The religion of the earliest churches
Subtitle: creating a symbolic world
By: Gerd Theissen ; translated by John Bowden.
Publisher: Fortress Press
Published: 2000
Place of publication: Minneapolis, MN
Language: eng
Number of pages: 393
Subjects: Christianity -- Essence, genius, nature -- History; Christianity -- Origin; Church history -- Primitive and early church, ca. 30-600
Description: "In these Oxford lectures, Theissen picks up where he left off in The Historical Jesus: A Comprehensive Guide (1998). Employing the notion of religion as a "cultural sign language that promises a gain in life by corresponding to an ultimate reality," he plots the emergence of Christianity as a religion, with elements of myth, ritual, ethics, and an emergent symbolic system.

He expands upon the historical, social, and theological analysis of his earlier works to cover such issues as the relationship of Jesus to the earliest churches, power, possessions, interpretations of Jesus' death, and the separation of the church and synagogue."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [308]-374) and indexes.