The Jesus Movement: A Social History of Its First Century [Hardcover]

Ekkehard Stegemann (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1999

This monumental work by two Continental New Testament scholars is the first comprehensive social history of the earliest churches. Integrating the historical and social data, it locates the ancient Judeans and the Jesus Movement in their respective matrices. The Stegemanns deal with such issues as: conflict between the messianic communities and the rest of Judaism, religious pluralism, social stratification, group composition, gender division, ancient economics, and urban/rural distinctions. This volume offers both an introduction to these social issues, as well as fresh insights and analysis, and includes: integration of social history, social-scientific analyses, and theological analyses; focus on the role of women in the Jesus Movement and early churches; and maps charts and diagrams.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ekkehard W. Stegemann is Professor of New Testament at the University of Basel, Switzerland.

Wolfgang Stegemann is Rektor and Professor of New Testament at the Augustana Hochschule in Neuendettelsau, Germany.

O. C. Dean Jr. (Translator) has translated works from German in biblical studies and theology, including Jrgen Becker's Paul: Apostle to the Gentiles (1993), Willi Marxsen's New Testament Foundations for Christian Ethics (1993), and Udo Schnelle's The Human Condition (1996).

Product Details

• Hardcover: 556 pages
• Publisher: Augsburg Fortress Publishers; 1st English-language Ed edition (August 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0800630092
• ISBN-13: 978-0800630096
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,367,659 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent work of Social-Scientific analysis of NT world, September 17, 2000

By 

Scott Watson (Chapel Hill, NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Jesus Movement: A Social History of Its First Century (Hardcover)

This is a seminal work using social-scientific methodologies to illuminate the world of the NT and early Christianity. It surveys and discusses(in a critical way,unlike many other treatments in vogue today) the theoretical issues surrounding the sociological and anthropological approaches to NT study.

On of the book's major strengths is that it has a comprehensive analysis of the social history(including the role of gender in the ancient world) and economic and social structure of Judaism and Christianity in its Greco-Roman context.The authors are familiar with the primary sources and judiciously apply sociological and anthropological methodologies in a critical way,that doesn't distort the sources or fill in the gap where the sources don't speak-a fault with alot of this type of NT analysis.

Another major plus is it differentiates, for the sake of analysis,the social world of the Palestian Judaism of Jesus and the urban milieu of the Greco-Roman world where the church made inroads in its mission.In both cases they correctly evaluate the type of current sociological and anthropological theory which will best illuminate the phenomenon under investigation.In all this the texts are the main focus, not the theoretical approaches being used. In my opinion, this book represents what the work of the Context Group(Bruce Malina,et al) could accomplish.I would call this book magisterial in its efforts.It's a must read for serious students of the NT.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A vividly depicted, scholarly, and comprehensive history, July 4, 2001

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Jesus Movement: A Social History of Its First Century (Paperback)

In The Jesus Movement: A Social History Of Its First Century, Ekkehard W. Stegemann (Professor of New Testament at the University of Basel, Switzerland) and Wolfgang Stegemann (Rector and Professor of New Testament at the Augustana Hochschule in Neuendettelsau, Germany) effectively collaborate to present a vividly depicted, scholarly, and comprehensive history of how the new and fledgling Christian movement developed, expanded, and evolved over the first hundred years of its existence. Of special interest is the roles played by women in the development of Christianity within the patriarchal, Mediterranean cultures. While highly recommended for students of New Testament Studies, this informative, engaging work is wonderfully accessible and written for the non-specialist general reader with an interest on how the Christian communities struggled and created their identities in both rural and urban settings.

0 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars service, March 22, 2006

By 

N. McClure-Long "Rev. Nancy McL" (Mid-Hudson, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Jesus Movement: A Social History of Its First Century (Paperback)

This item was as ordered; as described; well packed; fast delivery; I would purchase again from this seller.