Christian Theology and Its Institutions in the Early Roman Empire: Prolegomena to a History of Early Christian Theology (Baylor-Mohr Siebeck Studies in Early Christianity) - Hardcover

Markschies, Chair Of Ancient Christianity And Vice President Christoph

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 316154143X ISBN 13: 9783161541438

Publisher: Mohr Siebeck, 2015

Synopsis

Tension between unity and diversity plagues any attempt to recount the development of earliest Christianity. Explanations run the gamut--from asserting the presence of a fully formed and accepted unity at the beginning of Christianity to the hypothesis that understands orthodox unity as a later imposition upon Christianity by Rome. Christoph Markschies seeks to unravel the complex problem of unity and diversity by carefully examining the institutional settings for the development of Christian theology. Specifically, the author contends that theological diversity is closely bound up with institutional diversity. He concludes by arguing that the complementary model of the "identity" and "plurality" of early Christianity is better equipped to address the question of unity and diversity than Walter Bauer's cultural Protestant model of "orthodoxy and heresy" or the Jesuit model of the "inculturation" of Christianity. Published in North America by Baylor University Press, Waco.

About this title

About the Author

Christoph Markschies is the Chair of Ancient Christianity at Humboldt-Universitat zu Berlin.

Review

"Christian Theology and Its Institutions in the Early Roman Empire is one of the most important books on early Christianity published in the last twenty years. Christoph Markschies lays the groundwork for an innovative history of pre-Nicene theology that takes into account both unity and diversity. Thanks to this excellent translation, even more scholars and students will learn from this exciting study."―David Brakke, Joe R. Engle Chair in the History of Christianity and Professor of History, The Ohio State University

"The translation of Christoph Markschies' Kaiserzeitliche christliche Theologie und ihre Institutionen into English is to be warmly welcomed, both to introduce anglophone readers to a tradition of scholarship, and to provoke a wider discussion of how we may after all speak of early Christian theology."―Judith Lieu, Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity, University of Cambridge

"Rejecting a 'history-of-ideas' approach to the development of Christian theology in the second and third centuries, Markschies explores how the institutional contexts in which theologizing took place shaped the 'plural identity' of ancient Christianity. A significant attempt to move beyond the framework of 'orthodoxy and heresy' in early Christian studies."―Elizabeth A. Clark, John Carlisle Kilgo Professor, Emerita, Duke University

Edition details

• Publisher: Mohr Siebeck
• Publication date: 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 316154143X
• ISBN 13: 9783161541438
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 689