Christianity and Roman Society [Paperback]

Introduces the student to the role of the Christian tradition in the Roman world.Did Christianity transform the Roman world in which it began, or did the Roman world shape Christianity? This work explores current debates and new interpretations on Early Christianity in Roman Society. Adopting an interdisciplinary and thematic approach it offers the student unfamiliar with the Christian tradition, a comphrensive introduction to its role in the Roman world. Topics examined include paganism and heresy; martyrdom and relics; rejection of gender-roles and social structures; preaching as educational outreach; church and state; just war and non-violence and secular society and cultural identity.Did Christianity transform the Roman world in which it began, or did the Roman world shape Christianity? This work explores current debates and new interpretations on Early Christianity in Roman Society. Adopting an interdisciplinary and thematic approach it offers the student unfamiliar with the Christian tradition, a comphrensive introduction to its role in the Roman world. Topics examined include paganism and heresy; martyrdom and relics; rejection of gender-roles and social structures; preaching as educational outreach; church and state; just war and non-violence and secular society and cultural identity.Did Christianity transform the Roman world in which it began, or did the Roman world shape Christianity? This work explores current debates and new interpretations of Early Christianity in Roman Society. Adopting an interdisciplinary and thematic approach, it offers the student unfamiliar with the Christian tradition, a comprehensive introduction to its role in the Roman world.1. Introduction; 2. Christians and others; 3. The blood of martyrs; 4. Body and soul; 5. People of the Book; 6. Triumph, disaster or adaptation? This book is a welcome contribution to recent efforts at creating a dialogue between Greco-Roman and patristic studies, to the mutual benefit of both...an impressl