One in Christ Jesus: Essays on Early Christianity and All That Jazz in Honor of S. Scott Bartchy

This Festschrift dedicated to S. Scott Bartchy comes on the occasion of his retirement from the Department of History at the University of California at Los Angeles. This volume contains seventeen essays contributed by Professor Bartchys esteemed colleagues associates friends and former graduate students. Beginning with his groundbreaking work on Greco-Roman slavery Bartchys teaching and research have been marked both by his use of social-scientific methods for studying the New Testament and by an interest in the social history of early Christianity including the role of women in the early Christian assemblies the Christian critique of traditional views of male honor and the practice of table fellowship and its implications for Christian social relations. To honor Bartchys legacy the editors thought it appropriate to organize this collection according to the relational categories suggested by Galatians 3:28. Each essay pertains therefore to the social dynamics between Jews and Gentiles slaves and freeborn or males and females in the early church and beyond. The volumes subtitle reflects Scotts many accomplishments as a jazz musician and sounds a note of unity in diversity that characterizes the diverse perspectives and themes found in the essays of this volume. Scott Bartchys many years of scholarship has had a profound impact on the world of learning in relation to sociopolitical and religious power structures in Mediterranean antiquity social ethics gender studies functional Christology and New Testament theology. The essays which have been freshly produced and collected in this book both reflect Bartchys legacy and underscore why it is that the issues to which he devoted so much of his work will hardly die away. --Loren T. Stuckenbruck Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich Germany The editors of this collection have assembled an international team to honor a worthy scholar. In so doing the contributors have themselves pushed forward our knowledge of the field. The chapters of the Festschrift reflect Bartchys lifelong interests in ancient slavery womens rights and the social-science interpretation of the Bible. This volume advances the conversation in helpful ways. --David A. Fiensy Kentucky Christian University Grayson KY I have always been dazzled by Scott Bartchys brilliance and virtuosity. Now come the writers of One in Christ Jesus to prove my admiration has not been misplaced; this Festshrifts carefully honed meticulously researched essays reflect these enviable Bartchian traits and more. He has infected the writers with his lifelong drive to discover the truth the whole inspiring and discomforting truth about the origins of the Christian faith and its present-day implications. The result is restorative. --LeRoy Lawson Emmanuel Christian Seminary Johnson City TN David Lertis Matson is Professor of Biblical Studies at Hope International University in Fullerton California. He is the author of Household Conversion Narratives in Acts: Pattern and Interpretation (1996). K. C. Richardson is Associate Professor of Biblical Studies at Hope International University in Fullerton California.