“History has been invaded by God in Christ in such a way that nothing can stay as it was. All terms of human community and conduct have been altered at the deepest levels.”
This description from scholar David Bentley Hart on the impact of the Christian message was borne out visibly and conspicuously in early Christian communities.
One historian noted the “social diversity” in these congregations, accompanied by an “ideal of human equality” — stating, “in Christ, taught the Christians, all were equal, and the distinctions of rank and degree were irrelevant. In church meetings, educated people sat as equals among other men’s slaves and petty artisans.”
The new faith emerged in the context of cultural structures organized around brutal inequalities: freedmen and slaves, rich and poor, men and women.
Christianity could not — initially — challenge the social status quo in the larger society. However, the gospel could and did remove such limitations and boundaries within the circle of the Christian community.
Read more about the Christmas season as a time of reflection on human equality.
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