Christianity in the Roman Empire: Key Figures, Beliefs, and Practices of the Early Church (AD 100-300)

169 Pages·2018·1.495 MB·English

by  Robert E. Winn

Christianity in the Roman Empire

R O B E R T E . W I N N
in the Roman
Empire
Key Figures, Beliefs, and Practices
of the Early Church
AD 100 to 300
Christianity in the Roman Empire: Key Figures, Beliefs, and Practices of the
Early Church (AD 100–300)
© 2018 by Robert E. Winn
Hendrickson Publishers Marketing, LLC
P. O. Box 3473
Peabody, Massachusetts 01961-3473
www.hendrickson.com
ISBN 978-1-68307-182-2
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sion in writing from the publisher.
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tional Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used
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Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are taken from the Holy Bible, English
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Scripture quotations marked (NRSV) are from the New Revised Standard Ver-
sion of the Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the
National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America, and
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Printed in the United States of America
First Printing—November 2018
Cover design by Karol Bailey.
Classical column on cover derived from illustration by iStock.com/lublubachka.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication
Names: Winn, Robert E., author.
Title: Christianity in the Roman Empire : key figures, beliefs, and practices
of the early Church (ad 100-300) / Robert E. Winn.
Description: Peabody, MA : Hendrickson Publishers, 2018. | Includes
bibliographical references.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018028345 | ISBN 9781683071822 (alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Church history--Primitive and early church, ca. 30-600.
Classification: LCC BR165 .W66 2018 | DDC 270.1--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018028345
Table of Contents
Preface ix
Part I: Christianity in the Year 100
1. Christians, Jews, and Romans in the First Century 5
2. A New Way of Life: Didache and The Epistle of Barnabas 13
3. Clement of Rome and the Church of Corinth 21
4. Ignatius of Antioch and True Christianity 28
5. Worship and Church Order in the Year 100 37
Part II: Christianity in a Hostile World (AD 100–250)
6. Celsus, a Critic of Christianity 49
7. Justin Martyr, a Defender of Christianity 57
8. The Persecution of Christians 65
9. The Martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicity 73
10. Cyprian of Carthage and the Unity of the Church 82
Part III: Faith and Practice in the Third Century
11. Reading the Bible with Early Christians 95
12. Irenaeus of Lyons and True Christianity 103
13. Tertullian of Carthage and True Christianity 110
14. Prayer and the Spiritual Life of Early Christians 118
15. Eusebius of Caesarea: After Two Hundred Years 126
What to Read Next 135
Notes 139
Bibliography 155

viii Christianity in the Roman Empire
Preface ix
Preface
There are many books about early Christianity. Some focus in
great detail on the theological development of the church, some
focus on individual theologians, some focus on topics in early
Christianity, and some focus on the cultural and political context
for the rise of Christianity. Some of these books are intended for a
learned audience, while others are intended for a general audience.
Most of the authors of these books are Christians, a few are not.
My first order of business, then, is to explain why we need another
book on early Christianity. To do that, I am going to describe the
audience I have in mind.
This is a book for the general reader who is a Christian or is
interested in Christianity. While someone may encounter this book
in an undergraduate classroom or pick it up and read it on their
own, the audience I have in mind is adults who will read and dis-
cuss this in community: a traditional Sunday school class, a small
group or home group, or a reading group. This goes a long way to
explain the format of the book.
There are fifteen short chapters in this book, and these chapters
move chronologically through early Christianity from about AD
100 to 300. The chapters are grouped into three parts, and each part
addresses a general question about the early church: (1) what was
Christianity like around the year AD 100? (2) How did Christians
respond to persecution in the Roman World? and (3) How did early
Christians deepen their faith and cultivate a spiritual life in the
midst of their hostile world? Each chapter concludes with questions