Full Product Details
Author: Thomas A. Robinson (Professor, Department of Religious Studies, Professor, Department of Religious Studies, The University of Lethbridge)
Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc
Imprint: Oxford University Press Inc
Dimensions:
Width: 23.90cm
, Height: 3.10cm
, Length: 16.50cm
Weight: 0.624kg
ISBN: 9780190620547
ISBN 10: 0190620544
Pages: 312
Publication Date: 05 January 2017
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
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.
Reviews
In this fascinating and revolutionary study Robinson challenges the consensus that early Christianity was predominantly an urban movement. Through careful analysis he emphasizes the importance of the rural context. Robinson helpfully complexifies the discussion by highlighting the interplay between urban and rural communities. Inhabitants of cities comprised rustic, non-elites, and this demographic mix is essential for understanding early Christianity. This study provides key new insights into formative Christianity. --Paul Foster, School of Divinity, University of Edinburgh In this paradigm-shifting and innovative work, Thomas Robinson challenges the scholarly consensus regarding the urban origins of early Christianity. Robinson meticulously examines the ancient literary, inscriptional and archaeological evidence for the existence of a rural Christianity from its first generation to the time of Constantine. Future studies of Christian origins will be heavily indebted to Robinson's persuasive demonstration of the confluence of rural and urban factors in the expansion of the Christian movement. --James R. Harrison, Sydney College of Divinity, co-editor of <em>The First Urban Churches</em> Scholarly consensus identifies early Christianity as an almost entirely urban movement, comprising 10% of the population of the Roman empire. Robinson shows in this challenging study that the numbers and arguments simply don't add up. He reveals the profound uncertainty at the heart of so many careless demographic assumptions and scholarly readings, and makes a strong case that agrarian Christians will have to be readmitted to the early Church. --Brian McGing, Regius Professor of Greek, Trinity College Dublin
Author Information
Thomas A. Robinson teaches courses in early Christianity, Greek language, and world religions at the University of Lethbridge. He received his PhD from McMaster University. His primary interests are the development of Christianity in the pre-Constantinian period and the interactions of the Christian movement with the Jewish and Greco-Roman options in the religious marketplace of the Roman Empire.
