Greco-Roman Associations, Deities, and Early Christianity

Bruce W. Longenecker (Ph.D. University of Durham) is Graduate Professor of Religion and W. W. Melton Chair in the Baylor University Department of Religion. He is the author or editor of numerous books including In Stone and Story: Early Christianity in the Roman World (2020), The Cross before Constantine: The Early Life of a Christian Symbol (2015), Remember the Poor: Paul, Poverty, and The Greco-Roman World (2010), Rhetoric at the Boundaries: The Art and Theology of New Testament Chain-Link Transitions (2005), and Luke, Paul and the Graeco-Roman World (2002).

1 Greco-Roman Associations and the Origins of Christianity: Taking Stock of Where We Are, by Bruce W. Longenecker Part One: Angles of Vision 2 House Church or Association? Soem Reflections on Models and Usefulness, by Peter Oakes 3 Suspicion, Integration, and Roman Attitudes toward Associations, by Eric J. Brewer 4 Working with the Gods: Occupational Associations and Early Christ Groups, by Richard S. Ascough 5 Stinking Leatherworkers and Noisy Street Criers: Paul, Occupational Stigma, and the Sensory Politics of Associations, by Louise J. Lawrence 6 Dressing for Deities: Functions and Meanings of Dress within Ancient Associations, by Alicia J. Batten 7 The Prestige of the Gods, the Urban Elites, and the Local Associations: Assessing Honorific Rituals among the Early Christians, by James R. Harrison 8 The Meals of Christ Groups in Comparative Perspective, by John S. Kloppenborg 9 F(r)ee Membership of Christ Groups, by Timothy J. Murray 10 Women Benefactors and Early Christ Groups, by Susan E. Benton 11 Aid among Greco-Roman Associations and Christ Groups, by Robert E. Moses 12 Burial Communities: Associations and Christ Groups, by Markus OEhler 13 Retiring Religious Associations, by Eric Rebillard 14 ???????? and Semi-public Associations: Greco-Roman, Judean, and Christos Followers, by Ralph J. Korner 15 Christianization and the Decline of Elective Cults Revisited: Competitors or Cohabitants? by Christina Gousopoulos Part Two: Focal Points 16 From Analogy to Identity: Did an Association of Leatherworkers "Turn" into the Thessalonian Church? by Timothy A. Brookins 17 Configuring Time in Roman Macedonia: Identity and Differentiation in Paul's Thessalonian Christ Group, by Bruce W. Longenecker 18 Conflict and Honor in the Ancient Epistle: Or, How an Egyptian Funerary Association Illuminates Rivalry at Corinth, by Sarah E. Rollens 19 The Significance of ?????? for the Meaning of Paul's Collection in 1 and 2 Corinthians, by Philip F. Esler 20 The Benefaction-Reward Convention in Greco-Roman Private Associations and Paul's Jerusalem Collection, by Jin Hwan Lee 21 Reading Hebrews in a Roman Vicus with Voluntary Associations, by Jason A. Whitlark 22 Julian Christ Worshippers and Their Connection to a Collegium in First-Century Lyon: Reintroducing the Epitaph of Julia Adepta, by Richard Last 23 "Many Have Sold Themselves into Slavery": Voluntary Imprisonment and Slavery, Survival Strategies among Associations, and the Reception of 1 Corinthians in 1 Clement 55, by David J. Downs 24 Mystery Cults and Christian Associations in Early Alexandrian Theology: The Case of Clement of Alexandria, by T. J. Lang

There is so much to like about this collection of essays. First and foremost, it represents the maturation of an enterprise; no longer is the utility of associations in the study of Christian origins being defended. --Zeba Crook "Review of Biblical Literature"