Families in the New Testament World: Households and House Churches

by Carolyn A. Osiek, David L. Balch

Overview

What was the family like for the first Christians? Informed by archaeological work and illustrated by figures, this work is a remarkable window into the past, one that both informs and illuminates our current condition.

The Family, Culture, and Religion series offers informed and responsible analyses of the state of the American family from a religious perspective and provides practical assistance for the family's revitalization.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780664255466
Publisher:	Westminster John Knox Press
Publication date:	04/01/1997
Series:	Family, Religion, and Culture
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	342
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.76(d)

About the Author

Carolyn A. Osiek is Catholic Distinguished Visiting Professor of New Testament at Brite Divinity School, Texas Christian University, in Fort Worth, Texas.

David L. Balch is Professor of New Testament at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley, California. He is the author or coauthor of many books, including Families in the New Testament World: Households and House Churches; Early Christian Families in Context; and Homosexuality, Science, and the "Plain Sense" of Scripture.

Editorial Reviews

"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."
—Theology Today

Eric Mount