Radical Faith: An Alternative History of the Christian Church, by John Driver, Edited by Carrie Snyder
338 pages. 1999.
ISBN 84-89389-08-X.
Translated from the Spanish: La fe en la periferia de la historia. Guatemala: Edicione Clara-Semilla, 1997.
"This book is not the story of the Ecumenical Councils, of theological debates, of Princes and Popes, or of crusades and conquests. 'This is the story of the poor and oppressed, surprised by the grace of God those who, by human standards, have stood outside the institutions of salvation of those called to prophetic mission and martyrdom the story of the Messianic people who live in expectation of the radical restoration of God's kingdom, in all its vigor and splendor.'
Driver's book assumes a 'Constantinian shift,' which made the history of most of Christianity, to use Enrique Dussel's terms, an 'anti-Christian inversion.'
It is because of this perspective that Driver begins with two chapters which set forth this biblical vision (chapter 1 'The Story of the Christian People' and chapter 2 'A Biblical Vision of the People of God'). Here it becomes clear that the book uses these theological criteria (based on Anabaptist understanding of Jesus' life and teachings) as a 'filter' but will also highlight the economic and social factors that seem to consistently appear at the origins of the various movements chosen as representatives of 'radical faith.' The close attention paid to these different historical contexts is one of the strong points and strengths of the book."
- Neal Blough, in Mennonite Life
