Gods, Emperors, Philosophers, and a New Movement
eBook - ePub

Gods, Emperors, Philosophers, and a New Movement

Discovering the Movement of God in the Archaeological Record of Asia Minor

  1. English
  2. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  3. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

Gods, Emperors, Philosophers, and a New Movement

Discovering the Movement of God in the Archaeological Record of Asia Minor

About this book

Religions, politics, and education shaped the cultural world of Asia Minor where a new faith emerged that would change history. Gods, Emperors, Philosophers, and a New Movement uncovers how the earliest Christians navigated—and often disrupted and adapted—the dominant forces of their age. Drawing on decades of research, fieldwork, and teaching, Michael T. Cooper takes readers beneath the surface of Ephesos, Smyrna, Pergamon, and other cities to reveal how temples, inscriptions, and civic spaces illuminate the missionary impulse of the first Christians. Far from being silent, the archaeological record testifies to their resilience, creativity, and bold proclamation of the gospel in a world saturated with competing loyalties.



This is more than history. By examining how the early church encountered powerful religious traditions, political ideologies, and systems of education, today’s missionaries and church leaders gain fresh vision for gospel engagement in their own pluralistic and contested contexts. The dynamics that shaped mission in the first centuries—identity, power, worldview, and cultural disruption—remain central to how the good news advances today. This book is an invitation to rediscover the mission of God in the archaeological record and to discern its enduring relevance for faithful witness in the twenty-first century.

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Information

Publisher
Wipf and Stock
Year
2026
Print ISBN
9798385235780
9798385235797
eBook ISBN
9798385235803
Topic
Theology & Religion
Subtopic
Ancient Religion

Table of contents

  1. Title Page
  2. Timelines
  3. Foreword
  4. Acknowledgments
  5. Chapter 1: Filling a Missiological Gap
  6. Chapter 2: Asia Minor and the Context of Ancient Missions
  7. Chapter 3: Luke’s Theophilos: Ephesos
  8. Chapter 4: The Writing on the Wall: Smyrna
  9. Chapter 5: The Puzzling Disappearance of Christianity: Pergamon
  10. Chapter 6: Guilds as Places of Peace: Thyatira
  11. Chapter 7: A Place of Worship: Sardis
  12. Chapter 8: Gateway to Accommodation: Philadelphia
  13. Chapter 9: Avoiding Spiritual Complacency: Laodicea
  14. Chapter 10: Mind the Gap
  15. Appendix 1: Paul’s Tyrannos
  16. Appendix 2: Aphrodite in Ephesos?
  17. Bibliography

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Yes, you can access Gods, Emperors, Philosophers, and a New Movement by Michael T. Cooper in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Theology & Religion & Ancient Religion. We have over 1.5 million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.