PDF Summary:The Story of Christianity Volume 1, by Justo L. González

Christianity's early centuries were marked by intense theological debates, cultural conflicts, and the gradual formation of doctrines that would shape the faith for millennia. In The Story of Christianity Volume 1, Justo L. González traces how the early church defined its beliefs in response to heretical movements like Gnosticism, established the New Testament canon, and navigated the complex relationship between Christian theology and classical philosophy.

González explores how early Christians used concepts like the Logos to bridge Greek philosophical thought with their own teachings, how political shifts under Constantine transformed Christianity's status in the Roman Empire, and how doctrinal controversies led to the formation of core Christian beliefs about the Trinity and Christ's nature. This summary examines the cultural, political, and theological forces that shaped early Christianity and resulted in both unity and division within the church.

(continued)...

Doctrinal Articulation: Defining Beliefs and Addressing Challenges

González explains that Tertullian articulated key doctrines about the Trinity and Christ's essence. He created the phrase "one essence, three entities" for the concept of the triune God and "one person, two essences" for Christ, which became central to orthodoxy.

(Shortform note: In Early Christian Doctrines, J. N. D. Kelly notes that Tertullian’s Latin writings introduced a technical vocabulary that later theologians used to clarify the doctrines of the Trinity and Christ’s nature. However, Kelly cautions that the classic creeds of the fourth and fifth centuries drew on a long process of doctrinal clarification involving many writers, so no single author’s preferred wording can be identified with the definitive language of orthodoxy.)

Another important development was the Chalcedonian Council in 451 CE, which defined the orthodox understanding of Christ’s dual nature. The council stated that Christ is both fully divine and fully human, with a unified dual nature as one person, without mixing, alteration, or separation. This definition rejected the extremes of both Alexandrines and Antiochenes, reaffirming the decisions of the earlier major councils of Nicea in 325, Constantinople in 381, and Ephesus in 431. It became the Christological orthodoxy across Western Christianity and in much of the East.

(Shortform note: The Chalcedonian Council’s definition of Christ’s dual nature is important because it forced Christian theologians to define the concept of “person” in a new way. In The Christian Tradition, Jaroslav Pelikan explains that the Christological controversies of the fifth century led to a more precise understanding of “nature” and “person” in Christian theology. Boethius, a Latin philosopher, defined “person” as an individual substance of a rational nature. This definition became foundational for Western philosophical and legal thought about individual identity.)

However, some Eastern churches opposed it, resulting in the first enduring splits within Christianity. Many, primarily in Persia and Syria, emphasized the necessity of distinguishing Christ's divine and human natures, and this group was ultimately known as "Nestorians." Others, mostly in Egypt, Ethiopia, and Armenia, believed in Christ's singular nature, with his human nature integrated into his divine nature, and were called "Monophysites."

(Shortform note: Many non-Chalcedonian churches disagree with this interpretation of the first enduring split in Christianity. For example, the Assyrian Church of the East, which is often called “Nestorian,” argues that the term “Nestorian” is a misnomer.)

Context and Controversy: Shaping Early Christian Thought

González also points out that early Christianity was shaped by the Greco-Roman world and Jewish traditions. The political unity of Rome enabled early Christians to travel safely and spread their faith. The Septuagint, a Greek rendition of the Hebrew Bible, was used by the majority of New Testament authors and influenced early Christian vocabulary. It allowed early Christians to convey their beliefs to Gentiles and debate with traditional Jews who rejected their teachings. The Jewish community created alternative Old Testament versions that weren't suitable for Christian use, leaving the Septuagint solely in the church's possession.

(Shortform note: Rome’s political unity made it easier for early Christians to travel because it reduced the risks and costs of long-distance travel. Before Rome’s unification of the Mediterranean, travelers had to deal with multiple currencies, languages, and legal systems, as well as the constant threat of piracy and banditry. Rome’s network of roads, ports, and garrisons allowed travelers to move quickly and safely between cities. This enabled Christian missionaries to plant new communities in major urban centers and maintain contact with them through letters and visits.)

The early church was also influenced by Philo of Alexandria's efforts to demonstrate that the finest pagan philosophy was compatible with the Hebrew scriptures. He argued that the Greek philosophers probably drew from the prophets' wisdom, since the prophets lived earlier. He also claimed that the doctrines of philosophers were consistent with those of scripture and that scripture should be understood through allegorical interpretation. This argument helped early followers of Christ demonstrate to non-Christians that their religion was legitimate.

(Shortform note: Philo’s use of allegory to argue that the Hebrew scriptures were compatible with Greek philosophy was likely influenced by the Stoics, who had long used allegory to argue that Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey were compatible with philosophy. The Stoics argued that Homer’s stories were allegories for philosophical truths, and that the gods in Homer’s stories were allegories for the forces of nature. This allowed them to argue that Homer’s stories were not just entertaining myths, but also contained serious philosophical insights.)

Next, we’ll discuss the cultural and political context of Christianity's beginnings and then look at the internal challenges and responses that arose.

External Pressures: Cultural and Governmental Context

Constantine's rule marked a shift in the cultural and political landscape, impacting the relationship between Christianity and paganism. González explains that Constantine didn't establish Christianity as the state religion. He remained a pagan priest, which suited his status as emperor, and he didn't receive baptism until the end of his life. His sons received baptism, and many of their decrees supported Christianity. However, their governance was characterized by discord because the church was sharply split over the matter of Arianism, and imperial religious policies addressed that dispute.

(Shortform note: Historians have noted that Constantine’s laws and inscriptions never gave Christianity an exclusive legal status or abolished traditional cults outright. This suggests that there was no singular “state religion” created under his rule. Instead, Constantine’s policies created a complex religious landscape where Christianity was favored but not exclusively established.)

Paganism and Christianity were typically equally permitted and supported by the state. Toward the end of Emperor Gratian's rule, firm actions were taken to undermine paganism. In 382, Gratian mandated that government funding for paganism and its priests be stopped, and he also commanded the removal of the altar to the goddess Victory from the Senate-House. In 391, Theodosius banned pagan sacrifices and decreed that temples be shut down or repurposed for public functions. In 392, public and private pagan practices were prohibited. The persecution stopped as a direct result of Constantine's conversion. Most of the few pagan emperors after him usually didn’t oppress Christians but attempted to revive paganism in other ways.

(Shortform note: In The Last Pagans of Rome, Alan Cameron argues that the Roman Empire’s support for paganism and Christianity wasn’t as equal as Justo L. González suggests. Cameron points out that by the mid-fourth century, the highest ranks of the imperial government and the great senatorial families were already overwhelmingly Christian. This meant that high office, imperial favor, and public prestige increasingly flowed toward Christian bishops, churches, and charities, while traditional cults were progressively marginalized and lost access to official patronage. Cameron also emphasizes that, despite increasingly hostile legislation, a wide range of evidence—laws that had to be repeatedly re-issued, inscriptions, aristocratic correspondence, literary testimony, and the archaeological record—shows animal sacrifice, temple restorations, and traditional festivals still being carried on openly in many parts of the empire, including Rome, well into the fifth century.)

Constantine possessed political acumen. His influence allowed him to support Christians, construct churches, and even relocate some godly images to Constantinople to decorate his ideal city. However, attempting to prohibit pagan practices would have caused him to confront overwhelming resistance. The old gods remained in people's minds. Christianity saw minimal advancement within the established elite and rural populations. Numerous soldiers followed Mithras and various deities. Two of the leading scholarly hubs of the era, the Museum of Alexandria and the Academy of Athens, focused on exploring the wisdom of ancient pagan traditions. An edict from the emperor couldn't reverse these things—at least not yet. Moreover, the emperor didn't see the Unconquered Sun and the Incarnate Son as contradictory, so he was disinclined to enact such a decree.

(Shortform note: The third century saw a rise in “pagan monotheism,” a belief in a single supreme god that was compatible with the worship of traditional deities. This was especially popular among the educated elite, who were influenced by the philosophical schools of Alexandria and Athens. The cult of Mithras, popular among soldiers, also contributed to this trend by emphasizing the worship of the sun as a manifestation of the divine. This environment of religious syncretism allowed Constantine to present his support for Christianity in terms that were familiar and acceptable to both the pagan elite and the military. By associating Christ with the sun, Constantine could appeal to the existing religious sensibilities of his subjects while promoting his own religious agenda.)

Constantine gradually but steadily evolved his approach to policy regarding religion. This approach likely reflected the requirements of the political situation and Constantine's personal evolution, as he gradually abandoned the old religion and came to better comprehend the new one. Initially, he just halted the persecution and mandated the return of confiscated Christian property. Soon after, he further showed his support for Christianity by contributing to the church the Lateran Palace in Rome, once owned by his wife, and by making imperial transport available to bishops traveling to the 314 Synod of Arles.

(Shortform note: Constantine’s evolving religious policy was implemented through the Roman system of imperial patronage, which had long been a key tool for maintaining loyalty and stability across the empire. By redirecting this patronage toward Christian bishops and communities, Constantine ensured that the machinery of government increasingly favored Christianity. This approach allowed for a gradual shift in religious policy without causing abrupt disruptions to the existing administrative structures. The use of imperial resources for church purposes, such as providing transportation for bishops, demonstrated how the state apparatus could be mobilized to support religious objectives.)

Simultaneously, he tried to maintain positive ties with followers of ancient religions, especially Roman senators. Paganism was the empire's state religion. As the empire's leader, Constantine assumed the role of High Priest, fulfilling its related duties. On coins minted as late as 320 one finds the names and symbols of the ancient gods, as well as the monogram for the name of Christ—the Chi-Rho that Constantine had used for the first time at the Milvian bridge.

(Shortform note: The Roman emperor had served as High Priest of the state religion for centuries before Constantine. The office of pontifex maximus, or “greatest priest,” was a holdover from the Roman Republic, when it was held by a member of the Senate. The emperor’s role as High Priest was to maintain the pax deorum, or “peace of the gods,” by ensuring that the state’s many cults and religions coexisted harmoniously. This meant that the emperor’s religious duties were more about public ritual and symbolism than personal belief.)

The conflict with Licinius gave Constantine the opportunity to portray himself as a champion of Christianity. He was now entering regions that had long had the most church members. Following his victory over Licinius, Constantine appointed several Christians to prominent governmental roles. As his relationship with the Roman Senate grew more strained, and as they encouraged paganism to resurge, Constantine felt more drawn to favoring Christianity. In 324, a decree was issued commanding every soldier to revere the Supreme God on Sunday. On this day, Christians assembled to honor their Lord's return to life.

Constantine’s Religious Policy as Conflict Management

In Constantine and the Bishops, historian H. A. Drake argues that Constantine’s overall approach to religion is best described as a strategy of conflict management. Constantine’s order to honor the “Supreme God” on Sunday, for example, was a way to create a common religious denominator that could be accepted by Christians and by adherents of traditional cults alike, especially within the religiously mixed army. Drake suggests that such measures were primarily tools for securing unity, loyalty, and political stability rather than unambiguous acts of preference for one specific confession.

Internal Responses: Doctrinal Development and Movements

González notes that Gnosticism significantly challenged early Christianity. The movement was broad, spanning Christian and other belief systems. The name comes from the Greek "gnosis," which translates to "knowledge." Gnostics believed they possessed unique, spiritual insight that held the answer to achieving salvation. Gnosticism posed a major danger to Christianity during the 100s. Church leaders opposed it because they believed it denied key Christian doctrines, including creation, incarnation, Jesus' crucifixion, and the resurrection.

(Shortform note: Some scholars argue that the term “Gnosticism” is misleading. In Rethinking “Gnosticism,” Michael Allen Williams argues that the term is a modern construct that doesn’t accurately reflect the diversity of ancient religious movements it’s used to describe. He explains that the people we call “Gnostics” never used that term for themselves, and that the label was created by later historians. Williams suggests that instead of using “Gnosticism,” we should talk about specific movements and texts.)

Gnostics believed that matter is entirely evil and that the body traps the spirit. They thought that the world wasn't where we really belonged and was an impediment to the soul's salvation. They believed a divine envoy needed to come into this realm to enlighten us and resolve our spiritual bewilderment. In Gnostic Christianity, Christ is that messenger. As Christ is a celestial messenger and matter and the physical form are evil, most Christian Gnostics denied that Christ possessed a body like ours.

(Shortform note: Gnostics believed that the material realm was a prison for the soul, so how could Christ come to this realm and liberate us? Some Gnostic teachers believed that Christ was a high spirit who could “put on” a body like a garment, so he could come to the lower world and rouse the souls trapped there. This way, Christ could come to the material realm without being trapped in it.)

Some claimed that he appeared as a ghostly apparition that seemed to be real by miracle. Many distinguished the heavenly "Christ" from the earthly "Jesus," considering the latter to be simply a vessel for the former's manifestation. Sometimes this included the idea that Jesus had a body made of "spiritual matter" distinct from our own. The majority rejected the idea that Jesus experienced birth, as this would mean he was controlled by the physical realm. The church collectively referred to these ideas as forms of Docetism—a term that comes from a Greek word for "to seem"—since they all suggested that the body of Jesus looked entirely human but was not.

The Early Church’s Intellectual Framework

The church’s decision to group these teachings under the name “Docetism” reflects a larger intellectual project of the early patristic theologians. They were developing a quasi-philosophical system for classifying heresies, and they saw the Docetists as teaching that Jesus only seemed to be human. This was a problem for the early church because it implied that Jesus was deceiving people, and it also undermined the idea that Jesus was truly incarnate. This distinction between “seeming” and “being” was a key part of the early church’s intellectual framework for understanding heresy, and it would continue to shape Christian thought for centuries to come.