Backgrounds of Early ChristianityFerguson's authoritative students' introduction to the world of the early church has now been revised and expanded with new discussions of first-century social life, of Gnosticism, and of the Dead Sea Scrolls and other Jewish literature'. Each section is clearly structured with its own bibliography. Arranged thematically, chapters discuss the political background (looking at the political history of the Near East, Alexander the Great, the Hellenistic kingdoms and Rome), society and culture (including the Roman military, social classes, slavery, relationships, morality, economy, entertainment, literature, art and architecture, clubs and associations), Hellenistic-Roman religions (cults, imperial cults, personal religions, Greek and eastern mysteries), Hellenistic-Roman philosophies, Judaism and Christianity. |
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LibraryThing Review
User Review - sinsofthedove - LibraryThingThis is the one of the most useful, interesting books I own. It has lots of encyclopedia-like articles on a whole bunch of interesting topics related to the world in which Christianity began. Pagan ... Read full review
User Review - Flag as inappropriate
Wrong! Most jewish men married around late 20s -early 30s and women 15-20(well at least just the Palestine jews at least). Mary was probably around the ages of 12-20/21 years old and Joseph maybe about 30.
[url]https://books.google.com/books?id=txsQisxoYcQC&pg=PA33&dq=jewish+men+typical+married+at+30+and+women+10-15+years+younger.&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi7jeDa3vPPAhUDWCYKHZxrDcAQ6AEIJjAB#v=onepage&q&f=false[/url]
Contents
Characteristic Features | 309 |
Gnosticism in the New Testament | 312 |
The Hermetica | 313 |
Chaldaean Oracles | 315 |
MONOTHEISM AND SUN WORSHIP | 316 |
319 | |
INTRODUCTION | 320 |
Philosophy as Ethics | 321 |
16 | |
18 | |
20 | |
22 | |
23 | |
24 | |
26 | |
31 | |
40 | |
43 | |
Client Kingdoms | 45 |
POLITICAL CONNECTIONS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT | 46 |
48 | |
INTRODUCTION | 49 |
Emblems Weapons and Dress | 51 |
Auxiliaries | 54 |
Other Units | 55 |
The Senatorial Order | 56 |
The Equestrian Order | 57 |
Plebeians and Other Free Persons | 58 |
SLAVERY | 59 |
ROMAN CITIZENSHIP | 62 |
ROMAN LAW | 63 |
SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS | 66 |
PatronClient Relationship | 67 |
Social Networks | 68 |
Honor and Shame | 69 |
Marriage and Family | 72 |
Place of Women | 77 |
Children | 80 |
ECONOMIC LIFE | 82 |
Trade and Travel | 86 |
Coinage | 90 |
Taxation | 95 |
CLOTHING AND APPEARANCE | 96 |
ENTERTAINMENT | 97 |
Athletics | 100 |
Arenas | 102 |
Circuses | 103 |
Gymnasia and Baths | 104 |
Banquets | 106 |
Music | 107 |
EDUCATION | 109 |
LITERATURE AND LANGUAGE | 113 |
Rhetoric | 119 |
Literary Forms and Genres | 120 |
Making of Books | 128 |
Reading and Studying of Books | 132 |
Inscriptions and Papyri | 133 |
Language | 135 |
ART AND ARCHITECTURE | 137 |
CLUBS AND ASSOCIATIONS | 142 |
Roman Colleges | 143 |
Egyptian Associations | 145 |
Conclusion | 147 |
HELLENISTICROMAN RELIGIONS | 148 |
ANCIENT GREEK RELIGION | 149 |
Homer | 150 |
Hesiod | 157 |
The Archaic Period | 160 |
Signs of Dissolution in the Classical Age | 164 |
ANCIENT ROMAN RELIGION | 165 |
Deities | 167 |
Religious Observances | 169 |
Soul and the Dead | 171 |
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS | 173 |
DOMESTIC AND RURAL RELIGION | 177 |
Greek | 178 |
Roman | 180 |
CIVIC CULTS | 182 |
Priesthood | 184 |
Ritual Prescriptions | 186 |
Sacrifice | 188 |
Votive Offerings | 192 |
Prayers and Hymns | 193 |
Festivals | 195 |
Other Features | 197 |
Ephesus and Artemis | 198 |
RULER CULT | 199 |
Antecedents and Presuppositions | 200 |
Historical Developments | 204 |
Forms of the Imperial Cult | 211 |
PERSONAL RELIGION | 213 |
Dreams and Divination | 220 |
Healing Cults | 221 |
Magic and Maledictions | 227 |
Imprecations and Oaths | 235 |
Demons and Superstition | 236 |
Astrology Astral Religion and Fate | 238 |
Death and the Afterlife | 243 |
GREEK MYSTERIES AND EASTERN RELIGIONS | 251 |
Local Mysteries | 253 |
Eleusinian Mysteries | 254 |
Dionysiac Mysteries | 259 |
Isis Osiris and Sarapis | 266 |
Astarte and Adonis | 277 |
Atargatis and Others | 278 |
Cybele and Attis | 281 |
Mithras | 287 |
Mystery Religions and Christianity | 297 |
GNOSTICISM HERMETIC LITERATURE CHALDAEAN ORACLES | 300 |
Sources for Study | 301 |
Origins of Gnosticism | 307 |
Popular Philosophy | 323 |
Philosophy and Individualism | 325 |
SOPHISTS AND SOCRATES | 326 |
Socrates 469399 BC | 327 |
PLATO AND THE ACADEMY TO THE FIRST CENTURY | 330 |
The Dialogues | 332 |
Platos Thought | 333 |
Platos Influence | 335 |
The Old Academy | 336 |
The Eclectic Academy | 337 |
ARISTOTLE AND THE PERIPATETICS | 338 |
Aristotles Thought | 339 |
Aristotles Influence | 342 |
Strato | 343 |
Later History and General Character | 344 |
SKEPTICISM | 346 |
Aenesidemus | 347 |
CYNICISM | 348 |
Cynic Characteristics | 349 |
Dio of Prusa AD 40 to after 112 | 352 |
STOICISM | 354 |
Stoic Physics | 356 |
Stoic Logic and Epistemology | 358 |
Stoic Ethics | 359 |
Middle Stoa | 360 |
Roman Stoicism | 363 |
Stoicism and Christianity | 368 |
EPICUREANISM | 370 |
Lucretius 9455 BC | 372 |
Epicurean Epistemology | 374 |
Epicurean Ethics | 375 |
Estimate and Comparisons | 377 |
ECLECTICISM | 379 |
Cicero 10643 BC | 380 |
NEOPYTHAGOREANISM | 382 |
The Pythagorean Revival | 383 |
Apollonius of Tyana and Philostratus | 384 |
Numenius | 386 |
MIDDLE PLATONISM | 387 |
Plutarch C AD 50after 120 | 389 |
PLOTINUS AND NEOPLATONISM | 391 |
Later Neoplatonists | 393 |
396 | |
JEWISH HISTORY 538 BC TO AD 200 | 399 |
The Greek Period 332167 BC | 403 |
The Maccabean or Hasmonean Period 16763 BC | 407 |
The Roman Period from 63 BC | 411 |
JEWS IN THE EARLY ROMAN EMPIRE | 427 |
JEWISH LITERATURE AND OTHER SOURCES IN THE HELLENISTIC AND ROMAN PERIODS | 431 |
The Old Testament in Greek | 432 |
Fragments | 439 |
Apocrypha | 440 |
Pseudepigrapha | 448 |
Dead Sea Scrolls | 463 |
Apocalyptic Writings | 475 |
Philo | 478 |
Josephus | 485 |
Rabbinic Literature | 490 |
Jewish Mysticism | 501 |
503 | |
Pagan References to Jews | 512 |
PARTIES AND SECTS | 513 |
Pharisees | 514 |
Sadducees | 519 |
Qumran Community Essenes and Therapeutae | 521 |
Zealots | 532 |
533 | |
Samaritans | 534 |
BELIEFS AND PRACTICES | 537 |
One God | 538 |
Torah Tradition and Scripture | 539 |
Proselytes and Godfearers | 546 |
Messianism and the Glorious Destiny | 551 |
Afterlife | 554 |
555 | |
Daily Devotions308 | 561 |
ORGANIZATION AND INSTITUTIONS | 562 |
Sanhedrin | 567 |
Community Organization | 570 |
Rabbis | 572 |
Synagogue | 573 |
583 | |
LITERARY REFERENCES TO CHRISTIANITY IN NONCHRISTIAN SOURCES | 584 |
585 | |
Papyri | 587 |
Coins | 588 |
589 | |
The Cross at Herculaneum | 590 |
Ossuaries | 591 |
592 | |
THE LEGAL STATUS OF CHRISTIANITY | 601 |
HINDRANCES TO THE ACCEPTANCE OF CHRISTIANITY | 608 |
RELIGIOUS RIVALS | 609 |
610 | |
612 | |
613 | |
616 | |
Hellenistic Judaism | 617 |
Religious Quest | 618 |
WHAT WAS UNIQUE IN CHRISTIANITY? | 619 |
621 | |
643 | |
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Common terms and phrases
A. D. Nock Acts Alexander Alexandria ancient world Antiquity Apocalypse Asclepius Athens Augustus became Berlin biblical Bibliography Book Cambridge century b.c. church Commentary cult culture Cynic Dead Sea Scrolls deity Dionysus divine Early Christianity Egypt Egyptian emperor empire Epicurus Essenes ethical festivals Gnosticism goddess gods Gospels Grand Rapids Greco-Roman Greece Greek Hasmonean Hebrew Hellenism Hellenistic age History honor ideas important initiation inscriptions interpretation Isis Jerusalem Jesus Jewish Jews Josephus Judaism king later Latin Leiden literary literature London Maccabees magic Mishnah Mithraism Mithras moral mysteries Old Testament Oracles original Oxford pagan Palestine papyri Paul period person Pharisees Philo philosophical Plato Plutarch practice prayer Principat Ptolemy Qumran rabbinic religion religious ritual Roman Rome ruler sacred sacrifice Sadducees Sanhedrin Scripture second century Seleucid Septuagint slaves social Socrates soul Stoic Stoicism Studies synagogue Talmud Targum temple tion Torah traditional translation vols worship York Zeus
Popular passages
Page xix - JRS Journal of Roman Studies JSJ Journal for the Study of Judaism in the Persian, Hellenistic and Roman Period JSNT Journal for the Study of the New Testament JSNTSup Journal for the Study of the New Testament.
Page 20 - But the quality in which the Roman commonwealth is most distinctly superior is in my opinion the nature of their religious convictions. I believe that it is the very thing which among other peoples is an object of reproach, I mean superstition, which maintains the cohesion of the Roman State.