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Intro -- Title Page -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- Abbreviations -- Editor's Introduction -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- Chapter One: Paradise Lost: Creation, Fall, and Marriage -- Augustine, On the Good of Marriage -- Augustine, Literal Commentary on Genesis -- Ambrose, On Paradise -- John Chrysostom, Discourse 4 on Genesis -- John Chrysostom, Discourse 2 on Genesis -- John Chrysostom, The Kind of Women Who Ought To Be Taken As Wives -- Irenaeus, Against Heresies -- Tertullian, On the Dress of Women -- Augustine, Literal Commentary on Genesis -- Ambrose, On Paradise -- John Chrysostom, Homily 26 on I Corinthians -- John Chrysostom, Discourse 4 on Genesis -- Augustine, The City of God -- Clement of Alexandria, Miscellanies -- Augustine, On Marriage and Concupiscence -- Augustine, On the Good of Marriage -- Augustine, On the Sermon on the Mount -- Augustine, Epistle 262 -- Tertullian, Exhortation to His Wife -- John Chrysostom, Homily 12 on I Corinthians -- John Chrysostom, Homily 5 on I Thessalonians -- John Chrysostom, Homily 19 on I Corinthians -- Chapter Two: Women Endangered: The Apocryphal Acts and Martyrdom -- Acts of Paul and Thecla -- Acts of John -- The Martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicitas -- Ambrose, On Virgins -- Prudentius, Crowns of Martyrdom -- Chapter Three: Paradise Regained: Asceticism in Theory and Practice -- Methodius, The Banquet -- Gregory of Nyssa, On Virginity -- John Chrysostom, On Virginity -- Jerome, Against Jovinian -- Jerome, Epistle 22 -- Palladius, Lausiac History -- Jerome, Epistle 108 -- Augustine, Epistle 211 -- Caesarius of Arles, Rules for the Holy Virgins -- John Chrysostom, On the Necessity of Guarding Virginity -- Tertullian, Exhortation to Chastity -- Tertullian, On Monogamy -- John Chrysostom, On Not Marrying Again -- Chapter Four: Women in the Wider World

To designate the Christian community, the first Christians chose the Greek word ekklesia, the term used in classical Greece to refer to the officially gathered political assembly. In choosing the term ekklesia early Christians were very probably influenced by its use in the Septuagint to translate the Hebrew qahal (the assembly of the people) of Yahweh or of Israel It has been argued that another available term, synagoge, which was also used in the Septuagint to translate qahal and more frequently the almost synonymous 'edhah, was too much distinctively associated with the Greek-speaking Jewish communities and was thus put aside by the Christians. Even though one should not overlook these and perhaps other influencing factors, one must not neglect, on the other hand, the democratic undertones of the chosen term. Although after the subjugation of Macedonia and Greece by the Romans, completed about 150 BC, the ekklesiai of the Greek cities retained little of their former political power,s the term ekklesia still connoted to some extent the freedom and equality promised to all the citizens of the classical democratic city-state. Besides, throughout the Hellenistic world, ekklesia always retained its political reference and was never used to refer to the cultic assembly gathered for worship. For the latter, other terms were employed. It can therefore be confidently asserted that at least in the case of gentile Christians, most of whom were not so well, or not at all, acquainted with the Old Testament context, the term ekklesia was most probably understood in the light of its immediate secular derivation. It can even be said that the promise of freedom and equality implied in the secular understanding of the term was even further accentuated in the early Christian communities where, as Paul asserts, there was to be no difference between Jew or Greek, slave or freeman, male or female (see Gal 3, 28; 1 Cor 12,13). Unlike the Greek city-state where only adult males who were citizens by birth shared political freedom and equality, in the Christian ekklesia all shared the same freedom and equality in virtue of their baptism, which could be received by all who had faith in Jesus Christ. As will be seen in the coming section, this is not to say that in the community anybody or everybody could play any or every role at will or that there were no particular members entrusted with leadership roles. In this article, I will be attempting to investigate some aspects of New Testament theology and early Church history, particularly those concerning the Church's structures of authority, in order to understand better and examine the fate of the basic freedom and equality in the Spirit belonging to all the members of the Christian ekklesia. The freedom and equality in the Spirit referred to here are not identical to the political freedom and equality understood as the foundational elements of secular democracy. However, while these evangelical values surely transcend any strictly political ideals, they do have political implications with regard to the internal government of the Church. This article will seek to explore the presence of such implications in the first centuries of the Church's existence. ; N/A

In this rich work Franz Dünzl, Professor of Early Church History and Patristics at the University of Würzburg, gives an illuminating description of the theological, ecclesial and political developments that resulted in the formulation of the doctrine of the Trinity at the Council of Constantinople in 381. The book is elegantly written, offers a clear picture of the overall development of the discussions and at the same time does full justice to the intricate details of this 'impenetrable theological jungle' (p. 133). ; Book review : A brief history of the doctrine of the Trinity in the early church / Franz Dünzl. Translated by : John Bowden. Publisher : T & T Clark, Edinburgh, 2007, pp. 148. ; http://www.hts.org.za ; hb2015

The aim of this paper is to portray the reception of the Septuagint in the
early Church. Firstly, the synagogue view of the translation is provided,
from the reports in which the origin of the translation is enthusiastically
discussed, to the rejection of the Septuagint. A particular emphasis is
placed on theological argumentation attempting to prove the divine
inspiration of the translation of the Seventy. In this process, the
prominent figures are: Justin Martyr, Irenaeus of Lyons, Clement of
Alexandria, Origen, Pseudo-Justin, Epiphanius of Salamis, Cyril of
Jerusalem, John Chrysostom and Augustine. The paper deals with two textual
disputes over the authenticity of the Septuagint text as the legitimate
successor of the original Hebrew consonant text. Textual deviations were
often a reason for such confrontations. The first dispute is between Julius
Africanus and Origen. Within it, Origen clarifies textual issues of certain
Old Testament books. Jerome and Augustine took part in the second dispute.
Jerome leaned more towards the Hebrew truth (Hebraica Veritas), while
Augustine put more stock into the translation of the Seventy. These
confrontations clearly reflect the status of the Septuagint in the early
Church. Finally, a concise review of the further status of the Septuagint in
the Western and Eastern Churches is provided.

Davis reviews 'Christian Millenarianism: From the Early Church to Waco' edited by Stephen Hunt.

This innovative volume focuses on the significance of early Christianity for modern means of addressing poverty. The volume offers rigorous study of poverty and its alleviation in both earliest Christianity and today's world. In this light, in seven major areas, an expert in early Christianity in its Jewish and Greco-Roman settings is paired with an expert in modern strategies for addressing poverty and benefaction. They each address the same topic from their respective areas of expertise, and respond to each other's essays. The chapters present the complex ways in which early Christian ideas and practices relate to modern ideas and practices and vice versa. The book addresses both continuities and discontinuities between the ancient world and today. As such the volume seeks to inform and engage church leaders, those working in NGOs concerned with poverty, and all interested in these crucial issues, both Christian and not.