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An informative look at the beginnings of Christian worship. Christian worship has a long and complex history. This volume deepens our understanding of early Christian worship by setting it within the context of the Roman world in which it developed. Exploring this formative period in church history, Larry Hurtado highlights the two central characteristics of earliest Christian worship: its exclusive rejection of the gods of the ancient world and its inclusion of Christ with God as the focus of devotion. His excellent study also offers reflections on Christian worship today, suggesting ways contemporary worship can be enriched and corrected by drawing on the early Christian worship traditions. Both historical and practical, this volume will be valuable to readers ranging from church pastors and worship leaders to individuals interested in the origins of Christian faith and practice.
E-Book Content
At the Origins of Christian Worship The Context and Character of Earliest Christian Devotion
Larry W. Hurtado
WILLIAM B. EERDMANS PUBLISHING C O M P A N Y G R A N D RAPIDS, MICHIGAN / CAMBRIDGE, U . K .
© 1 9 9 9 Larry W. Hurtado All rights reserved First published 1 9 9 9 in the U.K. by Paternoster Press Paternoster Press is an imprint of Paternoster Publishing P.O. Box 3 0 0 , Carlisle, Cumbria, CA3 OQS, UK This edition published 2 0 0 0 in the United States of America by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company 2 5 5 Jefferson Ave. S.E., Grand Rapids, Michigan 4 9 5 0 3 / P.O. Box 163, Cambridge CB3 9PU U.K. www.eerdmans.com Printed in the United States of America
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Hurtado, Larry W., 1 9 4 3 At the origins of Christian worship : the context and character of earliest Christian devotion / Larry Hurtado. p.
cm.
Originally published: Carlisle, Cumbria, UK : Paternoster Press, 1 9 9 9 . Includes bibliographical references. ISBN-10: 0 - 8 0 2 8 - 4 7 4 9 - 8 / ISBN-13: 9 7 8 - 0 - 8 0 2 8 - 4 7 4 9 - 2 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Worship — History — Early church, ca. 3 0 - 6 0 0 . BV6.H87
I. Title.
2000
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Scripture quotations are taken from the N E W REVISED STANDARD VERSION © 1 9 8 9 , Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Contents
Preface Introduction 1. T h e Religious E n v i r o n m e n t
ix 1 7
2 . Features o f Early Christian W o r s h i p
39
3 . T h e Binitarian S h a p e o f E a r l y Christian W o r s h i p
63
4 . Reflections for Christian W o r s h i p T o d a y
98
Bibliography
119
Preface
It is an h o n o u r to have been invited to deliver the 1 9 9 9 D i d s b u r y Lectures at the British Isles N a z a r e n e C o l l e g e , M a n c h e s t e r . T h i s b o o k i n c o r p o r a t e s my four lectures, here lightly edited for publication, as well as an i n t r o d u c t i o n , notes and a list o f w o r k s cited. T h e first three c h a p t e r s e x p l o r e historical questions a b o u t the earliest Christian w o r s h i p and focus on the R o m a n setting o f earliest Christianity and the c h a r a c t e r o f its w o r s h i p in this religious e n v i r o n m e n t . T h e s e chapters reflect lines of investigation that I have been following for a n u m b e r of years. I have a t t e m p t e d to m a k e this discussion accessible to any interested reader, b u t I a l s o hope t h a t it m a k e s s o m e c o n t r i b u t i o n t o our historical grasp o f early Christian devotion. In the final chapter I offer s o m e reflections on Christi