Building on the influential efforts of John S. Kloppenborg to integrate
our understanding of Christian origins more closely and carefully within
its cultural matrix, this volume explores two main phenomena of
Hellenistic and Roman antiquity: scribes and scribalism, on the one
hand, and voluntary associations, especially as evidenced in honorific
and other inscriptions, on the other. In part one, nineteen essays by
both established and younger scholars explore ancient scribalism,
bureaucracy, literacy, and book production, with a view to drawing
innovative new conclusions about a range of ancient Christian writings,
including the gospels, Q, the Gospel of Thomas and other Nag
Hammadi writings, the Letter of James, and apocalyptic literature, as
well as insights into the synoptic problem and memory theory. Part two
offers nine articles drawing on papyrological and epigraphic evidence to
illuminate group behaviors and the concrete dynamics of smaller social
bodies in the Hellenistic and Roman world, with several of the papers
explicitly applying this analysis to the ekklesiai established by
Paul. The essays in this section contribute to a more detailed
understanding of ancient voluntary associations, and along with them, a
richer picture of ancient values, economics, politics, and clothing.