Ancient Education and Early Christianity

Description

What was the relationship of ancient education to early Christianity? This volume provides an in-depth look at different approaches currently employed by scholars who draw upon educational settings in the ancient world to inform their historical research in Christian origins. The book is divided into two sections: one consisting of essays on education in the ancient world, and one consisting of exegetical studies dealing with various passages where motifs emerging from ancient educational culture provide illumination. The chapters summarize the state of the discussion on ancient education in classical and biblical studies, examine obstacles to arriving at a comprehensive theory of early Christianity's relationship to ancient education, compare different approaches, and compile the diverse methodologies into one comparative study. Several educational motifs are integrated in order to demonstrate the exegetical insights that they may yield when utilized in New Testament historical investigation and interpretation.

Andrew W. Pitts is an Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies at Arizona Christian University, USA. Matthew Ryan Hauge is Associate Professor of Biblical Studies at Azusa Pacific University in California, USA.

The essays in this volume offer fresh perspectives on ancient education and the NT. They endorse a novel and promising approach to the sources of early Christianity, contributing to an understanding of its nature and course. * Neotestamentica * In a welcome development, biblical scholars are increasingly devoting their attention to ancient literary education. The various essays in Ancient Education and Early Christianity contribute to this end, foregrounding topics such as the texts used for educational purposes (including the Torah, Paul's letters, and the Didache) and the influence of the progymnasmata on the composition of early Christian narratives ... Librarians should add this volume to their collections on early Christianity. * Religious Studies Review * The collection illustrates well how insights from classical studies can and arguably should be used ... by scholars of early Christianity investigating subjects ranging from NT exegesis, to reception history, to Christian material culture. * Journal for the Study of the New Testament * The interweaving of culture, history and educational traditions with the development of a new religious tradition powerfully reminds us of the time-bound reality of early Christian origins, and the critical importance of a broad and deep understanding of the diverse educational world where the seeds of this new religious tradition first took root. -- Paul Grover * Journal of Education and Christian Belief *