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The Early Christian World presents an exhaustive, erudite, and lavishly-illustrated treatment of how a small movement formed around Jesus in Galilee became the pre-eminent religion of the ancient world. Situating early Christianity within its Mediterranean social, political and religious contexts,the book charts the history of the first Christian centuries. The creation and perpetuation of Christian communities through means including mission and monasticism is then explored, as is the everyday experience of early Christians, through discussion of gender and sexuality, religious practice, communication and social structures. The intellectual (particularly theological) and artistic heritage of the period is fully considered, and a vivid picture provided of the internal and external challenges faced by early Christianity. With profiles of the most notable figures of the age, up-to-date coverage of the most important topics in the study of early Christianity and an invaluable collection of visual material., The Early Christian World is a comprehensive,a ccessible and indispensable resource for everyone studying this period.
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THE EARLY CHRISTIAN WORLD THE EARLY CHRISTIAN WORLD Volume I-II Edited by Philip F. Esler London and New York Every attempt has been made to obtain permission to reproduce copyright material. If any proper acknowledgement has not been made, we would invite copyright holders to inform us of the oversight. First published 2000 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2002. Disclaimer: For copyright reasons, some images in the original version of this book are not available for inclusion in the eBook. © 2000 Taylor & Francis and Phillip F. Esler All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data The early Christian world/edited by Philip F. Esler p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and indexes. 1. Church history—Primitive and early church, ca. 30–600. I. Esler, Philip Francis. BR165 .E17 2000 270.1—dc21 99–056667 ISBN 0-203-47062-1 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-77886-3 (Adobe eReader Format) ISBN 0–415–16496–6 (Vol. I) ISBN 0–415–16497–4 (Vol. II) ISBN 0–415–24141–3 (set) CONTENTS List of illustrations List of contributors Preface Philip F. Esler List of abbreviations ix xv xxiii xxv Volume I PART I: THE CONTEXT 1 The Mediterranean context of early Christianity Philip F. Esler 2 Armies, emperors and bureaucrats Jill Harries 3 Graeco-Roman philosophy and religion Luther H. Martin 4 Jewish tradition and culture James K. Aitken 3 26 53 80 PART II: CHRISTIAN ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT 5 The Galilean world of Jesus Seán Freyne 6 Early Jewish Christianity David G. Horrell 7 Paul and the development of gentile Christianity Todd Klutz 8 The Jesus tradition: The gospel writers’ strategies of persuasion Richard L. Rohrbaugh 9 Christianity in the second and third centuries Jeffrey S. Siker 10 From Constantine to Theodosius (and beyond) Bill Leadbetter v 113 136 168 198 231 258 — Contents — PART III: COMMUNITY FORMATION AND MAINTENANCE 11 Mission and expansion Thomas M. Finn 12 The development of office in the early church Mark Edw