First Christians in Their Social Worlds

By applying perspectives from sociology and anthropology to a wide range of biblical data, The First Christians in Their Social Worlds examines how the New Testament documents were influenced by the social realities of the early Christian communities for whom they were written, with the result that the texts reveal an intimate connection between society and Gospel. Overlaying this theoretical foundation, Philip Esler's book studies specific socio-political ideas in various texts of the New Testament, for example, charismatic phenomena, the admission of Gentiles into early Christian communities, sectarianism and millennarianism and its relationship to political oppression. Preface 1. Social worlds, social sciences and the New Testament 2. Reading the Mediterranean social script 3. Glossolalia and the admission of Gentiles into the early Christian community 4. Sectarianism and the conflict at Antioch 5. Introverted sectarianism at Quran and in the Johannine community 6. Millennialism and Daniel 7 7. The social function of 4 Ezra 8. Sorcery accusations and the Apocalypse References Index