Early Christ Groups and Greco-Roman Associations
Early Christ Groups and Greco-Roman Associations

Author: Richard S. Ascough

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2022-06-20

Total Pages: 418

ISBN-13: 1666709018

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Over the past two and a half decades there has been an increasing interest in how the data from the associations—known primarily from inscriptions and papyri—can help scholars better understand the development of Christ groups in the first and second centuries. Richard Ascough’s work has been at the forefront of promoting the associations and applying insights from inscriptions and papyri to understanding early Christian texts. This book collects together his most important contributions to the scholarly trajectory as it developed over a two-decade period. A fresh introduction orients the sixteen previously published articles and essays, which are arranged into three sections; the first dealing with associations as a model for Christ groups, the second focused on how associations and Christ groups interacted over recruitment, and the third on two key elements of group life: meals and memorializing the dead.

Christ’s Associations
Christ’s Associations

Author: John S. Kloppenborg

Publisher: Yale University Press

Published: 2019-11-26

Total Pages: 532

ISBN-13: 0300217048

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A groundbreaking investigation of early Christ groups in the ancient Mediterranean As an urban movement, the early groups of Christ followers came into contact with the many small groups in Greek and Roman antiquity. Organized around the workplace, a deity, a diasporic identity, or a neighborhood, these associations gathered in small face-to-face meetings and provided the principal context for cultic and social interactions for their members. Unlike most other groups, however, about which we have data on their rules of membership, financial management, and organizational hierarchy, we have very little information about early Christ groups. Drawing on data about associative practices throughout the ancient world, this innovative study offers new insight into the structure and mission of the early Christ groups. John S. Kloppenborg situates the Christ associations within the broader historical context of the ancient Mediterranean and reveals that they were probably smaller than previously believed and did not have a uniform system of governance, and that the attraction of Christ groups was based more on practice than theological belief.

Medicine and Health Care in Early Christianity
Medicine and Health Care in Early Christianity

Author: Gary B. Ferngren

Publisher: JHU Press

Published: 2016-08

Total Pages: 261

ISBN-13: 1421420066

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Drawing on New Testament studies and recent scholarship on the expansion of the Christian church, Gary B. Ferngren presents a comprehensive historical account of medicine and medical philanthropy in the first five centuries of the Christian era. Ferngren first describes how early Christians understood disease. He examines the relationship of early Christian medicine to the natural and supernatural modes of healing found in the Bible. Despite biblical accounts of demonic possession and miraculous healing, Ferngren argues that early Christians generally accepted naturalistic assumptions about disease and cared for the sick with medical knowledge gleaned from the Greeks and Romans. Ferngren also explores the origins of medical philanthropy in the early Christian church. Rather than viewing illness as punishment for sins, early Christians believed that the sick deserved both medical assistance and compassion. Even as they were being persecuted, Christians cared for the sick within and outside of their community. Their long experience in medical charity led to the creation of the first hospitals, a singular Christian contribution to health care. "A succinct, thoughtful, well-written, and carefully argued assessment of Christian involvement with medical matters in the first five centuries of the common era . . . It is to Ferngren's credit that he has opened questions and explored them so astutely. This fine work looks forward as well as backward; it invites fuller reflection of the many senses in which medicine and religion intersect and merits wide readership."—Journal of the American Medical Association "In this superb work of historical and conceptual scholarship, Ferngren unfolds for the reader a cultural milieu of healing practices during the early centuries of Christianity."—Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith "Readable and widely researched . . . an important book for mission studies and American Catholic movements, the book posits the question of what can take its place in today's challenging religious culture."—Missiology: An International Review Gary B. Ferngren is a professor of history at Oregon State University and a professor of the history of medicine at First Moscow State Medical University. He is the author of Medicine and Religion: A Historical Introduction and the editor of Science and Religion: A Historical Introduction.

Associations in the Greco-Roman World
Associations in the Greco-Roman World

Author: Professor of Religion and a Cultural Studies Affiliated Faculty Richard S Ascough

Publisher:

Published: 2024-03-15

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781481320917

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Associations in the Greco-Roman World provides students and scholars with a clear and readable resource for greater understanding of the social, cultural, and religious life across the ancient Mediterranean. The authors provide new translations of inscriptions and papyri from hundreds of associations, alongside descriptions of more than two dozen archaeological remains of building sites. Complemented by a substantial annotated bibliography and accompanying images, this sourcebook fills many gaps and allows for future exploration in studies of the Greco-Roman religious world, particularly the nature of Judean and Christian groups at that time.

The Christians as the Romans Saw Them
The Christians as the Romans Saw Them

Author: Robert Louis Wilken

Publisher: Yale University Press

Published: 2003-01-01

Total Pages: 244

ISBN-13: 9780300098396

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This book offers an engrossing portrayal of the early years of the Christian movement from the perspective of the Romans.

Voluntary Associations in the Graeco-Roman World
Voluntary Associations in the Graeco-Roman World

Author: John S. Kloppenborg

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2002-09-11

Total Pages: 447

ISBN-13: 1134778570

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Based upon a series of detailed case studies of associations such as early synagogues and churches, philosophical schools and pagan mystery cults, this collection addresses the question of what can legitimately be termed a 'voluntary association'. Employing modern sociological concepts, the essays show how the various associations were constituted, the extent of their membership, why people joined them and what they contributed to the social fabric of urban life. For many, those groups were the most significant feature of social life beyond family and work. All of them provided an outlet of religious as well as social commitments. Also included are studies of the way in which early Jewish and Christian groups adopted and adapted the models of private association available to them and how this affected their social status and role. Finally, the situation of women is discussed, as some of the voluntary associations offered them a more significant recognition than they received in society at large.

Receptions of Paul in Early Christianity
Receptions of Paul in Early Christianity

Author: Jens Schröter

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2018-10-22

Total Pages: 920

ISBN-13: 3110533782

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The volume deals with interpretations of Paul, his person and his letters, in various early Christian writings. Some of those, written in the name of Paul, became part of the New Testament, others are included among „Ancient Christian Apocrypha", still others belong to the collection called „The Apostolic Fathers". Impacts of Paul are also discernible in early collections of his letters which became an important part of the New Testament canon. This process, resulting in the „canonical Paul", is also considered in this collection.

Group Survival in the Ancient Mediterranean
Group Survival in the Ancient Mediterranean

Author: Philip A. Harland

Publisher: T&T Clark

Published: 2021-12-30

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 0567704130

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Philip A. Harland and Richard Last consider the economics of early Christian group life within its social, cultural and economic contexts, by drawing on extensive epigraphic and archaeological evidence. In exploring the informal associations, immigrant groups, and guilds that dotted the world of the early Christians, Harland and Last provide fresh perspective on the question of how Christian assemblies and Judean/Jewish gatherings gained necessary resources to pursue their social, religious, and additional aims. By considering both neglected archaeological discoveries and literary evidence, the authors analyse financial and material aspects of group life, both sources of income and various areas of expenditure. Harland and Last then turn to the use of material resources for mutual support of members in various groups, including the importance of burial and the practice of interest-free loans. Christian and Judean evidence is explored throughout this book, culminating in a discussion of texts detailing the internal financial life of Christian assemblies as seen in first and second century sources, including Paul, the Didache, Justin Martyr, and Tertullian. In shedding new light on early Christian financial organisation, this volume aids further understanding of how some Christian groups survived and developed in the Greco-Roman world.

Behind the Scenes of the New Testament
Behind the Scenes of the New Testament

Author: Bruce W. Longenecker

Publisher: Baker Books

Published: 2024-11-05

Total Pages: 782

ISBN-13: 1493447661

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This authoritative volume brings together a team of world-class scholars to cover the full range of New Testament backgrounds studies in a concise, up-to-date, and comprehensive manner. Drawing on the expertise of specialists in the areas of archaeological, historical, and biblical studies, this book provides concise treatments of a wide breadth of topics related to the world of the early Christ followers. The book offers compact overviews of key historical issues, facilitating enriched understandings of the significance and force of the texts of the New Testament in their original contexts. Meant to be used alongside traditional literature-based canonical surveys, this one-stop introduction to New Testament backgrounds fills a gap in typical introduction to the Bible courses and is ideal for undergraduate or seminary classes. It is beautifully designed and includes photographs, line drawings, maps, charts, and tables, which will facilitate its use in the classroom.