02710cam a2200325 a 4500 153577 153577 775419995 OCoLC 20190905123529.0 120601s2012 miu b 001 0 eng 2012018187 9780801048241 0801048249 99951574562 (OCoLC)775419995 eng NPTS pcc .W4 R44 2012 261.85RHE Rhee, Helen Loving the poor, saving the rich : wealth, poverty, and early Christian formation / Helen Rhee Grand Rapids, MI : Baker Academic, c2012 xx, 279 p. ; 24 cm Includes bibliographical references (p. 221-252) and index The social, economic, and theological world of early Christianity -- Wealth, poverty, and eschatology -- Wealth, poverty, and salvation -- Wealth, poverty, and koinonia -- Wealth, poverty, and ecclesiastical control -- Wealth, poverty, and Christian identity -- Wealth, poverty, and Christian response in contemporary society "The issue of wealth and poverty and its relationship to Christian faith is as ancient as the New Testament and reaches even further back to the Hebrew Scriptures. From the beginnings of the Christian movement, the issue of how to deal with riches and care for the poor formed an important aspect of Christian discipleship. This careful study analyzes the significance of wealth and poverty in constructing Christian identity in the complex socioeconomic situation and cultural milieu of the early Roman Empire. Helen Rhee shows how early Christians adopted, appropriated, and transformed the Jewish and Greco-Roman moral teachings and practices of giving and patronage. She examines how early Christians developed their distinctive theology and social understanding of wealth and the wealthy on one hand and of poverty and the poor on the other, demonstrating that this understanding impacted early Christian identity formation. She also explores the vital role wealth and poverty played in the construction of eschatology, soteriology, and ecclesiology in the social and cultural context of the time. In addition, the book draws out relevant implications of early Christian thought and practice for the contemporary church. Professors and students in courses on Christian origins, early Christianity, church history, and Christian ethics will value this work" -- Publisher description Wealth Religious aspects Christianity History Poverty Religious aspects Christianity History Church history Primitive and early church, ca. 30-600 ddc BK 0 0 ddc 0 0 FIC NPTS NPTS GEN 2019-04-02 0 261.85RHE NPTS006184 2019-04-02 00:00:00 2019-04-02 BK