The Urban World and the First Christians

by Steve Walton, Paul Trebilco, David W. J. Gill

Overview

In the tradition of The First Urban Christians by Wayne Meeks, this book explores the relationship between the earliest Christians and the city environment. Experts in classics, early Christianity, and human geography analyze the growth, development, and self-understanding of the early Christian movement in urban settings.

The book's contributors first look at how the urban physical, cultural, and social environments of the ancient Mediterranean basin affected the ways in which early Christianity progressed. They then turn to how the earliest Christians thought and theologized in their engagement with cities. With a rich variety of expertise and scholarship, The Urban World and the First Christians is an important contribution to the understanding of early Christianity.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802874511
Publisher:	Eerdmans, William B. Publishing Company
Publication date:	09/18/2017
Pages:	404
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Paul Trebilco is professor of theology and head of theDepartment of Theology and Religious Studies at theUniversity of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. He has alsowritten Jewish Communities in Asia Minor."

David W. J. Gill is professor of archaeological heritage and director of heritage futures at the University of Suffolk.

Table of Contents

Contributors viii

Abbreviations x

Cities as More Than "Scenery": The Editors xii

I Early Christianity in Its Ancient Urban Setting(s)

Complicating the Category of Ethnos toward Poliscentrism: A Possible Way Forward within Second Temple Ethnography Anthony Le Donne 3

Paul, Pentecost, and the Nomosphere: The Final Return to Jerusalem in the Acts of the Apostles Matthew Sleeman 20

Paul's Caesarea Joan E. Taylor 42

Early Christianity in Its Colonial Contexts in the Provinces of the Eastern Empire David W. J. Gill 68

Diaspora Jewish Attitudes to Metropolis: Philo and Paul on Balanced Personalities, Split Loyalties, Jerusalem, and Rome Jutta Leonhardt-Balzer 86

Paul's Mission Strategy in the Urban Landscape of the First-Century Roman Empire Volker Rabens 99

"Outside the City Gate": Center and Periphery in Paul's Preaching in Philippi Cédric Brélaz 123

The City as Foil (Not Friend nor Foe): Conformity and Subversion in 1 Corinthians 12:12-31 Helen Morris 141

Engaging-or Not Engaging-the City: Reading 1 and 2 Timothy and the Johannine Letters in the City of Ephesus Paul R. Trebilco 160

Urbanization and Literate Status in Early Christian Rome: Hermas and Justin Martyr as Examples Chris Keith 187

Alexandria ad Aegyptum: The City That Inspired a Polyphony of Early Christian Theologies Piotr Ashwin-Siejkowski 205

II Early Christian Thinking about Cities

City of God or Home of Traitors and Killers? Jerusalem according to Matthew Anders Runesson 219

Heavenly Citizenship and Earthly Authorities: Philippians 1:27 and 3:20 in Dialogue with Acts 16:11-40 Steve Walton 236

Spiritual Geographies of the City: Exploring Spiritual Landscapes in Colossae Paul Cloke 253

Re-Placing 1 Peter: From Place of Origin to Constructions of Space David G. Horrell 271

Repairing Social Vertigo: Spatial Production and Belonging in 1 Peter Wei Hsien Wan 287

Cities of Revelation: A Tale of Two (Kinds of) Cities Ian Paul 304

Conclusion: Research on Urban Christian Communities: Looking Ahead David W. J. Gill Paul R. Trebilco 320

Works Cited 325

Index of Authors 363

Index of Subjects 371

Index of Scripture and Ancient Sources 377

Editorial Reviews

Todd D. Still
— Truett Seminary, Baylor University
“What do you get when you bring together human geographers, classicists, and Neutestamentlers to consider how ancient cities impacted the growth and thought of early Christian communities? Taken together, and along with the work of skilled editors and a strong press, you get The Urban World and the First Christians—a fascinating collection of learned, transdisciplinary essays by leading scholars in their respective fields. These substantive studies will shape your thinking about the urban landscape of the earliest Christ-followers and will lead you to think afresh about Christianity, whether ancient or modern, as an urban phenomenon.”

Peter Oakes
— University of Manchester
“This book brings together an excellent collection of New Testament experts and historians to make fruitful inroads into a range of significant issues in the study of the urban context of early Christianity. Especially valuable is the juxtaposition of studies of particular cities and texts with studies of the idea of city among early Christians and their contemporaries. This will undoubtedly be a key resource in the field.

From the Publisher