Early Christianity

291 Pages·2008·1.12 MB·English

by  Mark Humphries

Early Christianity
Examining sources and case studies, this fascinating book explores
early Christianity, how it was studied, how it is studied now, and
how Judaeo-Christian values came to form the ideological bedrock
of modern western culture.
Looking at the diverse source materials available, from the
earliest New Testament texts and the complex treatises of early
Christian authors such as Lactantius and Eusebius, to archaeology,
epigraphy, and papyrology, the book examines what is needed to
study the subject, what materials are available, how useful they
are, and how the study of the subject may be approached.
Case study chapters focus on important problems in the
study of early Christianity including:
• the book of Acts as a source for the social
dynamics of cities and the tensions inherent in
Hellenistic Judaism
• orthodoxy and organization in early Christianity
• early Christianity and the Roman empire.
Also including a comprehensive guide for students that lists major
collections of literary and non-literary sources, the chief journals
and series, and important textbooks, Early Christianity is an
excellent aid to the study of Christianity in history.
Mark Humphries is senior lecturer in Classics at the National
University of Ireland, Maynooth. He is the author of Communities
of the Blessed (OUP 1999) and a chapter in the Cambridge
Ancient History XIV (2000). He is a general editor of the series
Translated Texts for Historians.
Classical Foundations
The books in this series introduce students to the broad areas of
study within classical studies and ancient history. They will be
particularly helpful to students coming to the subject for the first
time, or to those already familiar with an academic discipline who
need orientation in a new field. The authors work to a common
brief but not to a rigid structure: they set out to demonstrate the
importance of the chosen subject and the lines of recent and
continuing research and interpretation. Each book will provide a
brief survey of the range of the subject, accompanied by some
case studies demonstrating how one may go on deeper into it.
Each will also include guidance of a practical kind on sources,
resources and reference material, and how to pursue the subject
further. When complete, the series will comprise a critical map
of the whole field of ancient studies.
The series is planned to include:
Early Christianity
Greek History
Greek Literature
Greek Philosophy
Late Antiquity
Latin Literature
Roman Social History
The Roman Empire
Books currently available in the series:
Roman Social History
Susan Treggiari
Latin Literature
Susanna Morton Braund
Greek History
Robin Osborne
Early Christianity
Mark Humphries
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Early Christianity
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Mark Humphries
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First published 2006
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group
© 2006 Mark Humphries
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2006.
“To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s
collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.”
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted
or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission
in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the
British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Humphries, Mark.
Early Christianity/by Mark Humphries. – 1st ed.
p. cm. – (Classical foundations)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Church history – Primitive and early church, ca.
30–600 I. Title. II. Series.
BR165.H74 2006
270.1–dc22 2005023645
ISBN10: 0–415–20538–7 (hbk)
ISBN10: 0–415–20539–5 (pbk)
ISBN13: 9–78–0–415–20538–2 (hbk)
ISBN13: 9–78–0–415–20539–9 (pbk)
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For Tim, Ash, Luke, and Joey 61
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God shall have a starring role in my history of the world. How
could it be otherwise? If He exists, then He is responsible for
the whole marvellous appalling narrative. If He does not, then
the very proposition that He might has killed more people and
exercised more minds than anything else. He dominates the stage.
Penelope Lively, Moon Tiger
I do not know if you are one of those who look down on every-
thing called religion and theology with disdain or indifference.
And yet, no matter how one looks at Christianity, and possibly
regards it as a mistake, is it not of real value to pursue the
history of this mistake and discover the world shaking events and
transformations this mistake had caused?
Adolf von Harnack, private letter, 1869
(cited in Frend 2003: 11)
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Contents
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Preface xi 1711
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Introduction: how to use this book 1 19
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1 What is early Christianity and why does 21
it deserve study? 9 22
The shape of early Christianity 9 23
Approaching early Christianity in the twenty-first 24
century 17 25
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2 Tradition and revelation: the historical 27
quest for early Christianity 34 28
Discovering early Christianity in the age of 29
Constantine 35 30
Early Christianity from late antiquity to the middle 31
ages 41 32
Renewal, reform, and the origins of critical scholarship 49 33
The rise of modern scholarship 55 34
Towards modernity: early Christianity in the nineteenth 35
and twentieth centuries 59 36
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CONTENTS
3 The search for early Christianity: sources
and their interpretation 64
Christian literature 65
Jewish and pagan literature 82
Documentary sources and material remains 88
Using the sources 93
4 Messiahs and missions: contexts for the
origins and spread of Christianity 97
Christian origins and the problem of Judaism 98
Mission and conversion: the expansion of early
Christianity 108
Case study: inscriptions and the missionary journeys
of Paul 125
5 Doctrine and power: orthodoxy and
organization in early Christianity 142
How many bishops attended the council of Nicaea? 143
The ideal of unity in early Christianity 146
Organization and personnel 149
Ritual 156
Orthodoxy and heresy 158
Truth, tradition, text 165
Case study: the Nag Hammadi discoveries and
early Christianity 167
6 Confronting Babylon: early Christianity
and the Roman empire 186
An age of persecutions? 188
Christian alienation from Roman society 196
Christian attitudes to the Roman empire 202
Towards Christendom: an uneven progress 206
Case study: Pliny the Younger and the
Christians 210
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CONTENTS
7 Discovering early Christianity 225 1
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Points of departure 226
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Source materials 230
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Specialist journals 234
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Bibliographical guides to chapters 3–6 237
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Notes 244 7
Bibliography 250 8
Index 268 9
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