Handbook of Early Christianity: Social Science Approaches

by Anthony J. Blasi (Editor), Jean Duhaime (Editor), Paul-André Turcotte (Editor)

Overview

The Christian movement emerged amidst complex social tensions, power politics, ethnic diversity, economic stress, and cultural changes. Both biblical scholars and social scientists find that a social scientific study of early Christian phenomena yields fascinating results. However, biblical scholars are sometimes unaware of the breadth of the useful social scientific concepts and techniques, and social scientists sometimes lack the most basic background in literary research methods. The Handbook of Early Christianity provides a much needed overview for biblical scholars and social scientists alike. Drawing on perspectives from anthropology, archaeology, economics, history, literary analysis, psychology, political science, and sociology, the Handbook shows the myriad and complementary approaches that shed light on Christianity's formation and early development. Twenty-seven chapters from leading scholars along with a comprehensive bibliography make this an essential reference for anyone wishing to understand the social dynamics of Christianity's birth.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780759116535
Publisher:	AltaMira Press
Publication date:	08/27/2002
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	832
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Anthony J. Blasi holds a B.A. in history from St. Edward's University in Texas, an M.A. and Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Notre Dame, an M.A. in biblical studies from the University of St. Michael's College in Toronto, an S.T.L. from Regis College in Toronto, and a conjoint Th.D. from Regis College and the University of Toronto. He is a professor of sociology at Tennessee State University in Nashville. His books include A Phenomenological Transformation of the Social Scientific Study of Religion (1985), Moral Conflict and Christian Religion (1988), Early Christianity as a Social Movement (1989), Making Charisma: The Social Construction of Paul's Public Image (1991), A Sociology of Johannine Christianity (1996), and Organized Religion and Seniors' Mental Health (1999). He is past president of the Association for the Sociology of Religion. Jean Duhaime earned a B.A. from the SZminaire de Chicoutimi; a Bachelor's in Secondary-level Religious Education from the UniversitZ du QuZbec &hat; Chicoutimi; a Licentiate in religious studies, an M.A. in theology-biblical studies, and an M.Sc in sociology from the UniversitZ de MontrZal; and a DiplTme from the _cole Biblique et ArchZologique Fran_aise de JZrusalem. Duhaime is professeur titulaire [full professor] d'interprZtation de la Bible at the FacultZ de ThZologie at the UniversitZ de MontrZal. His books include Entendre la voix du Dieu vivant (coeditor, 1994), Loi et autonomie dans la Bible et la tradition chrZtienne (coeditor, 1994), L'adhZsion &hat; la conscience de Krishna aux _tats-Unis vers 1970 (1996). His works have also appeared in the Encyclopedia of the Dead Sea Scrolls, Revue de Qumr%, Revue Scriptura, Religiologiques, and _glise et ThZologie. Paul-AndrZ Turcotte holds a B.A., M.A., and Lic. from the UniversitZ de MontrZal; a B. PZd. from the UniversitZ Laval; a Ph.D. in social sciences from the Ecole des Hautes _tudes in Sciences Sociales in Paris; and a Ph.D. in theology from the Institut Catholique de Paris. He is professor of social science at the Institut Catholique de Paris (Institut d'_tudes _conomiques et Sociales), Paris, France. His books include Les chemins de la difference: Pluralisme et aggiornamento dans l'apr_s-concile (1985), L'enseignement secondaire public des fr_res Zducateurs (1988), Intransigeance ou compromis: Sociologie et histoire du catholicisme actuel (1994), Sociologie du christianisme (1996), and La religion dans la modernitZ (1997). He has edited special issues of Social Compass dealing with the sociology of early Christianity.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 I. General Perspective
Chapter 2 1. Social Sciences Studying Formative Christian Phenomena: A Creative Movement
Chapter 3 2. Major Social Scientific Theories: Origins, Development, and Contribution
Chapter 4 3. General Methodological Perspective
Chapter 5 II. Special Methods
Chapter 6 4. Archaeological and Architectural Issues and the Question of Demographic and Urban Forms
Chapter 7 5. An Illustration of Historical Inquiry: Histories of Jesus and Matthew 1.1-25
Chapter 8 6. Literary Source and Redaction Criticism
Chapter 9 7. Statistical Textual Analysis: A Special Technique
Chapter 10 8. Aspects of Rhetorical Analysis Applied to New Testament Texts
Chapter 11 9. Structuralism and Symbolic Universes: Second Temple Judaism and the Early Christian Movement
Chapter 12 III. Contexts and Emergence of the Jesus Movement and Early Christianity
Chapter 13 10. Early Christianity as an Unorganized Ecumenical Religious Movement
Chapter 14 11. Jesus and Palestinian Social Protest: Archaeological and Literary Perspectives
Chapter 15 12. Civilizational Encounters in the Development of Early Christianity
Chapter 16 13. Early Christian Culture as Interaction
Chapter 17 14. Becoming Christian: Solidifying Christian Identity and Content
Chapter 18 15. Sociological Insights into the Development of Christian Leadership Roles and Community Function
Chapter 19 16. Establishing Social Distance between Christians and Both Jews and Pagans
Chapter 20 IV. Power, Inequality, and Difference
Chapter 21 17. Connections with Elites in the World of Early Christians
Chapter 22 18. Government and Public Law in Galilee, Judea, Hellenistic Cities and the Roman Empire
Chapter 23 19. Persecution
Chapter 24 20. Vulnerable Power: The Roman Empire Challenged by the Early Christians
Chapter 25 21. The Limits of Ethnic Categories
Chapter 26 V. Economic Questions
Chapter 27 22. Economy of First-Century Palestine: State of the Scholarly Discussion
Chapter 28 23. Modes and Relations of Production
Chapter 29 24. What Would You Do for a Living?
Chapter 30 VI. Psycho-Social Approaches and Phenomena
Chapter 31 25. Conflicting Bases of Identity in Early Christianity: The Example of Paul
Chapter 32 26. A Psychoanalytical Study of Fratricidal Conflict in the Context of First-Century Palestine
Chapter 33 27. Conversion to Early Christianity

Editorial Reviews

Grouped under six topic headings, the 27 contributions include both topical surveys and case studies illustrating applied theory. Three articles introduce New Testament social scientific criticism. The selected articles that follow reflect accurately the volume's title by covering specific, but often neglected, social-scientific approaches such as archaeology, literary criticism, stylometric analysis, rhetorical criticism, psychology of religion, and structuralism alongside expected sociological topics like the sociology of knowledge, group formation and identity, the politics of power, and economics... The volume's comprehensive bibliography is ... complemented by lists of both ancient authors and compilations of ancient sources, along with author, biblical citation, and subject indexes.

Choice Reviews - J. C. Hanges

Insightful... the book [belongs] in every library that has an interest in the social-scientific analysis of earliest Christianity.

Bridges - Michael J. Gorman

A helpful introduction to socio-scientific methods for interpreting the New Testament and reconstructing first-century Christianity…an enormous resource for sociologists and New Testament scholars alike who are attempting to understand each other's disciplines and their intersection.

Sociology of Religion: A Quarterly Review

A helpful introduction to socio-scientific methods for interpreting the New Testament and reconstructing first-century Christianity…an enormous resource for sociologists and New Testament scholars alike who are attempting to understand each other's disciplines and their intersection.

Sociology of Religion: A Quarterly Review

Grouped under six topic headings, the 27 contributions include both topical surveys and case studies illustrating applied theory. Three articles introduce New Testament social scientific criticism. The selected articles that follow reflect accurately the volume's title by covering specific, but often neglected, social-scientific approaches such as archaeology, literary criticism, stylometric analysis, rhetorical criticism, psychology of religion, and structuralism alongside expected sociological topics like the sociology of knowledge, group formation and identity, the politics of power, and economics... The volume's comprehensive bibliography is ... complemented by lists of both ancient authors and compilations of ancient sources, along with author, biblical citation, and subject indexes.
— J. C. Hanges, Miami University

Choice

A helpful introduction to socio-scientific methods for interpreting the New Testament and reconstructing first-century Christianity…an enormous resource for sociologists and New Testament scholars alike who are attempting to understand each other's disciplines and their intersection.

Sociology of Religion

Insightful... the book [belongs] in every library that has an interest in the social-scientific analysis of earliest Christianity.
— Michael J. Gorman, The Ecumenical Institute of Theology, St. Mary's Seminary & University

Bridges

A helpful introduction to socio-scientific methods for interpreting the New Testament and reconstructing first-century Christianity…an enormous resource for sociologists and New Testament scholars alike who are attempting to understand each other's disciplines and their intersection.

Sociology Of Religion