The Churches The Apostles Left Behind [Paperback]

S.S. Raymond E. Brown (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1984

A distinguished scholar looks at seven different New Testament churches after the death of the Apostles.

Product Details

• Paperback: 156 pages
• Publisher: Paulist Press; Trade Paperback edition (April 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0809126117
• ISBN-13: 978-0809126118
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #23,900 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #8 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Catholicism > Roman Catholicism
  • #13 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Ministry & Church Leadership > Church Institutions & Organizations

More About the Author

Raymond E. Brown, S.S., taught for many years at Saint Mary's Seminary in Baltimore and was Professor of Biblical Studies at the Union Theological Seminary for two decades. He was the author of three books in the Anchor Bible series on the Gospels and Epistles of John and wrote the classic Anchor Bible Reference Library volumes The Birth of the Messiah, The Death of the Messiah, and An Introduction to the New Testament. He died in 1998.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A True Gem for Church History/Scripture Buffs, November 12, 2003

By 

Timothy Kearney (Haverhill, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Churches The Apostles Left Behind (Paperback)

THE CHURCHES THE APOSTLES LEFT BEHIND is no longer a new volume, and there has been a great deal of research in the early Church since the publication of this book. None the less, I often find myself going back to this gem of a resource whenever I am trying to find something interesting to present about the various Churches founded by the Apostles. The communities that Brown discusses are those of Paul, both from his letters and the Lucan communities often associated with Paul, Peter, John, and Matthew. Brown looks at these major communities from the traditional point of view, but includes current scholarship at the time of the book's publication as well. While Brown's Catholic perspective is evident in much of his writing, he was asked as a Catholic to address an ecumenical audience, so the book demonstrates what unites Christianity, namely a common early history, rather than what divides us today.

During his lifetime, Raymond Brown was a Sulpician priest involved in the training of people for ministry. This book reflects his pastoral concern. Actually, many of the chapters were presented as lectures for people involved in ministry.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A different kind of book from Brown, August 29, 2005

By 

Michael G. Meyer (Washington, D.C.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Churches The Apostles Left Behind (Paperback)

In the manner of a great scholar, Raymond E. Brown normally multiplies arguments built upward from his unusual command of a great array of facts. A hint of that tendency emerges in The Churches the Apostles Left Behind. Fr. Brown, a Roman Catholic priest, asks how the churches of the late first century survived the trauma of the deaths of the originary apostles. Using paradigms that emerge from reading the Pauline pastoral epistles, Colossians/Ephesians, Luke/Acts, First Peter, the Gospel of John, the Johannine epistles, and the Gospel of Matthew, Brown presents models of church laitant in the communities of the New Testament documents. Though his book traces an emergent ecclesiology in the Christian canon, it intends to provide an ecumenical church of the present age lessons in just how we might be church in the present age. Rather than a teacher of dusty history, Fr. Brown here serves as a pastor for the church of flesh and blood. The Churches the Apostles Left Behind presents a different kind of read for Fr. Brown's students.

23 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Genesis Of Early Christianity, February 25, 2005

By 

Steve Jackson "stevejackson100atyahoocom" (New England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Churches The Apostles Left Behind (Paperback)

The genesis of Christianity from the death of the apostles to the sub-apostolic communities is an interesting topic. The late Raymond Brown wrote three books specifically devoted to this issue: THE CHURCHES THE APOSTLES LEFT BEHIND, ANTIOCH AND ROME (with John P. Meier) and THE COMMUNITY OF THE BELOVED DISCIPLE. Taken as a whole, these three discuss the trajectory of early Christian history from the time of the apostles to the end of the 1st century (or slightly after). It should be noted that Brown believes that most of the works of the New Testament were written during the final third of the century.

The CHURCHES THE APOSTLES LEFT BEHIND is probably the best place to start. The contents of the book were given as lectures in 1980 and are easier to read. He deals with seven movements: the Pastoral Epistles, Colossians/Ephesians, Luke/Acts, I Peter, Fourth Gospel, the Epistles of John, and Matthew.

Regardless of one's views of the authorship and dates of the books of the New Testament, there is no doubt that the writers were dealing with different situations and, at least in some respects, had different theologies. While one may try to harmonize the various strands, certain tensions remain. For example, the Johannine literature mentions the church only a few times, and only then in reference to the local church. Colossians/Ephesians make reference to the universal church. The Pastorals concern the teaching church. And, as Brown notes, one wonders if Paul could have met the requirements for a presbyter-bishop as set forth in the Pastorals given his fiery temper.

These books share the strengths and weaknesses of Brown's approach. They are well written and informative, but too dismissive of those he disagrees with.