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A Peculiar People: The Church as Culture in a Post-Christian Society

Rodney Clapp

3.77 · Rating details · 149 ratings · 8 reviews

Voted one of Christianity Today's 1997 Books of the YearChristians feel increasingly useless, argues Rodney Clapp, not because we have nothing to offer a post-Christian society, but because we are trying to serve as "sponsoring chaplains" to a civilization that no longer sees Christianity as necessary to its existence. In our individualistic, technologically oriented, cons ...more

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Paperback, 251 pages

Published November 12th 1996 by IVP Academic (first published November 1996)

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Nov 12, 2011 Longfellow rated it really liked it

Shelves: faith-religion

While Clapp is not an academy-sponsored theologian, his effort here is in large part a theological one. Simply put, he desires to remind or inform us (the Church) of where we’ve come from, make us aware of where and what we are now, and propose an idea about who and what we should be becoming.

Clapp’s two important contextual points: to inform us of the historical reality of Constantinian Christianity (since Constantine declared Christianity the official religion of the empire, Christians have b While Clapp is not an academy-sponsored theologian, his effort here is in large part a theological one. Simply put, he desires to remind or inform us (the Church) of where we’ve come from, make us aware of where and what we are now, and propose an idea about who and what we should be becoming.

Clapp’s two important contextual points: to inform us of the historical reality of Constantinian Christianity (since Constantine declared Christianity the official religion of the empire, Christians have been aligned with the powerful—high up in the social hierarchy—and are by default aligned against the weak, the poor, the outsiders, the under-privileged) and to point out that Christians have absorbed the liberal/Reformation/post-modern assumption that the individual ultimately contains more access to truth and carries more authority than community, which by default makes faith a private rather than a public matter.

These realities we have absorbed into our faith and our faith-lives, but these are contrary to the history of God’s relationship with His people—with all people—as well as contrary to the life of the early church and the first believers.

We need neither to “retrench” ourselves in the ideas of Constantinian Christianity nor “capitulate” to the values our culture seems to be requesting (a message of what-you-do-is-up-to-you but come to us to feel good about yourself). Rather, the Church is called to be—and is—its own distinct culture. It need not operate under the sanction or the auspices of official government, and it need not shape its message toward that which holds the greatest appeal.

With all this background consistently serving as a lens through which to understand Clapp’s thesis, he offers a chapter by chapter survey of the things which have formed (and still form) the Church as a unique and revolutionary culture: worship, liturgy, and the communal reading of scripture are a few examples.

I'm tempted to suggest that every layperson in the church should read this. Why? Because Clapp provides—in brief—centuries of context of which many of us 21st century Christians are unaware. Another reason for the layperson to read this is because Clapp succinctly covers a broad scope of ecclesiastical issues without watering them down to soundbites or careless simplifications. In each chapter, he provides Christians with context for their faith, offering details of both history and thought, distilling the thinking of influential theologians into snackable but healthy portions.

But the context offered is much more than a history lesson; Clapp shows the significance of understanding the terms pre-Constantinian and post-Constantinian as they relate to the church's current position in the world. Beware: the current American understanding of faith in God is evaluated critically in Clapp's analysis, and I am convinced his critical view is not only accurate but also crucial to any movement toward God’s will being done “on earth as it is in heaven.”

The Irresistible Revolution: living as an ordinary radical (Shane Claiborne) is proving to be a provoking and fitting follow-up read to A Peculiar People. If Clapp’s book is a theological treatise on what the church should look like, Claiborne’s book is this treatise applied, an illustration of what this imagination of the Church actually looks like (at least one version of it) in the gritty yet fecund soil of real life.

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Jul 31, 2016 Adam Parker rated it really liked it

Shelves: christianity

Rodney Clapp in his book A Peculiar People brought to the forefront of my mind the reality that the church is more than a mere spiritual, ethereal, individual entity, but more a corporate, physical, and political culture of its own. He essentially made me aware of the cultural spectacles through which I had been unconsciously viewing what I thought the church was in total. The author did a good job at pulling from the historical context through which the books of the Bible were written, and extr ...more

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Jul 06, 2009 Craig Toth rated it it was amazing

My hat is off to Rodney Clapp! This book is an important resource for helping Christians learn how much the wholesome gospel has been corrupted by unholy ways of thinking and doing that are standard operating procedures in modern Western cultures. The alternative is to embrace a life patterned after Jesus and early Christians. Then, we should hope, the world and the church will see more clearly what it means to be a "follower of Jesus." This book has the ability to help the church BE the church. ...more

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Mar 09, 2010 Doug rated it really liked it

Shelves: church-and-community, way-of-the-cross

This treatment has so many good things going for it. It makes a wonderful, mature case for the centrality of the church, working through all the important questions attached to it. Clapp speaks of treating the church as a culture and, toward the end, church as a way of life. His prose is engaging and full of life. This would be a great book for a church study group. If someone wanted a basic, very accessible text on the topic of ecclesiocentrism I'd give them this. ...more

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Feb 03, 2010 Melissa rated it liked it

Shelves: theology

i'd give this 3.5 stars if i could. a lot of solid things to say regarding the christian community as culture, but 1. it starts of arrogant and snarky. 2. it was written 15 years ago and it is noticable. seems like this book is a response to the yuppie culture of the '80s. the church is dealing with different issues, now. ...more

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Jul 26, 2011 Rebecca rated it really liked it

Shelves: christianity

A thoughtful analysis of how the church has ended up where we are today, with suggestions for recovering ourselves. At this point, perhaps a bit dated in some of the references to contemporary culture, but not enough so that the message is lost.

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