Radical Christianity is the ancient norm from Lee Camp’s perspective. This is a book calling for the Re-envisioning of discipleship. Camp extends hope for recovering the ideology lost ideology of actually following Christ and doing the things he said are to be done. The qualifying antecedent, “radical”, should be dropped from the description if there was a clear understanding of ancient realities in the world of the Christ adherent. The two worlds of the Radical Reformation and the American Restorationists are destined to be partners in the pursuit of true discipleship to Christ. While Camp was bred and trained in the restoration traditions he has clearly been influenced by his mentor, John Howard Yoder, who is an open advocate, adherent and defender of the Mennonite tradition.
Conceptual consideration of the origin of material like Mere Discipleship leads me to think: It is surprising that there are not more materials and partnerships springing up between these two closely related worlds of thought in Christian theology. Camp came under the direct influence of Yoder while doing graduate work in Moral Theology at The University of Notre Dame. It seems that there would be a strong gravitational pull for those with restorationist tendencies to find Radical Reformationist extremely intriguing in the methods and means by which they express the Christian faith and vice versa. Certainly partnerships like this are taking place, but this is an explicit example of something that seems to be a natural affiliation. Camp, an open admirer of Yoder, is espousing Mennonite theology without the denominational affiliation. This partnership packs a powerful punch into the gut of the ostensible Christian.
The thread Camp is weaving through his material addresses the break from ancient and orthodox Christianity and the Constantinian institute of Christendom. This Constantinian version of Christianity is referred to as the “Constantinian cataract.” While some Christians of this era recognized these events as the fulfillment of the promises regarding God’s kingdom, others saw this as the trickery of Satan himself to deal a death blow to the authenticity of the church.
The book is broken down in to three major sections. The first section is a historical review of the effects of the Constantinian cataract on Christianity. This is a review which is elemental to Camps position and arguments. This is the crux of the material and everything else flows from this introductory section entitled Re-envisioning Discipleship. This section draws the sharp contrast between mere discipleship and the Constantinian affect.
The second section is an expose on the core beliefs of the disciple of Christ as taught and handed down by Christ and his disciples. The synopsis of this second section is clearly captured in the chapter titles: The Gospel- a new look at the message of Christ and the good news of the Kingdom at hand, the Savior- the suffering servant we should follow and imitate, the Church- not a power mongering empire but a lowly and weak community that embodies the new creation they have become in a most subversive manner. This encapsulates the core belief of the true student of Christ and should be embodied in every fiber of the wayfaring stranger who is following THE wayfaring stranger on this earth.
The third section discusses the practices of the disciple of Christ. This includes an interesting discussion on the relationship between true worship and the love of disciples’ enemies: Worship and an ethically upright life cannot be separated. Baptism, prayer, communion and evangelism are all addressed in a meaningful manner that is worthy of a careful reading. Certainly, some of the positions the author takes on these ‘sacraments’ will stir up serious debate on topics that are usually left off the table for the sake of ecumenism.
The intended audience covers a broad spectrum of readers. Some things discussed feel like an unsophisticated review for those exposed to the study of Christian history, so in this respect, it draws in the broader audience to the story of Christianity. This discussion is necessary for framing the ‘cataract’ discussion and brings the general audience up to speed on the historical importance of the Constantinian era of Christianity. This material makes an appeal to anyone interested in the subject of discipleship.
The primary source informing this material is the work of John Howard Yoder’s work in The Politics of Jesus. In the preface the author gives way his motive for penning the book as an ode to Yoder’s work on discipleship. He also ascribes the inspiration for the material to Politics. While the bibliography is robust, the primary source above mentioned is the source it is necessary to know for a complete understanding of Camps ideas.
The primary research methods employed bringing out his argumentation in this work are an anecdotal use of historical events. The author admits that his expose of the Constantinian cataract in not a carefully documented historical study, but illustrative of the theological problem Camp is seeking to expose. History is the most prevalent paradigm used in telling his narrative, but the history is not inductive and does not seek to draw conclusions about what exactly constitutes the idea known as “Christendom” which he is clearly railing against. He does make reference to other works of Yoder’s that may more adequately cover the historical aspects of this discussion.
Mere Discipleship ends in a rather abrupt manner in the chapter discussing evangelism. The book would greatly benefit from a well written conclusion, drawing the material together with some general directives for the seeker of discipleship. The general conclusion the document makes is that Constantinian brand Christianity has stained and diseased the world of Christianity in a serious manner. This book is Lasik in the eyes of those who have developed these crippling scales. Camp intends to give sight back to a world of so-called Christians who have had the wool pulled over their eyes. There is a genuine and functioning organ under all the damaged tissue which needs the likes of Yoder, camp and other Yoderians to surgically remove so that the true message of Christ can be seen without coloration.
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Dr. Lee Camp, Associate Professor
Lee currently teaches courses in Biblical Ethics, Faith and Culture, Theology of the Church, and Minor Prophets. He completed his undergrad studies at Lipscomb (B.A., 1989), and graduate studies at Abilene Christian University (M.A. in doctrinal studies, M.Div., 1993) and University of Notre Dame (M.A., 1997, and Ph.D., 1999, both in Moral Theology/ Christian ethics). He recently published his first book, Mere Discipleship: Radical Christianity in a Rebellious World, published by Brazos Press (2003). In addition to serving as faculty member, he is a Senior Faculty Fellow in the Center for International Peace and Justice at Lipscomb University. Lee has previously served as the pulpit minister for the Donelson Church of Christ in Nashville, and as youth minister for the Donmoyer Avenue Church of Christ in South Bend, Indiana. Lee and his wife, Laura, have three sons, Chandler, David, and Ben.
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