The author explores the literature of the first three centuries of the church in terms of group identity and formation as surrogate kinship. Why did this become the organizing model in the earliest churches? How did historical developments intervene to shift the paradigm? How do ancient Mediterranean kinship structures correlate with church formation? Hellerman traces the fascinating story of these developments over three centuries and what brought them about. His focus is the New Testament documents (especially Paul's letters), second-century authors, and concluding with Cyprian in the third century. Kinship terminology in these writings, behaviors of group solidarity, and the symbolic power of kinship language in these groups are examined.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Explores the concept of the early church as family,
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This review is from: The Ancient Church As Family (Paperback)
Hellerman's "The Ancient Church as Family" argues that the early church formed a family for the believers. The idea of the church was central to the early church. Paul's epistles are full of the language of kinship.
Hellerman concedes that the idea of the church as a surrogate family was not central to the Old Testament. The Old Testament rarely explores "God as father to his sons and daughters, the Israelites" (p 60)yet "The kin group metaphor does manifest itself" (p 60) in such passages as "You are the children of the Lord your God" (Deut 14). The New Testament was to see an expansion of these early strands. No other early religion stressed the idea of God as father. Christ, however, had announced that those who believed in him were his brother, sisters and mother. An astounding statement. Hellerman argues that the early church formed closely knit groups of people who thought of themselves as family. He further defends the idea that this concept did not vanish after the first hundred years, but was part of the church in the 2nd and 3rd century.
0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
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Great Book For Scholars.,
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This review is from: The Ancient Church As Family (Paperback)
Written in Thesis style, this is not a book for those with a limited theological vocabulary. Still, the quality of scholarship is excellent and this book was delivered in pristine condition, and about as fast as I have ever received anything by standard shipping. The seller is to be highly commended and recommended!! Wish someone had said something about the tiny type-font, though.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
FERGUS MILLAR RECENTLY PREFACED HIS IMPORTANT MONOGRAPH on the Roman Near East with the categorical assertion, "The spread of Christianity must indeed be taken as the single most important development which occurred in the period from the reign of Augustus to the death of Constantine." Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
concord rhetoric, ecian persecution, surrogate kinship group, alimentary aid, sibling terminology, surrogate kin group, sibling metaphor, imprisoned confessors, kinship metaphor, sibling solidarity, patrilineal kinship group, kinship model, plurality leadership, father metaphor, generalized reciprocity, sibling loyalty, eschatological people, kinship terminology, family metaphor, jesus movement, sibling terms, patrilocal residence, purity code, exclusive allegiance Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
North African, Jesus Christ, Justin Martyr, Clement of Alexandria, Carthaginian Christians, Hebrew Scriptures, Passion of Perpetua, Roman Empire, Christ Jesus, Clement of Rome, Cyprian of Carthage, Dead Sea, Ignatius of Antioch, Khirbet Qumran, Mark's Gospel, Graham Shaw, Mark Antony New!
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
FERGUS MILLAR RECENTLY PREFACED HIS IMPORTANT MONOGRAPH on the Roman Near East with the categorical assertion, "The spread of Christianity must indeed be taken as the single most important development which occurred in the period from the reign of Augustus to the death of Constantine." Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
concord rhetoric, ecian persecution, surrogate kinship group, alimentary aid, sibling terminology, surrogate kin group, sibling metaphor, imprisoned confessors, kinship metaphor, sibling solidarity, patrilineal kinship group, kinship model, plurality leadership, father metaphor, generalized reciprocity, sibling loyalty, eschatological people, kinship terminology, family metaphor, jesus movement, sibling terms, patrilocal residence, purity code, exclusive allegiance Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
North African, Jesus Christ, Justin Martyr, Clement of Alexandria, Carthaginian Christians, Hebrew Scriptures, Passion of Perpetua, Roman Empire, Christ Jesus, Clement of Rome, Cyprian of Carthage, Dead Sea, Ignatius of Antioch, Khirbet Qumran, Mark's Gospel, Graham Shaw, Mark Antony New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 37
books:
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9
books
cite this book:
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- Pagans and Christians by Robin Lane Fox on 5 pages
- The Corinthian Body by Professor Dale B. Martin on 4 pages
- Jesus and Judaism by E P Sanders in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English (Penguin Classics) by Geza Vermes in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- New Testament by T. Moore on page 218, and Back Matter
See all 37 books this book cites
- 1 Peter, Jude and 2 Peter (Sacra Pagina) by Donald Senior on page 20, page 84, and page 88
- God, Marriage, and Family: Rebuilding the Biblical Foundation by Andreas Kostenberger in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Contextualizing Acts: Lukan Narrative and Greco-Roman Discourse (Symposium Series (Society of Biblical Literature), No. 18.) by Todd C. Penner; Caroline Vander Stichele on page 170, and Back Matter
- New Testament Masculinities (Society of Biblical Literature Semeia Studies) by Stephen Moore in Front Matter, and Back Matter
- The Trouble with Jesus by Joseph M. Stowell in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
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