Description |
xxiv, 479 p. : ill. ; 24 cm. |
Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (p. 319-434) and indexes. |
Contents |
Introduction -- The relationship to "New Testament theology" -- The structure of the present work -- Timeline -- Part 1. Roots and starting points -- Second Temple Judaism -- Greco-Roman religion and philosophy -- Events, persons, sources -- Part 2. Basic problems and solutions -- Last things first : God, history, and beyond -- After death : the destiny of the individual -- Sold under sin? the human condition -- What must I do to be saved? different paths to salvation -- True man or true God? the mediator of salvation -- The empowering presence : experiences and doctrines of the Spirit -- True Israel? from Jewish to Christian identity -- Strangers in a transitory world : Christians and pagans -- Toward Christian Orthodoxy -- Conclusion : Common ground and diversity in early Christian thought. |
Summary |
Heikki Raisanen offers a historical survey of the roots and first growth of the thoughts, values, and practices of the early Christians and explains the evolution of Christian belief in terms of vital adaptations to specific challenges. An ideal textbook for university introductory courses on the New Testament and Early Christianity, The Rise of Christian Beliefs offers chapters discussing paradigmatic events the life and death of Jesus and experiences of Easter, principal figures and groups, last things and afterlife, savior figures and the human condition, ethnicity, identity, and morality, and ritual community life. |
Subject |
Church history -- Primitive and early church, approximately 30-600.
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Theology, Doctrinal -- History -- Early church, approximately 30-600.
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Christianity -- Origin.
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ISBN |
9780800662660 (pbk. : alk. paper) |
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0800662660 (pbk. : alk. paper) |
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