Christ in the Early Christian Hymns

by Daniel Liderbach

Explores how the expression of people's personal faith influenced doctrine concerning Christology in the early centuries of the church.

176 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1998

Reviews

[Richard Bicknase · Rating 2 out of 5]

I spontaneously checked this out from the library based on the title. If I knew more about it, I would not have bothered because it was a disappointing read. I did find two aspects interesting: some of the hymn primary sources, and some of the historical discussion of the Arian controversy. However, this did not salvage the read.

The author spent the first 32 pages discussing the framework he was working within, and certain flaws were obvious. Most notably the separation the framework makes between scripture and the Holy Spirit. He undermines the authority of scripture by claiming them to be "vulnerable to human reasoning and control" and shortly after said, "The norm for belief is not the scriptures, but the Spirit who is actively at work within the believing community. The community therefore needs to discern, in the midst of the community's disagreements and polarities, the traces of the movement of the Spirit." I found the entire rest of the discussion in the book to be a demonstration that this approach is much more vulnerable to human reasoning and control than the author wants to admit.

I was even getting worried during some of the discussion of the Arian controversy what the ultimate point of the discussion was going to be. It ended up not going fully off the rails in the manner I was worried about, but the concluding sections seemed to spend a lot of time talking in circles to make a point that I did not find particularly robust. At least, nowhere near robust enough to make this particular book worth reading.

[Michael Womack · Rating 2 out of 5]

Often repetitive, the author seeks to reinforce the anti-Arian positions of both Nicaea and Chalcedon as well as give history of the Arian Controversy and the Church’s response to it. Analysis of hymns in the early church are sprinkled in, but far from the focus of this read.

Extremely disappointed.