Volume 30, Number 12 · July 21, 1983
Born Again
By Elaine H. Pagels
The First Urban Christians: The Social World of the Apostle Paul
by Wayne A. Meeks
Yale University Press, 299 pp., $19.95
'What was it like to become and be an ordinary Christian in the first century?' The question that opens Professor Wayne Meeks's impressive new book seems an obvious starting point for understanding the early Christian movement. How did this foreign cult, which Roman leaders prosecuted as an 'atheistic' and illegal society, suspected of criminal activities, and regarded as antithetical to the values of Roman civilization, succeed in becoming, to the astonishment of both its enemies and its enthusiasts, the official religion of the Roman empire?
Review, 2283 words
To read the full text of this piece, please choose one of the following options:
|
If you are already a subscriber to the Review's electronic edition, please sign in: |
To subscribe to the electronic edition, please press the button below. |
To purchase access to this article for $3, please press the button below. |