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The patient ferment of the early church : the improbable rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire / Alan Kreider.

By: Material type: TextPublication details: Grand Rapids, MI.: Baker Academic, c2016Description: xiii, 321 p ; 23 cmISBN:
  • 9780801048494
  • 0801048494
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 270.1 23
LOC classification:
  • BR162.3 .K74 2016
Contents:
Growth and patience. The improbable growth of the church -- The good of patience -- Push and pull -- Ferment. Christians as agents of growth -- Communities as cultures of patience -- Forming the habitus. Catechesis and baptism -- Worship -- "Wise doves" in the Didascalia apostolorum -- The transformation of patience. The impatience of Constantine -- Augustine and the just impatience.
Summary: How and why did the early church grow in the first four hundred years despite disincentives, harassment, and occasional persecution? In this unique historical study, veteran scholar Alan Kreider delivers the fruit of a lifetime of study as he tells the amazing story of the spread of Christianity in the Roman Empire. Challenging traditional understandings, Kreider contends the church grew because the virtue of patience was of central importance in the life and witness of the early Christians. They wrote about patience, not evangelism, and reflected on prayer, catechesis, and worship, yet the church grew -- not by specific strategies but by patient ferment.
Item type: Books
Holdings
Cover image Item type Current library Home library Collection Shelving location Call number Materials specified Vol info URL Copy number Status Notes Date due Barcode Item holds Item hold queue priority Course reserves
Judith Thomas Library General Stacks Books BR 162.3 .K74 2016 (Browse shelf(Opens below)) AUA018589 Available AUA018589

Includes bibliographical references (pages 297-313) and index.

Growth and patience. The improbable growth of the church -- The good of patience -- Push and pull -- Ferment. Christians as agents of growth -- Communities as cultures of patience -- Forming the habitus. Catechesis and baptism -- Worship -- "Wise doves" in the Didascalia apostolorum -- The transformation of patience. The impatience of Constantine -- Augustine and the just impatience.

How and why did the early church grow in the first four hundred years despite disincentives, harassment, and occasional persecution? In this unique historical study, veteran scholar Alan Kreider delivers the fruit of a lifetime of study as he tells the amazing story of the spread of Christianity in the Roman Empire. Challenging traditional understandings, Kreider contends the church grew because the virtue of patience was of central importance in the life and witness of the early Christians. They wrote about patience, not evangelism, and reflected on prayer, catechesis, and worship, yet the church grew -- not by specific strategies but by patient ferment.