Its repetition cultivates Christian humility, by helping to remind us that everyone in history who has ever learned to live well--including, or perhaps especially, Jesus--has learned largely by paying attention to the world around him. --Michael Joseph Gross
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
In what is now a rather commonplace argument, Riley (One Jesus, Many Christs) contends that Christianity originated from the awesome theological diversity of Near Eastern religions and that its origins cannot be explained or understood adequately by simply emphasizing its roots in Judaism, as he claims conventional scholarship has done. He proposes instead a threefold model of genealogy, punctuated equilibrium and the "river of God" to investigate Christian origins. First, he looks at Christianity's genealogy, looking at all the branches of its family tree to locate the sources of ideas such as the Devil, body and soul, and monotheism. Second, he argues that Christianity evolved by embracing certain ideas that would ensure its survival and rejecting others that did not contribute to its longevity. Finally, in an unoriginal manner, Riley uses the image of a river to demonstrate the diversity of religious traditions that have flowed into Christianity as well as the variety of traditions that have developed within Christianity itself. But Riley's book is plagued with problems. His subtitle is misleading, for he doesn't offer a new history of Christian origins; acknowledging and emphasizing the religious diversity upon which Christianity depended has been a standard approach for more than a decade. Riley also passes along some inaccuracies. Plato never equated the Good with God, and Aristotle probably would be horrified to learn that his Unmoved Mover is God. Riley's pedestrian prose and lack of originality combine to steal the zest from what otherwise could have been an exciting book.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Reader Reviews
This review is from: The River of God: A New History of Christian Origins (Hardcover)
In The River of God, Gregory Riley shines light on much of the history of Christian origins often ignored by scholars. Most researchers of Christianity restrict themselves to the influence of the West (Greek and Roman) and often confuse Rabbinic Judaism with the Judaism of Jesus' times; Prof. Riley adds the whole of Middle Eastern religious history to the story of our search for God. Riley includes the development of Cannanite and Mesopotamian religion in the history of ancient Judaism. In addition to Greek ideas of Orphism, Pythagoreanism and Plato, he recognizes the Egyptian and Persian Zoroastrian influences on the development of Christian concepts of afterlife. Riley outlines the role of Persian Zoroastrianism on our understanding of Satan and a world savior. He details how various ancient religious models of God from both East and West as well as Greek science contributed to the development of our understanding of the division of body and soul and the creation of the doctrine of the Trinity in the fourth century. The River of God is not a general overview of world religions; it is specifically about the development of Christianity from a modern Christian perspective. Prof. Riley writes with a broad brush in his outline of the development of Christianity and, while scholars will quibble over some of the details and generalizations, I found The River of God to be an excellent overview of our understanding of "the process of the River of God."
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River of God, The: A New History of Christian Origins
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Updated on 6-22-2008.
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