Wealth and Poverty in Early Church and Society
- Theology
- History & Biography
- Publisher: Baker Academic (Baker Publishing Group)
- Published: 2008
FritzSearch.com earns a commission on purchases made through Bookshop.org links.
Publisher's Description
Wealth and poverty are issues of perennial importance in the life and thought of the church. This volume brings patristic thought to bear on these vital issues. The contributors offer explanations of poverty in the New Testament period, explore developments among Christians in Egypt and Asia Minor and in early Byzantium, and connect patristic theology with contemporary public policy and religious dialogue. This volume inaugurates Holy Cross Studies in Patristic Theology and History, a partnership between Baker Academic and the Stephen and Catherine Pappas Patristic Institute of Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, Massachusetts. The series is a deliberate outreach by the Orthodox community to Protestant and Catholic seminarians, pastors, and theologians. In these multiauthor books, contributors from all traditions focus on the patristic (especially Greek patristic) heritage. Series Editorial BoardRobert J. Daly, SJ, Boston CollegeBruce N. Beck, The Stephen and Catherine Pappas Patristic Institute François Bovon, Harvard Divinity SchoolDemetrios S. Katos, Hellenic CollegeSusan R. Holman, PovertyStudies.orgAristotle Papanikolaou, Fordham UniversityJames Skedros, Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology
Endorsements (4)
“This is a splendid book, a substantial contribution on a topic of perennial import for scholars of religion and theology. The essays collected here offer important reassessments of scholarship to date. They present fresh, vivid material and provide revised models through which to study, reflect upon, and respond to deprivation and surplus as realities in antiquity and in our own time. Practical, pragmatic considerations are interwoven with cultural, historical, and theological analyses. Excellent work throughout!”
“The social obligations of the wealthy and the needs of the poor in the teachings and practices of early Christians are examined in these essays with rich insight, having much contemporary value. The authors remind us that for the patristic mind, virtue cannot be separated from piety and learning. To praise the living God as philanthrōpos and to recall his saving actions require also a genuine love for human persons, especially the poor.”
“In this collection of essays, the reader will find insightful questions raised and conclusions made concerning the early Christian perspectives of need and surplus. It is refreshing to find careful attention paid to the kind of complexities that existed in the minds of those who wrote, directly or (mostly) indirectly, on these matters.”
“This volume is a rarity: a collection of conference papers that is both coherent and consistently excellent. Ably edited by Susan R. Holman, these essays explore a wide variety of texts and topics from diverse methodological perspectives, but they never lose sight of the primary theme of the book: the problem of poverty and the appropriate Christian response to it. The outstanding contributors deftly balance theological and rhetorical analysis with attention to social and economic contexts. The result is an essential contribution to the historical reconstruction of early Christian moral traditions and their theological retrieval today.”
See something wrong on this page? Report a problem