Overview

What terms would early Christians have used to address one another? In the first book-length study on this topic, Paul Trebilco investigates the origin, use and function of seven key self-designations: 'brothers and sisters', 'believers', 'saints', 'the assembly', 'disciples', 'the Way', and 'Christian'. In doing so, he discovers what they reveal about the identity, self-understanding and character of the early Christian movement. This study sheds light on the theology of particular New Testament authors and on the relationship of early Christian authors and communities to the Old Testament and to the wider context of the Greco-Roman world. Trebilco's writing is informed by other work in the area of sociolinguistics on the development of self-designations and labels and provides a fascinating insight into this often neglected topic.

Full Product Details

9781139003438

Table of Contents

Reviews

...Trebilco's study is well justified. Self-designations offer concrete, accessible evidence into the social world of early Christians... Trebilco has provided a lucid, thorough, and informed examination of the key terms used across the writings of the NT. As such, I expect this will serve as the standard examination of the subject for some time to come. --James C. Miller, Asbury Theological Seminary, Orlando, FL, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society

'Trebilco has written a splendid book, with a clear structured and sustained argument … This study will be widely cited, and has added valuable insights about early Christian self-understanding.' The Expository Times

'Trebilco has written a splendid book, with a clear structured and sustained argument ... This study will be widely cited, and has added valuable insights about early Christian self-understanding.' Expository Times

Author Information

Paul Trebilco teaches New Testament studies at the University of Otago, New Zealand. He is the author of Jewish Communities in Asia Minor (Cambridge University Press, 1991), The Early Christians in Ephesus from Paul to Ignatius (2004), 1 Timothy (with S. Rae, 2006) and 2 Timothy and Titus (with S. Rae and C. Caradus, 2009).

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available