Bullies and Saints

Summary: An overview of the tension between the church's good and bad behavior throughout church history. 

I do not think I would have picked up Bullies and Saints if I had not heard the Seminary Dropout podcast interview. Part of the ongoing discussion of those discussing the future of evangelicalism right now is the right way to use and approach history. I think that history is only helpful if it is something that we learn from in the negative sense. In other words, because there is a tendency to look at your tradition with rose-colored glasses, our bias should primarily focus on the adverse history. That isn't to say we only look at negative history. Still, we need to prioritize negative history because stories are often told of only the good and because directly addressing the negative is how we address the log in our eye before the speck in others' eyes. The podcast interview suggested that John Dickson was attempting to get the balance right.

Bullies and Saints is a brief overview of Christian history (2000 years in just under 300 pages cannot be too thorough.) In the 25 short chapters (mostly 8 to 12 pages each), Dickson looks at areas of Christian harm or Christian good. Neither is glossed over. The modern concepts of human rights have been largely based on the cultural understanding of the individual's dignity that has at least some root in the Imago Dei. At the same time, as the church became more tightly involved with the state, there have been increased opportunities for the church to abuse its power. Some of that use of power was to restrain the state, pressure the state into supporting charitable causes, or encourage justice for all. But some of that power was to pressure people into becoming Christians, to change the Christian bias against war to a ‘just war' theory, or to adopt a ‘muscular Christian' understanding of leadership.

I appreciate that Dickson addressed slavery, the closing of pagan temples, a lot about war and violence (really the majority of the book), and the current child and sexual abuse issues in a relatively short time. However, I would have liked him to address imperialism and how the church has empowered Manifest Destiny and the Doctrines of Discovery. That is a significant hole in the book. But this is a 300-page book, and I am sure there are others holes that different people would find more important. No book can cover it all.

From my study of history, I know that no matter how bad you think what you know has been, there are examples of history that you do not know that are worse. But as Dickson notes, there is also often more good than what you may know. And as Dickson notes, that good and evil were often in the same person. Few within Christian history are solely villains. And there were several figures that I was completely unaware of, such as Alcuin of York, although many of the people discussed in this overview are more commonly known.

I think the summary, and call of the book, is best done in this quote that is about a quote from Albert Einstein:

Albert Einstein put this well when he was asked in 1915 for his opinion of the Great War. He wrote three pages of subtle critique of nationalism, and then ended with the words: “Yet, why so many words, when I can say it all in a single sentence, and indeed in a sentence that is most apt for me as a Jew: Honour your master, Jesus Christ, not only with words and songs but, rather, foremost through your deeds.” The antidote to hateful, nationalistic, violent Christianity, Einstein proposed, is Christianity in practice.