Description: This study sheds new light on identity formation and maintenance in the world of the early Christians by drawing on neglected archaeological and epigraphic evidence.
Brief description: Philip A. Harland is Professor at York University, Canada, in the Humanities Department and in the collaborative U of T-York University doctoral programme in Ancient Greek and Roman History. Harland also runs a network of websites relating to Religions of the Ancient Mediterranean (http: //www.philipharland.com/Blog/)
Review Quotes:
"Until recently, scholars of early Judaism and Christianity have generally pursued the differential quality. Harland's effort to broaden that perspective by seeing what we might learn about Judeans and Christians by considering their similarities to other "cultural minority groups" in antiquity, even if it is overstated at times, therefore comes as a welcome alternative. The sharpness with which Harland presents that perspective makes it all the more rewarding." --Journal of Religion
"Harland has provided a rich and broad-ranging inquiry that deserves a place in any mature library." --Religious Studies Review "In total, Harland helps us see the emergence of early Christianity with clearer lenses. . . . Harland has provided us with a text from which the seasoned scholar or the intermediate student might engage in a fresh approach to the important ancient textual and archeological material." --Biblical Theology Bulletin - Vol. 41: 4