| This research looks at early Christianity as a social phenomenon and subculture situated in Greco-Roman society. The social, economic, and political dynamics of that society were in place long before Christianity was established. It goes without saying that Christianity did not survive in Greco-Roman society without experiencing the influences of its sociological factors. Early Christians were not only influenced by the social values and ideologies of Greco-Roman society, but their own social values and ideologies mirror those of the larger society. Four aspects of Greco-Roman society (class, race, gender, and wealth) have been selected for sociological exegesis and correlation with the same aspects of the early Christians in order to describe their interrelations with one another.;Chapter one is an introduction which establishes the background relative to the violence and uncertainty in the Roman empire which influenced the rise of Christianity and the social choices Christians inevitably made. Chapter two, "Social Classes in Greco-Roman Society and their Appearance in Early Christianity," develops the roles of the different social orders and classes in Greco-Roman society in the first-century and early second-century as it makes the case that the social classes of the larger Roman society were reflected, for the most part, in early Christianity.;Chapter three, "Early Christianity and the Role of Race in Greco-Roman Society," investigates the ways in which non-Christians viewed race as a social issue during the first-century and early second-century of Greco-Roman society and how their values and ideologies on race affected the ways in which Christians shaped their own values and ideologies on the same subject.;Chapter four, "The Role of Gender in Greco-Roman Society and Early Christianity," studies the views of non-Christians and Christians relative to their attitudes and behaviors on gender. It focuses on the differences and similarities they held about each gender.;Chapter five, "Early Christian Values and Ideologies on Wealth and Poverty," argues that the economic structures of the Roman Empire and the lack of wealth for avast majority of early Christians influenced their values and ideologies on economic issues, especially riches and poverty. |
