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Book contents
- The Origins of Early Christian Literature
- The Origins of Early Christian Literature
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations
- Note on the Text
- Introduction
- 1 The Myth of Christian Origins
- 2 The Romantic “Big Bang”
- 3 Authorship in Antiquity
- 4 Redescribing Early Christian Literature
- 5 The Gospels as Subversive Biography
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
1 - The Myth of Christian Origins
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 January 2021
- The Origins of Early Christian Literature
- The Origins of Early Christian Literature
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations
- Note on the Text
- Introduction
- 1 The Myth of Christian Origins
- 2 The Romantic “Big Bang”
- 3 Authorship in Antiquity
- 4 Redescribing Early Christian Literature
- 5 The Gospels as Subversive Biography
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Chapter 1 discusses how the categories of analysis traditionally used by scholars of the New Testament and early Christianity can be refined, with critical attention paid to terminology, vocabulary, and anachronism. Invoking the work of J. Z. Smith, Stanley Stowers, Eric Hobsbawm, and others, this chapter challenges how Christianity was rhetorically “invented” after the first century and how a figure like Paul the Apostle was transformed into one of the founders of Christianity, despite questions about how effective his so-called ministry was at creating cohesion about presumed Christian “communities.”
Keywords
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- Chapter
- Information
- The Origins of Early Christian LiteratureContextualizing the New Testament within Greco-Roman Literary Culture, pp. 20 - 49Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021