The Routledge companion to early Christian thought / edited by D. Jeffrey Bingham.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Christianity in the Graeco-Roman world : socio-political, philosophical, and religious interactions up to the Edict of Milan (CE 313) / George H. van Kooten -- Early Christianity and philosophy / Mark J. Edwards -- Greco-Roman understanding of Christianity / Paul Hartog -- Jews and Christians / Lynn H. Cohick -- Imitations in literature and life : Apocrypha and martyrdom / J.K. Elliott -- Ignatius and the Apostolic fathers / Clayton N. Jefford -- Justin and the apologists / Oskar Skarsaune -- Irenaeus of Lyons / D. Jeffrey Bingham -- Roman and North African Christianity / Geoffrey D. Dunn -- Clement and Alexandrian Christianity / Henny Fiskå Hägg -- Origen / Ronald E. Heine -- Gnosis and Nag Hammadi / Anne McGuire -- Schism and heresy : identity, cracks, and canyons in early Christianity / Pheme Perkins -- God / M.C. Steenberg -- Christ : the Apostolic Fathers to the third century / J.A. McGuckin -- Redemption / James D. Ernest -- Scripture / Peter W. Martens -- Community and worship / Everett Ferguson.

The shape and course which Christian thought has taken over its history is largely due to the contributions of individuals and communities in the second and third centuries. Bringing together a remarkable team of distinguished scholars, The Routledge Companion to Early Christian Thought is the ideal companion for those seeking to understand the way in which Early Christian thought developed within its broader cultural milieu and was communicated through its literature, especially as it was directed toward theological concerns. Divided into three parts, the Companion:asks how Christianity's development was impacted by its interaction with cultural, philosophical, and religious elements within the broader context of the second and third centuries. examines the way in which Early Christian thought was manifest in key individuals and literature in these centuries. analyses Early Christian thought as it was directed toward theological concerns such as God, Christ, Redemption, Scripture, and the community and its worship. D. Jeffrey Bingham is Department Chair and Professor of Theological Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary, USA. He is author of several books including E arly Patristic Readings of Romans (2005) and The Handbook of Patristic Exegesis (2004).