When I first began teaching Christian high school students in the 1980’s I would often reference First Testament teaching on “the remnant,” reminding students that Christians are never far from persecution. Students were exposed to names such as Justin Martyr, Origen, Irenaeus, or Tertullian and texts such as “The Epistle to Diognetus,” Pliny’s letter to Trajan, and the Didache. I believed then, as I do now, that if 21st century apologists want to do their best work in helping The Church contend with present pressures and worldviews it would behoove us to see a replication of our day from Roman rule during the first and second centuries. And in doing so, someone should compile a work that shows and explains the connection. We now have that work in Stephen Presley’s Cultural Sanctification: Engaging the World Like the Early Church.
No matter the geography or culture, Christians exist within a context, often with unbelievers who find it difficult to fathom the strange nature of Jesus followers. As Christians were taught in every Second Testament epistle, they were alien (1 Peter 2:11-12) to whatever place they found themselves. Why? Simply because our prescribed way of life was and is sanctification wedded with Christian confession (40). Presley points out throughout the book that the distinctiveness of Christian thought and life depends on believing liturgy wrapped with lived morality. The development of Christian character through liturgical catechesis is the author’s summation of his historical work. Presley points out that the Christian life must unite mind with affections motivating behavior (25). Historical context should inform our present condition since in the 1st century, “Outsiders saw the church acting in ways that set them apart” (28).
And the behavior of any pagan culture is antithetic to the biblical message, as is in evidence from Romans 1:18-32. The vices of that culture will transform a populace, first by its affections, then by its behaviors, and finally codified in unconscious acceptance of whatever the culture claims as its “values.” So, church leaders emphasized “the importance of doctrinal and moral formation” in Christian communities which was to impact “soul and body” (33-34). Here, I believe, word choice is crucial. This “way of life comprised the virtues” (my emphasis, 41). The term “virtue” itself has a long history but one that confirms an outside, ethical standard. These Hebraic-Christian virtues – yes, they existed in both testaments (Exodus 20, Leviticus 19, Deuteronomy 10) – enumerated a cultural sea change, “Not in ways that removed themselves from society, but in discernment choosing how to participate in ways that did not offend the Christian conscience” (45). Biblical wisdom created “internalized habits of virtue” (47) for the church. These habits were so “nefarious” to Roman values (50) that the distinctiveness of Christian traditions and practices (including but not limited to “eating the flesh and blood” of Jesus, John 6) drove apologists Justin Martyr and Tertullian to explain “rival patterns” of the church “within a pagan world” (53).
So, catechism and liturgy that forged the identity of the church (chapter 1) had applications for citizenship, intellectual, and public lives (chapters 2-4). Right from the start, Presley begins with the story of Polycarp’s martyrdom as a foreshadowing of Christian persecution for the next twenty centuries, teaching “political theology” (57). Having heard Jesus’ words (“in this world you will have tribulation,” John 16:33) and the apostles’ warnings (i.e., 2 Timothy 3:12 “all who live godly lives in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution”), Christian public theology was established on the “assumptions” of God’s Transcendence, His Providential control of human authorities, and the infusion of Christian virtue within the culture (58). Christian apologists reminded Christians of their responsibilities to honor authorities, pray for them, and pay taxes (70-77). The same apologists spoke Truth to power by affirming the role of the state to “maintain the order and structure of society” defending religious liberty and promoting Christian virtue, reminding rulers that Christians make the best citizens (77-79). It is important to say here that the American experience is a bit different than the Roman history. The “American Experiment” is different in that we are trying to preserve a societal structure which is unlike any other in world history. This is not to discount any of Presley’s ideas, it is to expand on them, to give credence to the idea that we are also preservatists in culture, responsible to pass on what we have been given (i.e., freedom). Both for intellectual (81-112) and public life (113-39), the Christian community sought, as we seek, to contend for the betterment of the culture by adhering to Scriptural doctrine and practicing its virtues “as light in the midst of the surrounding darkness” (138).
Whereas the Romans simply wanted to preserve their power (142), Christians resided in another hope, “a distinctive feature of the Christian faith” (149). Of course, Christian hope is directly tied to Jesus’ resurrection. And it was this world-changing event for which the apologists spilled the most ink. In direct contrast “This vision of hope subverted the ancient order that located hope in the political and social structures of the Roman Empire” (158). It is here Presley returns to one of his earliest concerns: how does a Christian “occupy a position of influence” without losing “moral power and independence” (162)? Here is the tension that did (and does) cause a division of conviction between apologists. Does one separate themselves from the world via monasticism and Benedict? Or, does one persuade the culture through virtue education and Origen? Presley summarizes his salient ideas from chapters three and four advocating for a “public display of morality” promoting “the public good” through “resocialization” of Christian belief (165-68). One wonders about the management of “acculturation” and “ethical improvisation,” wishing for a bit more explanation and application of those terms. What is clear, however, is Presley’s resolve to incorporate into church life now, the doctrine and liturgy of the church, then.
Those who appreciate the reanimation of historical events will be glad for Presley’s chapter introductions where real life situations illustrate the book’s point. Each section, from introduction to conclusion, gives a snapshot of an issue that corresponds to the topic of those pages. Drawing from Church historians and texts of the day Presley impresses upon his reader that the principles being developed in his work were true-to-life concerns for Christians in that day. A treasure trove of resources for further study exists in Cultural Sanctification. A few of the endnotes are worthy of fuller attention. Take, for example, the reference concerning the formation in theological education (104, 187) about “cultivating spiritual and moral integrity.” To continue the point about the interiority of the person, note the expanded paragraph on the four virtues (43, 178). In keeping with Presley’s theme of moral formation in The Church the concern for internal character is everywhere present.
It should be true with any book worthy of the time that underlining, and notes pepper the pages. This is certainly true in my copy of Cultural Sanctification. I would strongly urge Christian colleges, seminaries, study centers on public university campuses, church leaders, and church discipleship groups to ponder Presley’s excellent work. The author says, “We are entering a world that is post-Christendom” (163) to which I would add, we are already there. Woe to us, however, if we do not mine this book and the works of early church apologists for answers to questions being posed now, living within the current labyrinth of pagan thinking. We must prepare ourselves and those who follow us, for what is surely the tribulation that will come. It was always important to me to prime students for persecution, to be the remnant. Cultural Sanctification prepares us well for the task.
Presley, Stephen O. Cultural Sanctification: Engaging the World Like the Early Church. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2024. Paperback. 220 pp. Reviewed by Mark Eckel, Executive Director of the Center for Biblical Integration, Liberty University, Lynchburg VA.