Book Review: A New History of Redemption
Few scholars could even attempt to write a book like A New History of Redemption, Gerald McDermott’s recent work of near-comprehensive theological history.
McDermott borrows the title and structure from an unfinished project of Jonathan Edwards, the 18th-century Puritan, who outlined the project but did not live to complete it. And no wonder: Edwards’ idea was to tell the story of redemption in the most expansive sense of the word, from immediately after the Fall all the way to the ending of the world. The ambition is to tell nothing less than the whole of history, including the history that hasn’t yet happened!
Sponsored
It is fitting, then, that McDermott waited until his retirement to pen this large constructive work. He brings to it the benefit not only of his early academic work on Jonathan Edwards but also of intervening studies on a host of relevant topics, including world religions, natural theology, Anglicanism, the Trinity, and the Jewish roots of Jesus. This is the major work of a mature scholar, incorporating the full scope of his lifelong study and writing.
A Theological History
It’s not easy to specify the genre of this book. One struggles to find points of comparison: perhaps Tom Holland’s Dominion, which treats the history of Christianity through selected episodes over the past two thousand years, or Diarmaid MacCulloch’s Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years, which also considers the Greek, Roman, and Jewish context in which Christianity began.
Like these, A New History of Redemption presents a narrative of Christian history in a single accessible volume. It engages both the major eras and figures treated in traditional Western historiography and the Church in the East and the Global South, together with their interaction with other religions (compare also to the work of Rodney Stark). It highlights the growing diversity of Christianity around the world in the 21st century (compare also to the work of Philip Jenkins).
However, the difference between McDermott and those authors is that McDermott approaches his topic not so much as a history that includes theology but rather as a theological account of history, a theological history. Consequently, it tells an even broader story of God’s work of redemption from the fall to the end of the world. For Edwards and McDermott, this expansive scope is entailed in the concept of redemption, which is:
…Not only the purchase of redemption but also everything God arranged to prepare for that purchase and also everything that applied the fruit of that purchase to the people of God.
A New History of Redemption, 4
Put Biblically, the history recounted here runs roughly from the judgment in the garden of Eden, whose protoevangeliun prophesied “enmity” between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent, to the fulfillment of that promise in the judgment of “that ancient serpent” in the end times (Genesis 3:15, Revelation 20:2).
Continuities Across Time
Because Redemption is God’s unified purpose, McDermott is keen to explore the continuities in God’s work across the major eras of history.
For example, McDermott references Enoch as an early example of God’s desire to redeem the human body. Enoch was the great-grandson of Adam, who “walked with God, and he was not, for God took him” (Genesis 5:24). For McDermott, God was “showing a new generation that their bodies would be redeemed,” and then he connects the theme to later stories both in the Old Testament and the New:
God also showed this redemption of the body centuries later when he took Elijah up without death (2 Kings 2) and then agin after the Messiah’s resurrection when saint from Old Testament days walked around in their bodies on the streets of Jerusalem (Matt 27:52). But this was the first clear sign from God of bodily redemption that awaited all believers.
A New History of Redemption, 37.
Moreover, it is not only events in the Old Testament that illuminate the remainder of history. Both Christ’s life and the Church’s history illuminate God’s work from the beginning. McDermott emphasizes this point in his discussion of the Arian controversy and the resulting definition of the Trinity, arguing that “the theological battles of the third and fourth centuries helped believer understand their redemption by the God of Israel.” The work of Redemption, in other words, is constantly revealing itself and its own continuities across time:
They came to see that they were redeemed not by the Messiah alone. Or to put it more biblically, God the Father so loved the world that he gave his only Son, and he applied the Son’s death and resurrection by pouring his love into believers’ hearts by the Holy Spirit. Jesus ministered by the Holy Spirit’s power, was enabled by the Spirit to offer himself as a sacrifice to the Father for the sake of the elect, and was raised from the dead in power according to the Spirit of holiness (John 3:16, Rom 5:5, Acts 10:37-38, Web 9:14, Rom 1:4).
A New History of Redemption, 227.
Comparative Religion and Select Bibliographies
Readers will notice that McDermott includes multiple passages discussing other religions. There are concise discussions of Hinduism (63), Confucianism (109-110), Daoism (110), Buddhism (110-111), Greek philosophical theology (111-113), and a longer discussion of Islam (255-264).
Equally fascinating are discussions of non-western forms of Christianity, including the Thomas Christians in India (278-281), Nestorians in China (281-284), the North African impact on Theology (284-287), and the modern expansion of Christianity to Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia (242-254).
Here, McDermott showcases his capacity for being both bold and precise.
Some readers might feel that such significant topics are addressed in too short a space. And in my own estimation, McDermott sometimes offers theological or historical interpretations that could admit more nuance or epistemic humility.
However, these concerns provide an opportunity to mention the beneficial select bibliographies that appear at the end of each chapter, one of the most helpful features of the book. These assist the reader in further exploring a single chapter’s topic and invite the reader to return to the book for reference. In fact, after some orientation to the book (for example, by reading this review), it is possible to profit from it without reading it straight through but rather as a reference book for a theological reading of various historical episodes and topics.
Jesus, the Jewish Messiah
Readers will also quickly realize that Dr. McDermott is eager to situate Jesus in relation to his Jewish context. This comes through in small details, like the preference for calling Jesus by his Hebrew title, Messiah. However, it also comes through in more significant thematic concerns, including the authority of the Jewish scriptures and the modern practice of Judaism.
McDermott uses the Hebrew term Tanach for the Jewish scriptures of the Old Testament and makes a vigorous argument for their authority and continued relevance for Christians (119-129). McDermott has written on related topics for Anglican Compass, including articles on the Jewish law, the book of Leviticus, and the Temple. In this volume, following the lead of Jonathan Edwards, McDermott expands his discussion to the category of beauty:
God’s beauty graces the story of redemption in Tanach, for it is the story of the holy Messiah drawing an unholy people to himself and the God of Israel.
A New History of Redemption, 128
Concerning the modern practice of Judaism, McDermott includes extensive discussions of the Holocaust (333-337), Zionism (355-358), Messianic Judaism (358-361), and the contemporary state of Israel (362-366). Not all readers will agree with McDermott’s account of the Church as having two expressions, Jewish and Gentile, nor will all readers agree with McDermott’s vision of modern Zionism as a fulfillment of Biblical prophecy.
However, it is worth noting that McDermott clearly distinguishes between the nation of Israel, which he sees as “a divine work with profound eschatological implications,” and the modern state of Israel, “which serves the Jewish people and nation but is not identical to them.” McDermott believes that the modern state of Israel is properly subject to critique:
It is still a human and imperfect state and, like every other state, needs to be called to account when it strays from natural law and the biblical covenant to which is it is remotely dedicated.
A New History of Redemption, 365
A Reservation
My principal reservation with this volume is that its story largely skips over the era of the creation before the fall. Chapter 2 is titled “Redemption Planned From Eternity,” and Chapter 3 is titled “Redemption After Eden.” What happened to Genesis 1-2?
To some extent, this gap is an understandable result of using the concept of redemption as a framing device. Redemption only becomes meaningful once there is a fall that requires redemption. However, the project is missing one of the major categories of both history and theology.
To put the concern more pointedly, how can we know the shape of redemption without understanding the character of humanity being redeemed?
This feels like a missed opportunity, especially for application to the task of living as a Christian today. In the modern West and increasingly around the world, there is broad confusion over the basics of the human condition: the creation of humankind as male and female and related topics such as marriage, childbearing, and sex differences. To address these questions, what is needed is precisely a theological reading of Genesis 1-2 in light of our redemption in Christ.
Perhaps Dr. McDermott will take up the challenge in his next volume!
Recommendation
I enthusiastically recommend A New History of Redemption. Of course, students of Jonathan Edwards will be naturally fascinated by this modern completion of his project. But this book is also essential for anybody interested in a theological reading of history. For the general Christian reader, this volume will be an excellent reference for hundreds of topics in theological history.
Stars: 5/5
Cover image: Jesus Goes Up Alone onto a Mountain to Pray by James Tissot, c. 1886–1894.
The Foolishness of God: Reclaiming Preaching in the Anglican Tradition (Review)
“Sermons aren’t commentaries, sermons are events” (14). This statement from J. Brandon Meeks encapsulates the message of his new book, The Foolishness of God: Reclaiming Preaching in the Anglican Tradition (affiliate link). This collection of essays possesses rich reflection on preaching from a brilliant man. To me, The Foolishness of God is a singularly captivating…
Rookie Anglican
Rookie Anglican These articles offer accessible and enlightening introductions to various aspects of Anglican life and faith, such as the Bible, theology, liturgy, and history. It’s no secret that even seasoned Anglicans, including clergy members, frequently revisit these articles to renew their understanding. Top Content Our Most Essential Introductions to the Anglican Tradition Book of…
