‘Cultural Christians’ Have Existed for as Long as Christians Have Existed

We often credit the early church with heroic faithfulness. But it was hardly innocent of accommodation and compromise.

Martyrdom lurking around every corner. Christians fervent in prayer morning, noon, and night. Bold declarations of “Christ is Lord” in Roman arenas.

This describes a few Christians, at a few moments, in the first few centuries of the church. Despite popular depictions, this was not the norm for every person bearing the Christian name. In fact, the norm was less heroic than we might realize.

In Cultural Christians in the Early Church: A Historical and Practical Introduction to Christians in the Greco-Roman World, historian Nadya Williams proposes that many Christians in the church’s first five centuries may have been more closely aligned with their surrounding culture than with Christ. This is not to deny the authenticity of their faith, only to say that Christians have always been tempted to adapt to cultural conventions.

This more nuanced and historically consistent portrait erodes notions of “golden-era Christianity.” Like a microscope revealing cancerous cells, Williams shows readers how Christians are too often infected by the culture around us rather than influenced by Christ in us. From Christian nationalism to love of wealth to Christian “celebrity culture,” there is nothing new under the sun when it comes to how Christians have acclimated to cultural norms.

Straddling fences

Beginning in the New Testament, Williams shows how some Christians took cultural priorities more seriously than biblical ones. The standout case in the Book of Acts is the episode of Ananias and Sapphira, affectionally dubbed by Williams as the “first cultural Christians.”

This couple, seeing the sacrificial generosity of early believers, sought to make a similar statement, albeit with different ...

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from Christianity Today Magazine
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