Edwin A. Judge and the Study of Early Christianity within the Roman Empire

The ancient historian Edwin A. Judge of Macquarie University (Sydney) exerted a major influence on the study of early Christianity within the Roman Empire. After a short academic biography, this article focuses on two elements of his scholarship. First, the often-overlooked relevance of Judge as a Roman historian for New Testament studies is examined. Judge contrasted the Latin West republican quest for glory on the part of the Roman nobility with the approach of the apostle Paul, who disavowed ancient boasting culture through his rhetorical self-parody, his spoofing of the corona muralis award, and his stepping down socially. Second, Judge reset New Testament discussion of the social location of the Pauline churches by highlighting the Roman base of Paul’s mission and exploring Paul’s utterances on self-abandonment, status-renunciation, and the position of women. Judge emphasized Paul’s socially innovatory and transformative approach, investigating significant elements of cultural conflict in practice and ideology

Apostle · Barbarian · Christianity · Early Christianity · Glory · New Testament · Rhetorical question · Roman art · Roman Empire · Theme (computing) · Biblical Studies and Interpretation · European Law and Migration · Globalization, Historical Perspectives, and International Relations