About this item
Highlights
- How should Christians live in an age of empire?As the city of Ephesus prepares for a religious festival in honor of the emperor Domitian, a Christian landowner feels increasing pressure from the city's leaders to participate.
- About the Author: David A. deSilva (PhD, Emory University) is Trustees' Distinguished Professor of New Testament and Greek at Ashland Theological Seminary in Ashland, Ohio.
- 176 Pages
- Religion + Beliefs, Biblical Studies
- Series Name: Week in the Life
Description
About the Book
In this historical novel, David deSilva paints a vivid portrait of Ephesus and brings to life the compelling struggles faced by early Christians. Supplemented by historical images and explanatory sidebars, this imaginative novel digs into the early Christians' conflict with the religious cults of the day as well as the Roman empire.
Book Synopsis
How should Christians live in an age of empire?
As the city of Ephesus prepares for a religious festival in honor of the emperor Domitian, a Christian landowner feels increasing pressure from the city's leaders to participate. Can he perform his civic duties and remain faithful to his Lord? Or has the time come for a costly choice?
In this historical novel, biblical scholar David deSilva brings to life such compelling struggles faced by the early Christians. Their insistence on the absolute lordship of their own singular deity brought them into conflict not only with the myriad religious cults of the day, but with all the crushing power of the empire itself. Meticulously researched and supplemented by historical images and explanatory sidebars, A Week in the Life of Ephesus poses anew the timeless question of Christianity and empire. Here is a vividly imaginative portrait of the Roman empire in all its beauty and might--and hanging over it, the looming sky of apocalypse.
Review Quotes
"A Week in the Life of Ephesus brings alive the ancient Roman world of religious ritual, daily business, and family loyalties. The Christian's perennial challenge to follow after God and not money or fame takes shape under deSilva's skillful hand as first-century Ephesians live out their faith (or not) in the thoroughly pagan city. DeSilva weaves together characters, plot, and historical context, drawing the reader into the story. This is a must-read for those who want a deeper understanding of the ordinary reality of early Christians' lives."
--Lynn H. Cohick, provost and dean, professor of New Testament, Denver Seminary"I often tell my students that one of our goals in New Testament courses is to develop our historical imaginations. Those accustomed to viewing faith and religion as a private sphere often struggle to imagine their way into the first-century world, where religion was deeply entwined with governmental structures and the corporate well-being of both city and empire. DeSilva's story narrates compellingly the very real pressure that early followers of Jesus would have experienced as many of their contemporaries viewed them as threats to the social order; if they refused to honor the gods, including the deified emperors, their reputations, finances, and even lives were at stake. Again and again in this story I asked myself, What would I have done?"
--Holly Beers, associate professor of religious studies at Westmont College, author of A Week in the Life of a Greco-Roman Woman"Students and scholars have already enjoyed the meticulous historiography, sensitive literary analysis, imaginative flair, and theological depth of David DeSilva's previous writings, which range in genre from novel to New Testament introduction. In this volume, A Week in the Life of Ephesus, he conjoins these manifest strengths, taking the reader on an intriguing expedition to that ancient city in a crucial week of September in 89 CE. Through the eyes of ancient Christians in Ephesus, portrayed vividly in all their psychological and relational complexity, we come face-to-face with the perennial temptation to accommodate idolatry, with its attending commercial and political implications. DeSilva's compelling and suspenseful narrative of persons, families, and various strata of society is enhanced by helpful historical and cultural information offered in sidebars."
--Edith M. Humphrey, William F. Orr Professor of New Testament at Pittsburgh Theological SeminaryAbout the Author
David A. deSilva (PhD, Emory University) is Trustees' Distinguished Professor of New Testament and Greek at Ashland Theological Seminary in Ashland, Ohio. He is the author of over twenty-five books, including An Introduction to the New Testament and Day of Atonement: A Novel of the Maccabean Revolt. He is also an ordained elder in the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church.