Overview

"How did early Christians remember Jesus--and how did they develop their own ""Christian"" identities and communities? In this accessible and revelatory book, Greg Carey explores how transgression contributed to early Christian identity in the Gospels, Acts, Letters of Paul, and Revelation. Carey examines Jesus as a friend of sinners, challenger of purity laws, transgressor of conventional masculine values of his time, and convicted seditionist. He looks at early Christian communities as out of step with ""respectable"" practices of their time. Finally, he provides examples of contemporary Christians whose faith requires them to ""do the right thing,"" even when it means violating current definitions of ""respectability."

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9781481314770

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Reviews

... students and laypersons will find much food for provocative thought presented in a lively and academically responsible fashion. C[arey] adroitly canvasses key biblical and scholarly sources, spiced with illuminating insights from modern film, literature, and pop culture. -- The Catholic Biblical Quarterly Carey effectively challenges and re-scripts common narratives of Jesus's life.... After absorbing Carey's interpretations, readers will want to have their views shaken even more. --Brooks Berndt, Ph. D. Homiletic Carey writes with an inviting style. Distilling currents in contemporary scholarship, he challenges readers to consider the implications of the identification of Jesus and his followers with and as sinners. --Jennifer A. Glancy Interpretation Carey's book is written in a lively and engaging manner that offers non-specialists an enjoyable and provocative look at the way in which Jesus and the first Christians frequently violated conventional social norms.... The book proceeds in some unexpected directions along the way but is very enjoyable and overall succeeds in making the reader think about the unconventional nature of early Christianity. --Gary W. Burnett Journal for the Study of the New Testament With economic stress feeding anti-immigrant prejudice, debates over sexuality heating up, and fear of terrorism percolating, Christians would do well to consider that Jesus fraternized with misfits and was himself a social deviant. Greg Carey--winsome communicator and professor of New Testament at Lancaster Theological Seminary--offers us colorful and compelling evidence that Jesus and his early followers often did not fit the mold. -- The Christian Century

With economic stress feeding anti-immigrant prejudice, debates over sexuality heating up, and fear of terrorism percolating, Christians would do well to consider that Jesus fraternized with misfits and was himself a social deviant. Greg Carey--winsome communicator and professor of New Testament at Lancaster Theological Seminary--offers us colorful and compelling evidence that Jesus and his early followers often did not fit the mold. -- The Christian Century Carey's book is written in a lively and engaging manner that offers non-specialists an enjoyable and provocative look at the way in which Jesus and the first Christians frequently violated conventional social norms.... The book proceeds in some unexpected directions along the way but is very enjoyable and overall succeeds in making the reader think about the unconventional nature of early Christianity. --Gary W. Burnett Journal for the Study of the New Testament Carey writes with an inviting style. Distilling currents in contemporary scholarship, he challenges readers to consider the implications of the identification of Jesus and his followers with and as sinners. --Jennifer A. Glancy Interpretation Carey effectively challenges and re-scripts common narratives of Jesus's life.... After absorbing Carey's interpretations, readers will want to have their views shaken even more. --Brooks Berndt, Ph. D. Homiletic ... students and laypersons will find much food for provocative thought presented in a lively and academically responsible fashion. C[arey] adroitly canvasses key biblical and scholarly sources, spiced with illuminating insights from modern film, literature, and pop culture. -- The Catholic Biblical Quarterly

Author Information

Greg Carey (Ph.D., Vanderbilt University) is Professor of New Testament, Lancaster Theological Seminary. Carey has also written: Ultimate Things: An Introduction to Jewish and Christian Apocalyptic Literature (2005), and Elusive Apocalypse: Reading Authority in the Revelation to John (1999).

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