Jesus Creed
Do you remember the blockbuster Spielberg movie Jurassic Park? If you lived through the 90′s I’m sure you do. The movie was about a dinosaur-populated theme park that ran into a snag: one of its workers was fatally attacked by one of said dinos, summoning a motley crew by the park’s investors to make sure it was still safe for nice suburban families who might want to visit said dino park.
Along for the ride was a mathematician, the lawyer (who met a certain crunchy demise!), and two paleos—a paleontologist and a paleobotanist. The one was interested in prehistoric life, the other prehistoric plant remains. Ironically, the pair were once a married pair, and both had an experience of a thousand academic lifetimes upon their arrival, and subsequent journey throughout the dino park.
In their pre-Jurassic Park life, both were content to study the remains of dinosaurs and other organisms from the Mesosoic era from a distance, through the lens of microscopes or time-encrusted fossils that bore little resemblance to their former glory. When they came face-to-face with a long-extinct plant or tree or brontosaurus or triceratops or that pesky tyrannosaurus…everything changed.
I get the sense from a former professor of theology from Drew University, the same was true of his experience in Northern Africa. I mean the guy left his endowed teaching position to pursue a greater understanding of the strata that’s covered the early church for two millennia after spending decades in some of the Church’s ancient fertile beds. While he’s no paleontologist or paleobotanist, he has been calleda paleo-ologist of a different stripe: a paleo-theologist who’s an evangelical proponent of paleo-orthodoxy. The “guy” of whom I speak is Thomas C. Oden, the general editor of the magisterial Ancient Christian Commentary Series, the author of his magnum opus Classical Christianity (which I hope to get for Christmas), author of a book reminding the Church how Africa shaped the Christian mind, the ever-careful sleuth that brought us a recent book the sets out to recapture the African memory of Mark (of which I wrote a review), and now this:
the Indian Jones-esque adventurer who takes us on an epic journey to rediscover the long-forgotten tale of one of the seed-beds of the Church called Early Libyan Christianity: Uncovering a North African Tradition
So grab your passport and join us on an adventure through what Oden says is “the most neglected of all historic Christian locations in the ancient world that experienced over five hundred years of Christianity.” (21) Join us for an adventure through early Libyan Christianity.
But first a question, one Oden asks you the reader to ask of yourself at the beginning of this book: Can I name one Christian teacher or biblical interpreter from Libya? (21)
If not, you’re in good company, even where Oden himself was only two decades ago, which launched him into his current work that’s sought to focus on early African Christianity. It is unfortunate that Christians in general, but especially Christian pastors and scholars, have neglected this important location. Here’s why:
Libya Christianity was formed in a nexus of cultures bordering on Egypt, Ethiopia and ancient Nubia, modern Sudan, ancient Darfur, Chad, and Roman Byazacena (southern Tunisia). Ancient Libyan Christianity had close affinities with Coptic Egypt and Coptic Ethiopia, and with the Meroe kingdom of Nubia (Sudan). They belonged intentionally to the community of world-wide believers who held to orthodox, apostolic, classic Christian teaching. (21)
Oden goes on to argue this in the final chapter summarizing his arguments:
Libya Christianity begins with familiar names: the cross bearer Simon of Cyrene; the mother of Mark, who offered her home to the disciples at Passover; and above all the evangelist Mark, apostle to Egypt and Libya and symbolically to the whole Africa. From modest beginnings, Libya Christianity has touched the whole arena of world Christian believers over twenty centuries—from the earliest layers of exegetical, doctrinal, philosophical and cultural development to the present. (271-272)
These are some surprising statements regarding a country I knew little about until the recent events in modern Libya brought it into the world news spotlight. Even then, until I received this book from IVP to review I never knew the significance of this country for the early development of the Church. How does Oden support this thesis, that Libya is one of the most neglected important influencing nations in the Church’s early history?
After recounting his own story and own experiences with Libya (which includes an honest look at previous biases in addition to a wonderful personal narrative in which he obviously has fallen in love with the place and people), he begins by recounting the various ways Libyan history interweaves with biblical history. “Libya was recognized as a great nation during the period of Judaic kings from Jeroboam to Herod. Israel’s armies were aligned both with and against Libyans at various times, depending on international alliances.” (50) We see this interaction with Israel in several passages: 1 Kings 14:25-26; 2 Chronicles 12:1-10;Nahum 3:9; Daniel 11:43; and Jeremiah 3230-35. So the Old Testament itself makes reference to this ancient kingdom.
In regards to the NT, Simon the Cross Bearer of our Lord was from Cyrene in Libya (Mark 15), Oden repeats the African memory of a Libyan Mark that he recounted in his book on the subject, he also suggests that Stephen was himself a Cyrenian Jew (though I’m not sure Oden provided evidence to show this was the case), and a prominent leader of Antioch church planting was on Lucius of Cyrene (Acts 13).
So Oden’s Libyan history does seem to be indeed woven with biblical history. More significantly to our discussion is how interwoven Libyan history has been with early Church history. If you were to guess, how early did that history begin in Libya? How early was the seed of the Church implanted in the fertile ground of Libyan culture and people? The usual date given is 300 AD (70), which Oden calls a Euro-centric “’late arrival fantasy’—the persistent, narrow, and Western-centered category mistake that African christianity only began with modern Western colonialism.” (75) Oden says this is ridiculous and provides good evidence to suggest otherwise, beginning with Irenaeus.
In his Against Heresies, Irenaeus suggests there were churches established in Libya, which mean Christian presence was evident before 180 AD. (63) How long beforehand? Oden suggests a cautious estimate might be one or two generations, and “if so, Irenaeus knew that Libya had established churches by about 150 AD.” (64) This combined with the presence of messianic Jews living in Cyrene and their strong connections to early Christians leads Oden to contend there was strong proto-Christian presence in the 1st century in Cyrene and elsewhere by the 2nd. (76)
So we see with Oden’s help that there was a strong biblical connection to Libya, not to mention a strong presence in Libya well before most modern Euro-American scholars care to admit. Which is important because the rest of the book explains that there were many significant Libyan voices that helped give shape to the Christian faith, including some of the biggest theological controversies that faith responded to.
Those key Libyan voices that contributed to the drama of early Christianity include: Pope Victor, who was African born, in Libya and served as bishop of Libya (107, 108); Wasilla, a martyred Libyan Bishop; another Libyan martyr was St. Theodore, a monk who faithfully copied the Holy Scriptures even during the threatening persecution of Diocletian. Then there was the heretic Sabellius, who was a Libyan of Cyrene whose doctrine of God threatened to tear apart the Church. Oden rightly reveals, then that “The unity of Christian doctrine was first sorely tested in Libya,” and is “one of the first examples of the African-to-Europe thrust of intellectual momentum in the third century.” (119, 121) Likewise, Arius was also from Cyrene, whose teachings of course would lead to the first ecumenical council, the Council of Nicaea.
This last point is a big one to recognize: it was in Libya that the first major challenge to the Christian faith would take root, blossom, and spread to other parts of the Church in Africa, Asia, and Europe. Like many others I’m sure, I have not heard or recognized the significance of Libyan contribution—both good and bad—to the development of early Christianity. Oden helps us recognize this important contribution, especially with regards to this example of these heresies germinating and then spreading from Libya into and throughout the Church.
From here, Oden spends the later half of the book further exegeting the significance of early Christiaity in Libya and the influence of that presence on the rest of the Church. It is a fascinating examination of one of the most important philosophical minds from early Christian times in Libya, Synesius of Cyrene, his writings of which “offer the best literary depiction of Libyan Christianity around AD 400.” (153) He then spends two more chapters exegeting Christian presence on Cyrene and Tripolitania and that impact of that presence on the Church. A well argued, articulated, illuminating few chapters indeed!
Finally, Oden ends with the question we’re all asking at this point: Why Libya? For Oden, Libya is a case example of the type of Euro-American neglect that has permeated and continues to permeate the Western Christian view of Church history. The point of Oden’s recent work is to remind the Church that, “some of the most decisive intellectual achievements of Christianity were explored and understood first in Africa before they were recognized in Europe and the West.” (272) And this book is a case analysis of that very thing by focusing on the most neglected land/people/culture/country that has contributed to the development of the Christian faith: Libya. So that’s one answer to the “Why Libya” question, countering Euro-American centrism.
Another answer to the “Why Libya” question is for Africa itself. Oden rightly observes that “the future of faith lies far more to the southern parts of the globe than to the north.” (277) The population of African believers is steadily rising toward the half billion mark, and recuperating a long-lost heritage will be crucial toward encouraging these emerging African believers and their Church communities. Oden observes that “the stories and saints and great minds of early African Christianity are not being told and taught to the children of [African] Christian families.” (278) This is tragic and this is why the African story needs to be told, for the sake of this next generation of African Church leadership. Particularly in Libya, which is one of the largest countries on the continent, the soil on which hundreds of thousands of Libyan Christians “walk daily has embedded in it five hundred years of Christian roots and residue,”(279) and its been lost, forgotten, forsaken. A double tragedy.
So if not for the sake of correcting Euro-American centric readings of Church history, then for the sake of the future of the African Church does the story of early African Christianity, not to mention early Libyan Christianity, need to be explored, recaptured, and told.
The problem, however, and one that Oden himself admits, is that this research and reformulation into a retelling of early African Christianity is embryonic, which is why Oden calls this work itself an “early embryonic effort inviting others to improve on it.” (300) Because Libya itself is not an open country to investigate the underlying ancient foundations in a literal archaeological sense, there are few Libyan source documents from the early Church that have been recuperated and analyzed, and very few have undergone the sort of effort that Oden is attempting, the type of tale woven together in this book can appear forced and built on mere conjecture.
Despite the brave new world Oden has opened with this book and his other works, there were times that I questioned the soundness of his assertions because there seemed to be little evidence given to support his claim. For instance, when he suggested Stephen was a Cyrenian Jew, Oden claims that “Many evidences point in this direction,” without providing such evidence. (87) In his discourse on the life and impact of Synesius, he claims Cyril the Great and Synesius “likely” would have met and known each other while in Alexandria. (155) Again, he says “Synesius likely had studied or conversed with the younger priest Cyril.” (210) These claims seem like nothing more than conjecture, which appear in several places throughout this book.
But again, Oden recognizes that this work is in some ways a conjecture work. No this work is not built upon conjectures, but sound scholarship and study. He does admit, though ,”like any scholar, [I have] been pressed to cautiously hypothesize reasonable conjectures at points when I could not demonstrate them as fully as I would have wished. There have been points along the way where my only option had been to qualify and express regret for my best conjecture.” (304) A humble admission, though one I wish had been spelled out more overtly along the way throughout his book, especially considering it is in an embryonic phase.
Regardless, I believe Oden is onto something, and I think he has aptly, ably built his case for an early Libyan Christianity and an early influence by Libyans upon the Christian faith itself.
I’ve read that Oden says his mission is “to begin to prepare the postmodern Christian community for its third millennium by returning again to the careful study and respectful following of the central tradition of classical Christianity,” which means my little title for Oden fits: Oden is indeed a paleo-theologist in the tradition of our two paleos from Jurrasic Park. He, like them, is trying to dig beneath the strata that’s been layered on top of the Church from an ancient day, in order to help the 21st century Church find Her way for a present, postmodern day.
Up until recently I had not come across Oden or his writings (other than the ACC series, though unknowingly), but I tell you what: I am so glad I have! As an academic on the tail-end of a ThM in Historical Theology, I am incredibly thankful for the careful work he has done and continues to do through the Center for Early African Christianity to help us dig beneath the layers that have stratified over the ancient memory of the early Church, particularly the African one. As a pastor, I am incredibly thankful for the careful work he has done and continues to do to help the Church in this day, for a new day dig beneath the layers that have stratified over the ancient memory of classical Christianity, over historic Christian orthodoxy. I am confident Early Libyan Christianity will be remembered long from now as a monumental work that helped the Church recuperate and remember the memory of the early Church and classic Christian faith, not only for the next generation of African Church leaders, but also the the next generation of Western leaders in need of a good reminder from whence our faith has come.
Thanks Thomas Oden for all you’ve already done and all you’re continuing to do to help equip my generation contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people, given by the Holy Spirit through Scripture and Communion of Saints through Tradition, even and especially the African one!
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