Anyone can recommend a book about 1st century christianity?

by zakheyold 7 Replies latest jw friends

  • zakheyold
    zakheyold

    I just finished "La vie quotidienne des premiers chretiens. 95-197" ("Early christians' daily life") by A.-G. Hamman. It describes everyday life of 2nd century christians. Is there such a good book about 1st century christianity?

  • Old Goat
    Old Goat

    Alan F. Segal's Paul the Convert, Yale University Press, 1990

  • designs
    designs

    The Early Christian Community by Henry Chadwick

  • Black Sheep
  • poor places
    poor places

    Misquoting Jesus by Bart Ehrman is great. He has other good books too.

  • Meeting Junkie No More
    Meeting Junkie No More

    I just happened to be at the book store earlier today and saw "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Early Christianity", on sale for $4.99! I guess they've now got a Complete Idiot's Guide to just about everything. I can't vouch for it as I haven't read it, but it would probably have something to say about 1st Century Christianity.

  • FreeAtLast1914
    FreeAtLast1914

    "A History of Christianity" by Paul Johnson (1979)

  • sir82
    sir82

    Why on earth would you need such a book?

    The WT is full of stories and illustrations about 1st Christianity!

    Believe it or not, subsistence farmers could afford to buy large scrolls which they carried along with them in their door to door preaching work!

    Those same subsistence farmers & fishermen could, one and all, read and write fluently!

    When the Pharisees marvelled at their being "unlettered", that didn't mean "illiterate! Oh no! They meant that they were surprised they didn't have university degrees! Yes indeedy, 1st century universities were identical to their 21st century counterparts - they granted degrees which were abbreviated by letters!

    Women and children raised their hands to comment at meetings which were eerily similar to 21st century JW meetings!

    A centralized governing body in Jerusalem regularly sent out letters to all congregations setting forth policy and doctrine!

    As one brain-dead suck-up MS-wanna-be-elder commented in a meeting not long ago, "When you read the book of Acts, it's amazing how similar the 1st century congregation to our time!"

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