Varieties of Early Christianity - The Formation of the Western Christian Tradition

Varieties of Early Christianity: The Formation of the Western Christian Tradition provides a comprehensive and balanced account of the origins and evolution of Christian concepts from the first to the sixth century CE, exploring the events, issues, and individuals that shaped the beliefs and practices of Christianity. It offers a multidisciplinary approach, placing early Christian teaching in their historical and cultural contexts, and highlights how Christians absorbed and adapted ancient concepts from Judaism and Greco-Roman religion and culture. The text encourages readers to consider how early Christians integrated their worldviews, politics, and daily lives and how this can help articulate their own "systems of meaning" in the modern world. It is an excellent textbook for secondary school classes and college undergraduate courses on the history of Christianity, as well as a valuable resource for general readers interested in examining the history of Christian ideas in their historical context.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 352 pages
Publication date: 23 February 2023
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Inc

The origins and evolution of Christian concepts from the first through the sixth century CE are explored in Varieties of Early Christianity: The Formation of the Western Christian Tradition. This reader-friendly textbook, with a multidisciplinary Religious Studies approach, places the early sources of Christian teaching within their historical and cultural contexts to highlight what gave rise to the beliefs and rituals that Christians follow in the present day.

Chronologically organized chapters analyze how Christians absorbed and adapted ancient concepts from Judaism and Greco-Roman religion and culture from the first through the sixth centuries. Combining both traditions, early bishops, Church Fathers, and theologians added innovations that contributed to the establishment of a unique systematic theology (dogma) that became "Christianity."

Throughout the text, readers are encouraged to consider how the ways early Christians integrated their worldviews, politics, and daily lives can help articulate their own "systems of meaning" in the modern world.

This textbook also provides the religious and cultural background of Judaism and Greco-Roman religion and culture, the two major contributors to Christian thought. It describes the methodology used to analyze the gospels in relation to ancient literature and explores topics such as Christian martyrs in the Roman Empire, the role of women in Mediterranean society, Gnostic Christians, and the Christianization of the Roma.

By providing a broad and balanced understanding of how Christianity originated in the first five centuries, Varieties of Early Christianity: The Formation of the Western Christian Tradition helps readers navigate the vast amount of Christian literature produced in the early centuries of the Church and gain a deeper appreciation of the religious and cultural context in which it developed.

Weight: 690g
Dimension: 256 x 177 x 20 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781119891246