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Books Related to AD 381 Charles Freeman - ISBN: 1845950062
Original and challenging - Rated
This book is a phenomenon - a study of doctrinal conflict in the Christian Church of the fourth century that is written not for scholars, not for students, but for the general public. It would be easy for professionals to point out various aspects of Freeman's treatment that are insecure - the over-estimation of the novelty of the decrees of Theodosius I (379-95) against heretics and pagan practices, the claim that he prematurely suppressed the Arian debate when in fact it had already become tiresome and unproductive, the pillorying of Nicene orthodoxy as oppressive when in fact it provided what has remained the decent minimum of common Christian belief ever since, the mistake of supposing that laws against heresy and paganism necessarily implied persecution when in fact they were primarily concerned to please God, and finally the unconscious clericalism of thinking that the leading role taken by the emperor was usurpation. But if we professionals leave the writing of non-academic books on this subject to non-professionals, we have no right to complain if they don't quite say what most of us would have said (particularly since 'we' are not in uniform agreement!). Surely we should thank Freeman for airing these matters in public, and for raising a major question that historians of doctrine too often ignore: was the price of Christian orthodoxy too high? Was the greater clarity gradually obtained over the Christian doctrine of God an adequate compensation for the restrictions on the freedom of debate that developed gradually in late antiquity (rather than suddenly under Theodosius I) and have remained a reality in most of the Christian churches (in varying degrees) ever since? Is Christianity, which claims to be based not on reason but on revelation, inevitably the enemy of intellectual freedom? However debatable certain features of this book as a work of history (and to say they are debatable is not to assert they are simply wrong), we must thank Freeman for pressing us on this vital question.
