River of God, The: A New History of Christian Origins
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 Godreminds 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 ofOne 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.