Product Description

In many places the New Testament reflects the Roman Empire's values of social stability, but at the same time, other passages make strong statements that seem to be against the family. What was the family like for the first Christians? How did they combine their family values and their new faith? When there were conflicts between family and faith, how did early Christians make choices between them? Osiek and Balch provide solid scholarship on these issues, informed by archaeological work and illustrated by figures and photographs.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #846812 in Books
• Published on: 1997-04-15
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: 1.16 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 340 pages

Eric Mount, Jr. book review in Theology Today, April 1998
"Billed as 'the most comprehensive discussion of the family in early Christianity in any language,' the study explores the transformation the Christianity effected on the Greco-Roman family using everything from floor plans to classical references. The coverage includes the different systems of honor and shame for men and women in that culture, the confinement of women (who were thought to be less able to control their sex drive), and the abstinence ideal which was medically recommended to avoid debilitation and even death. Despite its shortcomings with respect to women, Christianity turns out to be one of the least patriarchal religions of the ancient world. While the symbolically significant ritual meals of the culture underlined boundaries and differences in status, Christian meals crossed boundaries and transformed status."

Ingram
The authors attempt to profile the family in New Testament times, seeking to discover how Christians combined their family values and their new faith, and how Christians decided when their faith and social values collided.