T&T Clark Group Survival in the Ancient Mediterranean: Rethinking Material Conditions in the Landscape of Jews and Christians (Criminal Practice)

How did early Christian groups and other associations in the Greco-Roman world survive financially? The informal associations, immigrant groups, and guilds that dotted the world of the early Christians provide a fresh vantage point on the question of how Christian assemblies and Judean (Jewish) gatherings gained necessary resources to pursue their social, religious, and other aims. Philip A. Harland and Richard Last consider the economics of Christian group life within its social, cultural and economic contexts by drawing on epigraphic and archeological evidence. By considering both neglected archeological evidence and literary evidence the authors explain the various financial and material aspects of group life, both sources of income and areas of expenditure for social, religious, and other activities. Harland and Last then turns to the use of material resources for mutual support of members in various groups, including the importance of burial and the practice of interest-free loans. Christian and Judean evidence is explored throughout the book with the final chapter devoted to discussion of the literary evidence for the internal financial life of Christian assemblies as seen in first and second centuries sources, including Paul, the Didache, Justin Martyr, and Tertullian. Review This book pursues an important question with impressive rigor ... Harland and Last succeed in exposing a number of exaggerations and misunderstandings sometimes advanced by scholars ... Of final note, it should be said that the authors desire for their readers to engage with the primary sources themselves and have drafted the book in a way that is conducive to that end. Thus, this book could be profitably used in a classroom context (especially among students of religion with only a more introductory knowledge of economic dynamics in the ancient world). --Reading Religion"In this erudite and smart study, Last and Harland explore the material dynamics of associations in antiquity, which played critical social, economic, and political roles mediating the vast space between the family and imperial authorities. Judicious and accessible, this study brings to life the inner workings of these associations, throwing light in particular on how groups of both Judeans and early followers of Jesus fit into a larger cultural context." --MICHAEL SATLOW, Brown University, USA"Drawing on an extensive corpus of epigraphic and papyrological sources-recently made accessible by Harland to scholars and students across the globe-Last and Harland show what can be achieved with this material. Theyoffer a clear and systematic study of the material and financial conditions of a wide range of associations. This book is a must-read for social historians of the Graeco-Roman world." --ONNO M. VAN NIJF, University of Groningen, Netherlands"In this brilliant and methodologically sophisticated book, Last and Harland invite the reader to look beyond ideologically imaginative understandings of ancient groups devoted to Israel's God-including followers of Jesus. They discover on the local level economic, social, and cultural factors crucial to the early formation and survival of what would develop into two world-religions: Judaism and Christianity. An outstanding contribution to scholarship and a must-read for anyone interested in early Judaism and Christian origins, as well as more generally ancient Mediterranean society." --ANDERS RUNESSON, author of The Origins of the Synagogue: A Socio-Historical Study, University of Oslo, Norway About the Author Philip A. Harland is Associate Professor in the Humanities Department at York University, Canada. His publications include Dynamics of Identity in the World of the Early Christians (Continuum, 2009). For websites relating to social and religious life in antiquity, see http://www.philipharland.com. Richard Last is Assistant Professor in the Ancient Greek and Roman Studies program at Trent Unive