Recent emphasis on the social matrix out of which the early church's documents arose marks a notable turn in the path of contemporary New Testament studies. Although the terms, goals, and procedures of scholars vary considerably, there is widespread agreement that much of the interesting and innovative work in the field is that of Gerd Theissen. Four of his most formidable and sustained contributions treat Paul's correspondence with the Christian community at Corinth. Together these four essays provide a composite picture of the social stratification at this ancient urban center and of the concrete organizational and ethical problems that that stratification engendered for the Christians' common life. A fifth essay helps to focus the critical questions of methodology that arise whenever one approaches ancient religious texts for information on issues which to the texts themselves are of peripheral concern. A lucid introduction by the translator and a helpful bibliography of the author's major writings round out this significant exploration and interpretation of the social world of early Christianity.

'After the First Urban Christians' introduces the groundbreaking volume 'The First Urban Christians' to a new generation of students, scholars, and even general readers.

First Corinthians provides a unique glimpse info the life of a young Christian community in a Greco-Roman environment during the early decades of emerging Christianity. It supplies a range and richness of information about the early church that is unparalleled by any other New Testament document. Much effort has gone into reconstructing Christianity at Corinth; more recently, attention has focused on the Corinthian community itself. The scholarly picture of the Corinthian Christians throughout the period of modern interpretation has been far from constant, and their profile has altered as interpretive fashions have shifted. This collection of classic and new essays charts the history of the scholarly quest for the Corinthian church from F. C. Baur to the present day, and offers the reflections of leading scholars on where the quest has taken us and its future direction.

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

The Blackwell Companion to Paul presents a distinctive dual focus approach that encompasses both the historical Paul and the history of Paul's influence. In doing so, expert contributors successfully address the interests of students of early Christianity and those of Christian theology. Offers a complete overview of the life, writings and legacy of one of the key figures of Christianity The essays compass the major themes of Paul's life and work, as well as his impact through the centuries on theology, Church teaching, social beliefs, art, literature, and contemporary intellectual thought Edited by one of the leading figures in the field of Pauline Studies The contributors include a range of world-renowned academics

This volume traces the influences of first century Corinthian secular leadership on local church leadership as reflected in 1 Corinthians 1-6. It then shows how Paul modifies the Corinthian understanding of church leadership. By comparing secular leadership in first century Corinthian society with leadership in the Corinthian church, it has been argued that one of Paul's major concerns with the church in Corinth is the extent to which significant members in the church were employing secular categories and perceptions of leadership in the Christian community. This volume has adopted the method of assessing the New Testament evidence in the light of its social and historical background. Both literary and non-literary sources, rather than modern sociological models, were employed in making the comparison.