Making Christians
Book Description
In the formative centuries of Christianity, emerging communities faced a profound challenge: how to establish authentic spiritual authority and define true Christian identity. Denise Kimber Buell reveals how second-century believers turned to powerful metaphors of family, procreation, and kinship to navigate these crucial questions.
Through careful examination of early Christian discourse, Buell uncovers the fascinating ways religious leaders used concepts of spiritual parenthood and divine lineage to legitimize their teachings and practices. At the center of her investigation stands Clement of Alexandria, an influential theologian whose writings demonstrate how cultural understandings of family relationships became tools for determining who possessed genuine spiritual authority.
This scholarly exploration illuminates the dynamic struggles within early Christian communities as different groups competed to represent authentic faith and doctrine. By analyzing how metaphors of birth and family bonds shaped religious identity, Buell offers readers insight into the complex process through which Christian orthodoxy emerged.
For those interested in understanding how spiritual communities form their sense of identity and authority, this work provides a window into the creative ways early believers used familiar concepts of kinship to address fundamental questions about religious truth and leadership. The book demonstrates how deeply human relationships and cultural assumptions influenced the development of Christian thought and practice during this pivotal period.
Who Is This For?
📖 Reading Level: Medium (200-400 pages) (~6 hours)
🕉️ Tradition: Christianity
📄 Length: 221 pages
What You'll Discover
- ✓ Explore Apologetics, history, early church, ca. 30-600
- ✓ Explore Religious aspects
- ✓ Explore Religious aspects of Human reproduction
- ✓ Explore History of doctrines
- ✓ Explore Kinship
- ✓ Explore Apologetics
- ✓ Explore Early works to 1800
- ✓ Explore Human reproduction
