Overview
This work provides a survey of the history of the earliest Christian church in the period up to the fall of Jerusalem. It concentrates on: the figure of Paul; judicious and critical use of information in the Book of Acts; Judaizing versions of Christianity; and the Johannine tradition. The approach steers a middle way between an over-simplified account which fails to warn students where scholarly opinion is divided, and an in-depth academic study which attempts to document and discuss every hypothesis. Wedderburn focuses on aspects of central importance: the changing shape of church life and developing Christianity in relation to the Roman Empire and to Judaism. This book seeks to draw together and make more readily accessible many new insights gained from an enormous range of recent scholarly studies in German and English, and places them in the context of a more general account.
Full Product Details
Author: Professor Alexander J. M. Wedderburn
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Imprint: T.& T.Clark Ltd
Dimensions:
Width: 14.60cm
, Height: 1.90cm
, Length: 21.60cm
Weight: 0.470kg
ISBN: 9780567084231
ISBN 10: 056708423
Pages: 312
Publication Date: 01 January 2004
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Tertiary & Higher Education
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: To order
Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us.
Language: English
Reviews
For some years students have lacked a good textbook on the first decades of Christianity. Professor Wedderburn has now met that lack. His long term interest in the book of Acts, evidenced in a sequence of important articles, has now borne fruit in a masterly survey of these crucial years. He is thoroughly familiar with the relevant sources and the problems in evaluating them. He knows the present day scholarly debate intimately. And he weighs the evidence and the debates with a judicious even-handedness. This is a book which is thoroughly accessible to those with little specialist knowledge, which will provide an authoritative guide to current debates on Christianity's beginnings and which, more important, will give a clearer grasp of the historical complexities of these beginnings.
'For some years students have lacked a good textbook on the first decades of Christianity. Professor Wedderburn has now met that lack... He weighs the evidence and the debates with a judicious even-handedness. This is a book which is thoroughly accessible to those with little specialist knowledge, which will provide an authoritative guide to current debates on Christianity's beginnings and which, more important, will give a clearer grasp of the historical complexities of these beginnings.' James D. G. Dunn, Emeritus Lightfoot Professor of Divinity, University of Durham
For some years students have lacked a good textbook on the first decades of Christianity. Professor Wedderburn has now met that lack. His long term interest in the book of Acts, evidenced in a sequence of important articles, has now borne fruit in a masterly survey of these crucial years. He is thoroughly familiar with the relevant sources and the problems in evaluating them. He knows the present day scholarly debate intimately. And he weighs the evidence and the debates with a judicious even-handedness. This is a book which is thoroughly accessible to those with little specialist knowledge, which will provide an authoritative guide to current debates on Christianity's beginnings and which, more important, will give a clearer grasp of the historical complexities of these beginnings. For some years students have lacked a good textbook on the first decades of Christianity. Professor Wedderburn has now met that lack. His long term interest in the book of Acts, evidenced in a sequence of important articles, has now borne fruit in a masterly survey of these crucial years. He is thoroughly familiar with the relevant sources and the problems in evaluating them. He knows the present day scholarly debate intimately. And he weighs the evidence and the debates with a judicious even-handedness. This is a book which is thoroughly accessible to those with little specialist knowledge, which will provide an authoritative guide to current debates on Christianity's beginnings and which, more important, will give a clearer grasp of the historical complexities of these beginnings. Review International Review of Biblical Studies, vol 51, 2004/05 'For some years students have lacked a good textbook on the first decades of Christianity. Professor Wedderburn has now met that lack... He weighs the evidence and the debates with a judicious even-handedness. This is a book which is thoroughly accessible to those with little specialist knowledge, which will provide an authoritative guide to current debates on Christianity's beginnings and which, more important, will give a clearer grasp of the historical complexities of these beginnings.' James D. G. Dunn, Emeritus Lightfoot Professor of Divinity, University of Durham
'For some years students have lacked a good textbook on the first decades of Christianity. Professor Wedderburn has now met that lack... He weighs the evidence and the debates with a judicious even-handedness. This is a book which is thoroughly accessible to those with little specialist knowledge, which will provide an authoritative guide to current debates on Christianity's beginnings and which, more important, will give a clearer grasp of the historical complexities of these beginnings.' --James D. G. Dunn, Emeritus Lightfoot Professor of Divinity, University of Durham Review ~ International Review of Biblical Studies, vol 51, 2004/05 Review in German in Theologische Literaturzeitung 131 (2006) * Theologische Literaturzeitung *
Author Information
Alexander J. M. Wedderburn is Professor of New Testament in the Evangelisch-Theologische Facultat, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich.
