The Religious Context of Early Christianity: A Guide to Graeco-Roman Religions

by Hans-Josef Klauck

Publisher:

Fortress Press

, 2000

Overview

Klauck has written a college-level reference to the religious practices that were common and widespread at the inception of Christianity. He examines antiquarian sacrificial cults; popular belief systems of the day—astrology, magic and soothsaying; the imperial cult worship of rulers and emperors; and Gnostic transformation. The Religious Context of Early Christianity is a scholarly researched and meticulously presented reference work, which is a welcome addition to Christian studies in that it provides contextual information regarding Christianity’s place in the Graeco-Roman empire.

Contents

Top Highlights

“The normal form of sacrifice for Greeks and Romans was the so-called slaughter-sacrifice which was followed by a sacrificial meal.” (Page 13)

“follows: ‘Animal sacrifice is a ritualised slaughter followed by a meat meal.’” (Page 17)

“An insistence on the correct carrying out of the ritual was also characteristic of Roman religion, and remained so. The ceremonies must be correct down to the very last detail, and nothing might be altered in them.” (Page 30)

“In his diagnosis, religion, in the widest sense of this word, has its origin in the managing of experiences of contingency in nature and in human life.” (Page 9)

“The critical eye will see clearly that the specific characteristic of Christianity in many cases is to be found less in the details and the individual aspects than in the total pattern and in the unifying centre-point, which gives structure to the Christian universe of meaning. Besides this, the acceptance and assimilation of foreign influences can also be assessed positively, as a sign of the integrative power of the Christian faith, which is capable of fusing the different elements together.” (Pages 5–6)

Praise for the Print Edition

Klauck’s approach is to select the material most important for the students of early Christianity. . . . One can say without hesitation that the author has succeeded admirably in his attempt at compressing vast fields of complicated materials into a survey that is both manageable and informative. His key to success was concentration on matters of fundamental importance and prudent selection of primary texts, coupled with interpretation and bibliographies reflecting the current state of research. . . . Klauck’s work represents a major achievement.

—Hans Dieter Betz, Journal of Biblical Literature

Product Details

• Title: The Religious Context of Early Christianity: A Guide to Graeco-Roman Religions
• Author: Hans-Josef Klauck
• Publisher: Fortress
• Publication Date: 2000
• Pages: 540

About Hans-Josef Klauck

Naomi Shenstone Donnelley Professor of New Testament and Early, University of Chicago Divinity School.