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During the last couple of centuries, certain scholars, such as those who participate in the History of Religions School, have promoted the idea that Christianity was just another religion that shared similar characteristics with other religions. The implication is that ancient Christianity was not unique, but, instead, it was syncretistic due to the impact of other religions and philosophical influences such as Hellenism and Gnosticism.

Destroyer of the gods  Early Christian Distinctiveness in the Roman World 182x300 - Destroyer of the Gods: Book Review

Destroyer of the gods: Early Christian Distinctiveness in the Roman World

However, in Hurtado’s book, Destroyer of the gods: Early Christian Distinctiveness in the Roman World, he attempts to prove the opposite by stressing Christianity’s distinctiveness while acknowledging that certain aspects of Christianity resemble other religions (2017, 5-6). Without a proper understanding of Christianity’s relationship to other ancient religions, both the layman and the scholar may misinterpret or misapply Scripture. Hurtado’s overriding thesis and main thematic initiative is that Christianity, within its Roman setting, is a uniquely different kind of religion (xiii). With certain qualifications, Hurtado successfully shows that Christianity was distinctive from other ancient religions and philosophies in the Roman world. The following analysis first summarizes the content and the main themes of Hurtado’s work and then examines the book’s strengths and weaknesses.

Summary and Main Themes

In his introduction, Hurtado clearly communicates that his goal is to focus on the distinctiveness of Christianity within the first three centuries (3-7). Accordingly, each chapter engages the primary thematic initiative of Christianity’s distinctiveness. The work begins by engaging both Jewish and pagan evidence that points to differences with Christianity. Specifically, Hurtado points out that if Christianity was simply a religion aligned with Judaism, then there would have been no reason for the Apostle Paul to persecute Christians prior to his conversion (16-20). Ancient evidence clearly supports the persecution of both Jesus and Christians by ancient Jews, which would have been nonsensical without a Christian distinction. Similarly, Christianity also had several pagan critics, including Nero, Pliny the Younger, Galen, Marcus Aurelius, Lucian, and Celsus (20-34). More poignantly, Pliny labeled Christianity perverse, Lucian mocked Christianity, and Celsus accused Christians of being intellectually inferior (22-34). Again, it is difficult to reconcile why both the Jews and pagans criticized and persecuted Christians if the religions were homogenous.

In chapter two, Hurtado begins by defining religion and noting that, unlike modern religions, ancient religions were more integrated into life. For the pagans, “exclusivity was bizarre,” for they believed in a plurality of divine beings such as Jupiter and Zeus while associating the deities with various parts of life such as nature and cities (44-49). Accordingly, the Roman religion showed reverence to and welcomed all gods in order to not offend any of the gods. Importantly, the key Christian distinctive was that Christians were expected to avoid worshipping any deity other than God; thus, Hurtado states, “that which was generally considered piety (religio or eusebeia), reverencing the many gods, was, for early Christians, idolatry, impiety of the gravest sort” (50). Although monotheism was a key distinctive from pagan religions, the questions remain as to how Christianity differed from Judaism, and why the pagans accepted Jewish monotheism and not Christianity. Hurtado’s answers revolve around Jesus and ethnicity. Jesus was considered an “unacceptable mutation” by the Jewish community rendering Christianity repugnant, and the pagans accepted Jewish monotheism because of their unique ethnicity (53, 76). The specific Christian distinctives regarding Jesus were linking Jesus with God, making exclusivist claims, and asserting that “all things are through Jesus” (66-72). However, Hurtado recommends not taking the distinctions between Jews and Christians too far by asserting two completely distinguishable religions. Instead, Christianity was an ancient religious movement that “emerged initially within the ancient Jewish tradition” but eventually became transethnic (67).

Chapter three briefly acknowledges that certain voluntary religious groups existed in the ancient Roman world and then transitions into a discussion regarding religious identity. For most people in the Roman period, one’s ethnic identity was linked to one’s religious identity (78). However, Christianity disconnected religious identity from ethnic identity. According to Hurtado, the Christian’s religious identity was “conferred through their participation in the ekklesia (‘in Christ’)” and “shaped both how they saw themselves and how they saw fellow believers” (94). Christianity’s unique religious identity combined with its focus on exclusivity forged distinctives that extended beyond both ethnic and geographical borders.

In chapter four, Hurtado highlights the bookish nature of Christianity that entailed “reading, writing, copying, and dissemination,” which was an unusual trait in the Roman world (105). The chapter begins with a brief reference to the importance of reading Scripture in a worship setting that likely arose from the influence of Christianity’s Jewish roots. Next, a longer section explores the topic of writing during the first two centuries. Hurtado then takes a foray into the unique features of Christian writing. Specifically, Hurtado notes the length of Paul’s letters, the biographical nature of the gospels, and the intense nature of the Christian effort to copy and disseminate their sacred texts utilizing codices rather than scrolls (118-138). In sum, Hurtado makes a case that the bookish nature of Christianity provides another important distinction.

The final chapter addresses the relationship between religion and behavioral ethics. In the ancient Roman world, Christianity demanded certain behavioral requirements whereas pagan religions were often disconnected from ethics (143). Hurtado provides several examples to support his argument, including the pagan practices of infant exposure, gladiator events, and sexual use of children, all of which were criticized by Christians (144-150, 165-166). Hurtado also uses several biblical texts to support his argument including references to 1 Corinthians and 1 Timothy 3:2 (160-0168). By highlighting Christianity’s connection between religion and ethical behavior, Hurtado provides another important distinction between Christianity and the pagan religions of the Roman world.

Hurtado’s conclusion summarizes his arguments by reiterating (1) the odd nature of Christianity when viewed from a pagan perspective, (2) the attack of atheism against Christianity due to their refusal to worship the pagan gods, and (3) the “in your face” exclusivity that transcended ethnic identity (183-189). Finally, the appendix briefly provides a summary of scholars who emphasize the similarities rather than the differences between Christianity and other religions. In summary, Hurtado uses the thematic motifs of Christian persecution, monotheism, identity, bookishness, and ethics to support his overall thematic initiative of Christian distinctiveness.

Critical Evaluation

The critical evaluation of Hurtado’s book first identifies a few weaknesses followed by a brief discussion regarding several strengths. Likely the most significant weakness of Hurtado’s work pertains to the distinction between Christianity and Judaism. Hurtado explains the pagan accommodation of Judaism by suggesting that Christianity was “much more objectionable than the Jews’ refusal to worship any deity but their own. The latter was an ethnic peculiarity, but that gave no justification for non-Jews to shirk their inherited responsiblity to their own gods” (54-55). However, Everett Ferguson, in a reference to Acts 6:5, explains that evidence exists that Jews used propaganda literature to spread the message of their religion, and a significant number of Gentiles converted to Judaism as proselytes or Godfearers (2003, 546). The question remains as to why the Roman world seemed to accept Judaism’s conversion methods and not persecute the Jewish religion or their converts who had no ethnic peculiarity. At best, Hurtado needed to address the potential inconsistency; at worst, his analysis is a non sequitur.

A second weakness is that Hurtado, at times, correctly identifies an important distinction between Christianity and the Roman world, but he does not acknowledge certain overlapping similarities. For example, regarding Paul’s use of letters, Hurtado states, “I know of no other philosophical or religious group of the time that exhibits an appropriation of the letterform as a serious vehicle for its teaching that is comparable to what we see in letters of Paul (2017, 121). Although Hurtado appropriately notes the unusual length of Paul’s letters, his assertion regarding the utilization of letters may be too strong. George Parsenios explains that during the Roman period dozens of pseudepigraphic Cynic epistles were distributed for polemical and propaganda purposes, and Epicurus also used letters for the purpose of discipleship (2019, 82).

A potential third weakness pertains to the lack of emphasis on the Cross. As will be explored shortly, the potential shortcoming lies primarily in emphasis rather than a complete absence. Numerous scholars have criticized Hurtado’s work for his lack of focus on Jesus’s death and resurrection. First, Joshua Jipp suggests that Hurtado should have spent more effort around the distinction that Jesus was “crucified and resurrected from the dead” (2017, 112). Second, Paul Hartog accuses Hurtado of not interacting with Paul’s discussion around the “skandalon of the cross” (2019, 231). Finally, B. G. White suggests Hurtado’s work lacks reflection on death and resurrection, and then he suggests that Hurtado misses the distinctiveness of divine grace especially in light of John Barclay’s recent book, Paul and the Gift (2017, 171). 

Although it is true that additional emphasis surrounding these specific topics may have enhanced Hurtado’s work especially when highlighting the distinction between Christianity and Judaism, to be fair, one wonders if these scholars have missed the connection between the cross and a Christian’s identity in Christ (cf. Gal 2:20-21). Hurtado spends an entire chapter on Christian identity, and Barclay’s work clearly makes a connection between grace and the participatory aspects of Christianity, which could not occur without the crucifixion, death, and resurrection. Accordingly, although Hurtado could have provided additional emphasis, the weakness appears to be overstated by certain scholars.

Without question, the strengths of Hurtado’s work outweigh the weaknesses. First, Destroyer of the gods provides an accessible introduction to Christianity’s distinctiveness within the larger survey of comparative religion for a broad readership including laypeople, students, and scholars. Second, Hurtado does not completely ignore the resemblances between Christianity and other religions, but instead, highlights important nuances. Third, placing Christianity within its ancient environment of the Roman world provides a cultural context that many Christians do not consider when reading Scripture; thus, Hurtado’s contribution will assist believers with biblical interpretation by addressing the issue of cultural amnesia. Fourth, Hurtado has written a scholarly work that appropriately engages both secondary literature and numerous primary sources while presenting the issues in easy-to-understand language. Fifth, granted, Hurtado could have said much more, but he needs commended for engaging in the topic of Christianity’s distinctive religious identity, and its trans-ethnic nature that points to the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant that ultimately includes all the pagan nations. Finally, Hurtado’s work accomplishes the goal of proving that Christianity was distinct from both the pagan and Jewish religions and provides an important corrective against scholarship that has leaned too far in the direction of labeling Christianity as a homogonous religion.

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Bibliography

  • Ferguson, Everett. Backgrounds of Early Christianity. 3rd ed. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003.
  • Hartog, Paul. “Destroyer of the Gods: Early Christian Distinctiveness in the Roman World.” Southwestern Journal of Theology 61, no. 2 (2019): 229–231.
  • Hurtado, Larry W. Destroyer of the Gods: Early Christian Distinctiveness in the Roman World. Waco: Baylor University, 2017.
  • Jipp, Joshua W. “Destroyer of the Gods: Early Christian Distinctiveness in the Roman World.” Trinity Journal 38, no. 1 (2017): 110–112.
  • Parsenios, George Leonidas. “Destroyer of the Gods: Early Christian Distinctiveness in the Roman World.” Interpretation 73, no. 1 (January 2019): 81–82.
  • White, Benjamin G. “Destroyer of the Gods: Early Christian Distinctiveness in the Roman World.” Themelios 42, no. 1 (April 2017): 169–171.
Wilder - Destroyer of the Gods: Book Review
Derek Wilder Executive Director
DEREK WILDER, PhD, is the Executive Director of Lives Transforming Group, Inc., a Christian counseling ministry focused on personal transformation, and the author of FREEDOM and Minds on Fire. Wilder has a Master of Theological Studies, an MDiv in Pastoral Counseling, and a PhD in Biblical Exposition. Wilder's scholarly focus lies in Pauline studies, with his doctoral dissertation specifically examining the ontological implications present in the eighth chapter of Paul's Epistle to the Romans. Wilder, an adjunct professor, founded Convergence Therapy, integrating cognitive therapy and grace-based theology into the accredited college course: “Thought Life & Spirit Growth.”