Tracing the Work of Redemption throughout History
By Alden C. McCray, Public Discourse.
Book Review: Gerald R. McDermott, A New History of Redemption: the Work of Jesus the Messiah through the Millennia, Baker Academic, 448 pages.
In a celebrated essay, philosopher Robert Sokolowski observes that a “dimensional difference” can arise from Christian theological reflection. Such an alteration is “a new way of taking things” and it “introduces a new way in which the world as a whole, and everything in the world, can be interpreted.” Sokolowski’s topic was the doctrine of creation, but the revolution in personal understanding that he described may be a helpful analogy for appreciating the significance of Gerald R. McDermott’s newest book, A New History of Redemption: the Work of Jesus the Messiah through the Millennia.
The book’s title alerts the reader to three things central to McDermott’s project. The first is that this is a capacious account of the work of redemption through time. Second, the portrait he sketches is arranged not biblically or topically, but historically. The third feature is that this is not just a history of redemption, but a new history of redemption. McDermott is reprising an unfinished project commenced by Jonathan Edwards that attempted to trace the work of redemption throughout history.
McDermott’s central premise is that God is best understood when known through the chronological unfolding of his acts in history. The broad contours of the book move from prehistory—the covenant of Redemption—through the earliest stages of created history and on to the first chapters of human existence in the narratives of Genesis. From this point, McDermott sketches the early work of redemption in history, narrating the fall, the creation of the nations, the call of Abraham, the formation of the people of Israel, and their eventual Exodus and pilgrimage to the promised land. After recounting the rest of Israelite history, McDermott depicts the arrival of the Messiah, his life and passion, and the formation of the church. This section is by far the longest and consists of nineteen chapters, from the Resurrection to the present day. It addresses topics including Christ’s ascension and the church’s mission to the Gentile, the early monastic movement, the iconoclast/iconodule controversy and the rise of Islam, the Oxford Movement, and much more. Woven throughout the account is ample evidence of McDermott’s own considerable and wide-ranging expertise. The reader encounters a good deal on the place of Israel within God’s work, as well as the significance of other religions.