After the First Urban Christians: The Social-Scientific Study of Pauline Christianity Twenty-Five Years Later

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This year marks the twenty-five anniversary of the publication of The First Urban Christians by Wayne A. Meeks. In this now-classic work Meeks examined the socio-historical context of Pauline Christianity through the lens of Paul's letters. After The First Urban Christians, edited by Todd D. Still and David G. Horrell, is a collection of seven essays written by established scholars, plus an epilog authored by Meeks himself, that revisits and updates Meeks's landmark volume. Furthermore, After The First Urban Christians offers fresh lines of inquiry for the future study of Paul and his churches in their social setting.

Reviews

This is a fine volume, well-researched and more than adequately fulfilling the aim of the contributors to evaluate the contribution of Meek's volume to subsequent social-scientific criticism. Every chapter not only succinctly surveys relevant subsequent scholarship, but offers a substantial contribution to the ongoing debate. -- Journal for the Study of The New Testament, Volume 33 Number 5
'Wayne A. Meek's groundbreaking book The First Urban Christians was the first sociological analysis of Early Christianity covering systematically all aspects of community life. Twenty-five years later it is still the best reference point for a survey of all that has beenaccomplished so far in this field of research.Ihighly recommend this survey by very competent younger scholars to all those whowant to be informed about the present state and the future of social-scientific studies of Early Christianity. The book looks at urban environment, socio-economic composition, analogies to Christian congregations in antiquity, their internal authority structures, and the correlation between ritual performance and symbolic worlds on the one hand and patterns of life on the other hand. The contributors share with Meeks a preference for balanced, fair, and common-sense judgements avoiding default presumptions and polarisations. The book demonstrates that an approach that was disputed some decades ago is now an essential part of established scholarship with a high potential for new insights in the future.'- Gerd Theissen, Faculty of Theology, University of Heidelberg, Germany -- Gerd Theissen
If Meeks' work remains a milestone in scholarship, here seven experts, together with Meeks, survey the terrain from this vantage-point and identify numerous newroutes for future research. Brimful of intelligent discussion and fresh ideas, this is an indispensable volume for all social historians of earliest Christianity.' - John Barclay, Department of Theology and Religion, Durham University, UK. -- John Barclay
Meeks' ground-breaking First Urban Christians remains required reading for all students of the NT and early Christianity. This welcome volume provides an able field guide to the debates it has generated in the last 25 years and keen pointers to where future study of the social realities of the Pauline assemblies must go.' - Margaret M. Mitchell, Divinity School, University of Chicago, IL, USA. -- Margaret M. Mitchell
"The editors of this book have assembled an impressive bunch of contributors. ... [This book] has a great deal to offer the general reader." The Catholic Herald, 21st May 2010.
"The eight essays in this volume seek to reassess the contribution made by W.A. Meeks's The First Urban Christians (1983). After the editor's five-page introduction, it presents papers by Horrell on Whither social-scientific approaches to NT interpretation--contested methodologies and the future; P. Oakes on contours of the urban environment; b.W. Longenecker on socioeconomic profiling of the first urban Christians; E. Adams on 1st-century models for Paul's churches--selected scholarly developments since Meeks; Still on organizational structures and relational struggles among the saints--the establishment and exercise of authority within Pauline assemblies; L.J. Lawrence on ritual and the first urban Christians--boundary crossings of life and death; D.B. Martin on patterns of belief and patterns of life--correlations in The First Urban Christians and since; and Meeks on taking stock and moving on. -New Testament Abstracts, Vol. 54
'This volume, the value of which far exceeds its length, is a 'must-read' and 'must-own' for anybody and every library that recognizes the importance of studying Paul's letters in their social-historical context.' - John K Goodrich, University of Durham -- John K Goodrich * Theological Book Review *
Assessing After the First Urban Christians one should say that its value is intrinsically connected with Meeks groundbreaking work. It is a worthy effort of bringing to light the volume that marked the landscape of New Testament social studies and inspired so many scholars. After the First Urban Christians presents the reader with an interesting selection of the issues raised by Meeks, offers their critical survey, and shows the directions in which they developed After the First Urban Christians is an impressive and most welcome project of synthetizing the ideas and issues advanced by Meeks in 1983 Every scholar and student working in this field should be definitely equipped with this valuable publication. -- Marcin Kowalski * The Biblical Annals *

Author Bio

Todd D. Still (Ph.D.University of Glasgow) is Associate Professor of Christian Scriptures at the George W. Truett Theological Seminary of Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Among other publications, he is the author of Conflict at Thessalonica: A Pauline Church and Its Neighbours and the editor of Jesus and Paul Reconnected: Fresh Pathways into an Old Debate. David G. Horrell is Professor of New Testament Studies at the University of Exeter, UK. He is the author of several books, including An Introduction to the Study of Paul (T&T Clark, Second Edition 2006) and Solidarity and Difference (T&T Clark, 2005). He was the editor of the Journal for the Study of the New Testament from 2002-2007. He is an active member of the British New Testament Society, having chaired the Social World of the New Testament Seminar from 2001-2006, and is also a member of the Society for Biblical Literature (SBL) and Society for New Testament Studies (SNTS). He completed his PhD at Cambridge on Paul's Corinthian letters and the letter known as 1 Clement.