From Symposium to Eucharist: The Banquet in the Early Christian World

by Dennis E. Smith

Publisher:

Fortress Press

, 2003

Overview

Table fellowship in the ancient Mediterranean was more than food consumption. From Plato on down, banquets held an important place in creating community, sharing values, and connecting with the divine. In this groundbreaking volume, Dennis E. Smith presents the latest research on banquets in the ancient world and the light it sheds on the biblical view of table fellowship. Smith offers a thorough discussion Greco-Roman, philosophical, sacrificial, club, Jewish, and Christian banquets, and uses these emerging images to better understand the context and significance of the banquet in Scripture and Christian theology.

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Key Features

• Presents the latest research on banquets in the ancient world
• Sheds light on the biblical view of table fellowship
• Analyzes the significance of the banquet in Scripture and Christian theology

Contents

• The Banquet as Social Institution
• The Greco-Roman Banquet
• The Philosophical Banquet
• The Sacrificial Banquet
• The Clulb Banquet
• The Jewish Banquet
• the Banquet in the Churches of Paul
• The Banquet in the Gospels
• The Banquet and Christian Theology

Praise for the Print Edition

Smith’s fine-grained analysis of Greco-Roman dining customs and the literary conventions surrounding the symposium is a breakthrough that sets the New Testament data on meals into their rightful cultural and historical contexts. Smith sheds new light on vital issues concerning the historical Jesus, Paul’s theology and ethics, and the development of early Christian worship. This is a definitive study on a fundamental topic in Christian origins.

—Robert J. Miller, author, The Jesus Seminar and Its Critics

A veritable feast of information on the cultural, religious, and social backgrounds to the social bonding and community formation at meals in early Christian communities. Smith provides a wealth of material for a new analysis of the impact that Greco-Roman meal customs had on the creation of community in the early church. His work has great significance for many areas of New Testament study, including Christian origins, gospel studies, and Pauline studies. Sure to become a classic resource for the social, religious, and cultural background of the New Testament as a whole.

—Kathleen E. Corley, professor of New Testament and Christianity, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh

Product Details

• Title: From Symposium to Eucharist: The Banquet in the Early Christian World
• Author: Dennis E. Smith
• Publisher: Fortress Press
• Print Publication Date: 2003
• Logos Release Date: 2014
• Pages: 424
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subject: Lord’s Supper › History
• ISBNs: 0800634896, 9780800634896
• Resource ID: LLS:SYMPSMECHRST
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T03:16:04Z

About Dennis E. Smith

Dr. Smith specializes in the study of the social world of early Christianity and is a recognized authority on ancient Greco-Roman meal customs. A longtime student of Greek and Roman archeology, he recently participated in a research seminar on the archeological context for Christian origins held at the ancient site of Ephesus in Selcuk, Turkey. In his teaching he emphasizes interpreting the New Testament in its ancient context and creatively and effectively applying that interpretation to the needs of the church in the twenty-first century. His recent course offerings include New Testament Greek, Introduction to the New Testament, the Gospel of Luke, the Acts of the Apostles, the Gospel of John, 1 Corinthians, Galatians, the Social World of Early Christianity, Storytelling and the Bible, and a DMin seminar on Hospitality as a Biblical Paradigm for Ministry. Major publications include: The Chalice Introduction to the New Testament (St. Louis: Chalice Press, 2004); From Symposium to Eucharist: The Banquet in the Early Christian World (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003); Many Tables: The Eucharist in the New Testament and Liturgy Today (London: SCM, 1990); five edited volumes of The Storyteller’s Companion to the Bible (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1996-2006), including The Storyteller’s Companion to the Bible, Volume Ten: John, which he authored (1996); and numerous articles and book reviews in scholarly journals. Dr. Smith is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature, for which he co-chairs the Seminar on Meals in the Greco-Roman World; a member of the Westar Institute, for which he chairs the Acts Seminar and serves on the steering committee for the Jesus Seminar on Christian Origins; and a member of the Association of Disciples for Theological Discussion, for which he recently served as president. An ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), he joined the PTS faculty in 1986.