Saving Paradise: How Christianity Traded Love of This World for Crucifixion and Empire
Book Description
A once-vibrant vision of love and compassion transformed into a powerful force of crucifixion and empire. "Saving Paradise" unravels the rich tapestry of early Christianity, revealing how its message of hope became intertwined with domination and exclusion. With each page, the gripping journey beckons to those seeking the forgotten stories of resistance and redemption. Explore the profound implications of faith's evolution and the urgent call to reclaim its essence. Can humanity rediscover the paradise lost within its own beliefs, or is the shadows of empire destined to overshadow love forever?
Quick Book Summary
"Saving Paradise" by Rita Nakashima Brock explores the transformation of early Christianity's central message from one rooted in a vibrant, earth-affirming paradise to a theology focused on suffering, crucifixion, and imperial dominance. Drawing on early Christian art, liturgy, and theology, Brock uncovers a tradition that once celebrated the beauty of the world and the hope of communal life. Over centuries, she argues, this vision was overshadowed by the embracing of violent imagery and imperial ambitions, marking a turn away from love and earthly paradise. The book calls for a recovery of Christianity’s original ethos—one centered on compassion, justice, and care for this world—as urgent for reclaiming hope amid today’s struggles.
Summary of Key Ideas
Table of Contents
Paradise as the Original Christian Vision
Rita Nakashima Brock opens with a surprising discovery: for the first thousand years of Christianity, images of paradise, not the crucifixion, dominated Christian art, theology, and daily practice. Early Christians understood salvation as intimately connected to the flourishing of life on earth, emphasizing beauty, communal justice, and the sanctity of creation. Brock’s deep dive into ancient texts and art reveals an early church invested less in martyrdom and suffering, and more in nurturing paradise here and now.
The Shift from Life to Crucifixion
After the fourth century, as Christianity aligned with the Roman Empire, its priorities shifted dramatically. The cross, once a symbol of imperial execution and shame, became central to Christian devotion. The narrative of an earthly paradise faded as doctrines of atonement and suffering grew. Brock examines how the glorification of the crucifixion intertwined with political power, enabling Christianity to justify violence and crusades in the name of faith, moving away from its original life-affirming roots.
Christianity’s Entanglement with Empire
The authors highlight how the church’s new orientation often marginalized calls for social justice, peace, and care for the poor. This shift fostered exclusion and division within society, contrary to Jesus’s teachings of radical inclusion. Brock uncovers long-suppressed Christian traditions—monastic communities, mystics, and reformers—who continued to nurture visions of paradise and resist empire’s distortions, inspiring pockets of compassionate rebellion throughout history.
Lost Traditions of Compassion and Community
Through analysis of iconography, worship practices, and theological texts, Brock shows the enduring struggle to reclaim Christianity’s early paradise ethos. This ancient vision champions a faith centered on love, the sanctity of the world, and the hope of restoration. The book traces both the loss and continual resurgence of this theme, arguing that paradise has never been fully forgotten but lies dormant within the tradition, awaiting revival.
Reclaiming Love and Hope for Today
Brock concludes with a passionate call to action: Christianity’s original message, she argues, bears profound moral and spiritual weight for contemporary crises. Reclaiming the lost vision of paradise offers an antidote to the destructive legacies of empire and exclusion. Returning to the roots of compassion, justice, and love of the earth, Brock envisions a way forward for faith—one that challenges oppression and builds communities of hope in our fractured world.
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