The early Christian centuries

the long version

"The Early Christian Centuries is the full story of those first six hundred years of Christian history. Starting in the world of second-temple Judaism, The Early Christian Centuries carries the reader down to the Byzantine age, the rise of Islam, and the beginnings of medieval European politics." "With a combination of rare tact and acuity, Philip Rousseau gives a colourful history of early Christianity and the late Roman world. He stresses the importance of shifting historical consciousness, the continuity and development of ideas, and the urge for social respectability." "Paying the greatest attention to the 'inner' components of the Christian life - authority, worship, biblical interpretation, moral seriousness, and spiritual idealism - the resulting story also captures fully the major figures including full chapters on Jesus and Paul."--Jacket.